1. Introduction

These guidelines explain how to respond if a harassment complaint is made at IVS 2025 (the event). By clarifying how reported harassment will be handled, we hope to provide an environment where participants can act with peace of mind. These guidelines will only apply to this year.I will.

Depending on the content of the consultation, we will consider a prompt initial response, ensure safety, provide ongoing support, and prevent recurrence. The person making the consultation will not suffer any disadvantage in any way.

1-1. Scope

We believe that preventing and correcting inappropriate behavior is the responsibility of everyone involved in this event. Therefore, these guidelines are for the benefit of IVS 2025 staff and staff.、sideEvent organizers,Participants, speakers, and exhibitors、Sponsors and Partner OrganizationsThis offer is available to all event participants, including those who have attended the event.This guideline also applies to afterparties and side events.This agreement will also continue to apply to all projects and activities that the event plans and implements in the future.

2. System for dealing with harassment

Be careful not to spread the damageIt is important to have a system where you can actually speak up, but at the same time, we also need a system where you can actually speak up. Therefore, this time, we have established the following system to make it easier for you to consult and to feel safe and relied upon.

2-1.HarassmentCountermeasures Office

What is the Harassment Prevention Office?

• This organization is responsible for preventing and responding to any acts of harassment that occur at this event, and is primarily responsible for operating the harassment consultation desk.。

• Any cases of harassment that occur at this event will be escalated to the primary consultation desk within the Harassment Prevention Office, followed by a secondary consultation desk and then to the Harassment Review Committee.。

Members of the Anti-Harassment OfficeAbout

• July 2, 2025 - August 29, 2025Up toThe members of the Harassment Prevention Office are N people, including the IVS KYOTO Executive Committee Harassment Prevention Office, the cooperating organization SISTERS Co., Ltd., a full-time clinical psychologist, and a lawyer.The roles of each are as follows:

• IVS KYOTO Executive Committee Harassment Countermeasures Office
  ・The IVS KYOTO Executive Committee (composed of Headline Japan Co., Ltd., Kyoto Prefecture, and Kyoto City) has set up a "Harassment Countermeasures Office" to prevent harassment during the event and respond when it does occur. The office will be primarily run by Headline Japan Co., Ltd., and consultations and victim support will be handled by female staff (or staff of the gender preferred by the person seeking advice).

  *If you would like to know more about the members of the Countermeasures Office, please feel free to contact us via the Harassment Consultation LINE. Our staff will provide you with individual information.

• About SISTERS Co., Ltd.

  ・SISTERS Co., Ltd.The organization focuses on issues such as harassment in the private sector and sexual violence faced by young people, and is working on the "Tamamusubi Project," which provides support for anti-harassment measures in startups.

  ・As part of the "Tamamusubi Project"We have been commissioned by Headline Japan, the event's management company, to support the establishment and operation of a harassment consultation hotline and harassment countermeasures study room, and have signed a non-disclosure agreement with them.

1-2. HarassmentAbout LINE Counseling

• In order to prevent harassment and respond quickly to it, this event has set up a consultation desk run by the Harassment Prevention Office.The consultation desk will basically accept inquiries via the Harassment Consultation LINE service operated by the Harassment Countermeasures Office, after registering and filling in the form provided on the LINE app.

• Period during which harassment consultations can be accepted

  Harassment may not be immediately recognized, but may come to your attention later. Even if you realize you are being harassed after the conference has ended, you can still contact us via the Harassment Consultation LINE until August 29, 2025.

• Harassment Consultation LINE response hours

  The time when the harassment counselor will check the content and contact you if necessary will vary depending on the event period and response times.DifferentMasu.

• Harassment consultationTarget AudienceAbout

  ・This applies to the person who experienced the harassment, or a third party who witnessed or recognized it. This does not matter whether you are a participant or staff member.

  ・However, in the following cases, although we will accept reports via the consultation form, please note that due to the difficulty of dealing with them within the event management structure, in principle we will only accept them as a record and will not take any concrete steps.

  　・Consultations regarding troubles that occur after the event, which are not covered by this event, between people you met at the event or outside of the event

  　・Past incidents of harassment unrelated to this event

• Side Events

  During the event, the only area that can be covered is the main area under the jurisdiction of the IVS KYOTO Executive Committee. Please note that it is difficult to provide on-site support or have the Harassment Review Committee handle harassment that occurs at side events. Depending on the content, we may share the information with the person in charge or related parties of the side event, but in principle, we will only accept it as a record.

• Confidentiality

  ・The contents of your consultation will only be shared with members of the Harassment Prevention Office.

  ・If information is to be shared with the IVS KYOTO Executive Committee or other related parties other than the Harassment Countermeasures Office, the explicit consent of the person making the request will always be obtained, and the information will be limited to the minimum extent necessary to achieve the intended purpose.

  　・However, this does not apply in the following cases: ① Requests from laws and regulations or public institutions ② Emergency contact to protect the life or body of the person seeking advice or those around him/her

  ・In principle, consultation records will be kept for five years, after which they will be anonymized (e.g., by deleting names and contact details) and appropriately disposed of.

