When to report:
- Everyone should first try and resolve their problem directly with the parties involved.
- Please see the various tools on the previous page for assistance.
- You may wish to consider the Request Contact from Advocate Form option if you:
- Would like to know about support and assistance, but are not sure if you want to pursue formal action against the individual, or
- Have questions or would like to process what happened with someone without involving those responsible for Kingdom disciplinary procedures.
- Do not want the person(s) who harmed you to know that you are seeking help or support.
Advocate Contact Request Form
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SCA Formal Complaint:
While anonymous reports will be accepted and appropriately reviewed within the Kingdom, we cannot guarantee that action will be taken to remediate the conflict. Our ability to document and investigate anonymous claims is inherently limited. Per the Sanction Guide, “While participants have a right to offer a confidential written complaint to the Kingdom Seneschal or Crown, the complainant must understand that if the complaint goes forward to an investigation, the complaint will no longer be confidential as their complaint will be made available to the Board of Directors and the Society Seneschal.”
If you wish to file a formal complaint for an SCA investigation to result is possible SCA sanctions, please email the Kingdom Seneschal at:
[email protected]
Note: You may also contact the Kingdom Ombudsman, and it may be forwarded to the Kingdom or Society Seneschal or the President of the SCA should you feel it is appropriate.
You are encouraged to provide a detailed email to include the following:
Objective Information
Subjective Information
While anonymous reports will be accepted and appropriately reviewed within the Kingdom, we cannot guarantee that action will be taken to remediate the conflict. Our ability to document and investigate anonymous claims is inherently limited. Per the Sanction Guide, “While participants have a right to offer a confidential written complaint to the Kingdom Seneschal or Crown, the complainant must understand that if the complaint goes forward to an investigation, the complaint will no longer be confidential as their complaint will be made available to the Board of Directors and the Society Seneschal.”
If you wish to file a formal complaint for an SCA investigation to result is possible SCA sanctions, please email the Kingdom Seneschal at:
[email protected]
Note: You may also contact the Kingdom Ombudsman, and it may be forwarded to the Kingdom or Society Seneschal or the President of the SCA should you feel it is appropriate.
You are encouraged to provide a detailed email to include the following:
Objective Information
- Petitioner name (SCA and legal) and contact information (or specify that this is Anonymous)
- A report is stronger with contact information because it can be followed up on and clarified
- If you are reporting on behalf of a third party, include that person’s information, if able.
- While we will accept and review anonymous and third-party reports filed on behalf of other community members, please understand that such reports are not actionable and may not elicit a response from our office.
- Respondent name (SCA and legal) and contact information
- If more than one individual violated a policy in this incident, include all individuals
- Date(s) and location(s) of incident(s)
- Names and contact information of any witnesses to the behavior in question
- Documentation of the behavior (video, audio, screenshot, police report, etc.)
- Documentation of any efforts made to resolve the conflict prior to formal reporting
Subjective Information
- What impact has this behavior had on you?
- What impact has this behavior had on other members of the community, if known?
- What other relevant information would you like to share about this conflict?
- What kind of community support would you find meaningful and helpful?
- Mediation, information about civil support resources, etc.
- A request that no formal action be taken may or may not be honored, depending on the risk to community safety and the severity of the behavior in question
Grievances:
1. Principles
2. Procedures
1. Principles
- a. Be understanding. There are many valid approaches to Society activity. Members should make room for each other to explore anything that supports the Society’s goals, abides by its rules, is legal and does not actively interfere with the environment it attempts to create. Communication is the key to finding common ground.
- b. Look for common ground. It may be possible to find compromise by taking up both alternatives, either together or at different times.
- c. Keep a sense of perspective. There are always two sides to an issue. Make an effort to listen to the arguments of the other side with good will and honesty, and look for a solution everyone can live with.
- d. Go through the chain of command/appeal. If you can’t solve the problem yourself, your requests for assistance should follow a line of authority without skipping anyone, and without spreading laterally through the organization any more than absolutely necessary. For example, when you reach a level that has royalty or royal representatives, include them on your copy list, but don’t start out by copying all the royalty in your corner of the Known World and the board on your initial complaint. Try to be circumspect and polite.
- e. Be patient. Allow each level time to try to deal with the situation, and avoid the temptation to be aggressive to the people you’ve asked for help if they don’t seem to be moving fast enough to suit you. Remember we are a volunteer society.
2. Procedures
- a. Try to work things out face-to-face. When someone does something that interferes with your appreciation of the Society in a way you can’t ignore, or that seems to be contrary to the rules, talk it over. Explain the problem as you see it, and listen to the reply. (Likewise, if someone comes to you, listen carefully before you frame your answer.) Hopefully this will resolve the matter. If you can’t communicate, ask someone you and the other party both respect to help, either by relaying messages or by moderating a meeting between you. Try not to go to an officer in charge of the area in question, as such an officer may be tempted or compelled to make a ruling instead of letting you reach an informal agreement.
- b. Write to the person you’re having difficulty with. Describe the way you feel you’re being damaged, without insults or threats. Ask for the action you feel would set things right, and indicate how long you feel you can wait for a reply before making further distribution of the complaint. Do not send it to anyone else at this time. Hopefully this letter, or a series of direct letters and replies, will eventually lead you to a solution. As long as you feel you’re making progress either in understanding or in getting you way, do not go on to step c.
- c. Write a formal letter to the other party. Outline any new points you may have thought of and refer to your previous correspondence. Send a copy to the officer in charge of the area in question, or to the royalty or royal representative nearest the level where you have a dispute. Depending on the situation, it may be a good idea to send copies of the letters you’ve already written or received on the matter with the copy of the current letter you send to the superior; if you are doing so, be sure to mention it in your letter. (It is very important to proceed openly as you pursue your complaint; things are tense enough already without adding a new–and justified–charge of sneakiness to the general dispute!) Again, set a reasonable time for a reply, and consider it carefully when it arrives. As with step b, continue at this level as long as it looks like there’s any progress.
- d. Write directly to the officer in charge of the area in question, with copies to the subject of the dispute, the next higher officer, and the appropriate royalty or royal representative, if any. Explain how you feel you’re being mistreated, and ask for specific help. Include the entire previous correspondence; if you have not already shared it with the officer–and mention the enclosures in the text. Evaluate the reply or replies before you decide to go forward.
- e. Repeat step d, moving up the organization and including everyone you’ve involved on your copy list. Follow you correspondents’ advice as to whether or not anyone else at or below their level needs to be consulted. Eventually, you run out of levels.
- f. If no one else has managed to find a solution, the Board will do so. However, there is no guarantee that you will like what they come up with, and there is nowhere else to turn. Even if you get something resembling what you originally asked for, the effect on the Society may well be regrettable, as the Board finds it almost impossible to deal with a specific situation without touching anything else.
- g. While it appears cumbersome, this technique should reach some sort of resolution in a matter of months. The greatest number of levels between you and the Board is five, assuming a dispute between members of a canton whose barony is part of a principality. The important thing is getting a solution, NOT getting to the Board, and the approach outlined in this article will probably let you settle the matter without involving the corporate administration at all