  ・For the purpose of improving the operation of this event, the IVS KYOTO Executive Committee may share and use non-personally identifiable statistical data (only the number of cases, classification, and trends).

  ・In order to prevent harassment in startups, information that has been anonymized with great care to prevent the identification of individuals may be used for academic purposes as part of Tamamusubi Project activities, but only with consent.

  ・Even if we make efforts to anonymize your information, depending on your job title and the details of the situation, it may be possible to identify who you are consulting by comparing it with other information. Even in such cases, we will strictly manage your information in accordance with this policy and will not provide it to third parties.

  ・The person seeking advice may request correction or deletion of the consultation content or personal information. (Contact: ivs-office@infinityventures.com)

• Anonymous consultation

  ・Consultations can be made anonymously or with some names withheld. However, if an anonymous consultation is made or if it is difficult to continue communicating with the person making the consultation or to confirm the details, the consultation will be escalated to the Harassment Review Committee based solely on the information provided in the consultation form, and measures will be considered to prevent similar cases from occurring.

  ・If the caller's name is written and we can contact them, or if the call is anonymous but the extent of the damage can be accurately ascertained, we will connect them to the primary consultation desk.

3. What happens after a consultation is accepted

3-1.  Accepting consultations

• For consultation, please use LINE chat.You will be notified after registeringContact FormFill inApplications are accepted through.

• Urgency

  Before filling out the inquiry form, please confirm the urgency of the situation. If you are experiencing violence, threats, or need emergency help, or if you feel in danger or are at risk of harming yourself or others, please consider reporting the situation to the police or a public institution such as the One-Stop Support Center for Sexual Crimes and Sexual Violence Victims (number 8891), or asking for help from those around you.

• Please note that we may not respond to cases that we have decided to only accept or messages that are unrelated to harassment consultations.

3-2. Primary consultation desk

• The primary consultation desk has the following roles in order to respond to inquiries, grasp the situation, and decide on initial measures based on the urgency of the situation.If necessary, a harassment counselor will conduct an interview.

  ・Accepting enquiries via the inquiry form

  ・Collaboration with on-site response staff

  ・Initial consultation and consideration of necessary support

  ・Connecting to a secondary consultation desk or the Harassment Prevention Office

• The first consultation point will be handled by counselors from SISTERS Co., Ltd.

• During the event

  ・During the eventFirst, determine whether or not you need emergency response.

  ・The area where emergency support is available is limited to the main event held by the IVS KYOTO Executive Committee.

  ・If you need help

  　・We will consider the following cases as necessary:

  　　・If the person who is alleged to have committed the harassment is involved in an argument or other dispute with the person who was harassed or another third party

  　　・When the person being harassed is unable to move due to panic, etc.

  ・The safety and psychological stability of the person seeking advice is given top priority, and measures will be taken to physically distance themselves from the alleged perpetrator.

  ・Our staff will guide the victim, perpetrator, and witnesses to separate locations to ensure they can talk calmly. If necessary, we will then set up an interview session for other parties involved with the matter.

3-3. Secondary consultation desk

• At the secondary consultation window, a clinical psychologist will conduct interviews with the client to provide psychological care and determine whether or not ongoing support or legal action is required.

  ・Detailed interviews and mental care through interviews with clinical psychologists

  ・Introducing lawyers and other experts as needed

  ・Cooperation with the Harassment Review Committee

• The secondary consultation desk will be open to the following individuals:

  ・If the client requests an interview with a clinical psychologist

  ・When the Harassment Prevention Office determines that professional support is necessary and makes a proposal to the person seeking advice

  ・Please note that if you fall under any of the following circumstances, you will not be able to have an interview with a clinical psychologist.

  　・Those who are currently receiving outpatient treatment and have not received permission from a doctor, or those currently receiving ongoing counseling

  　・If you are a minor and have not obtained consent from your guardian, or if you are an adult ward, person under curatorship, or person under assistance and have not obtained consent, etc., from your legal representative, guardian, assistant, or supporter

• Please fill in the reservation form to confirm the interview date and conduct a consultation via Zoom for up to an hour.

• Points to note when using the secondary consultation desk

  ・Consultation does not include medical procedures (issuing a medical certificate, providing medical treatment, or other procedures required by the Medical Practitioners Act), and will only refer you to an appropriate medical institution if it is deemed necessary.

  ・If the clinical psychologist in charge of the consultation judges that it is not appropriate to provide the consultation or that the consultation cannot be provided sufficiently, such as when there is a possibility that symptoms related to a pre-existing illness or disability may worsen during the consultation, the consultation may be discontinued.

• Post-interview report

  ・In order to prevent future harassment incidents, the contents of consultations will be reported with the consent of the person making the consultation, in a form that does not identify individuals.

  ・The contents of the consultation will not be shared with anyone other than the Harassment Prevention Office. However, if there is evidence of a suicide attempt or illegal activity, the information may be shared with relevant organizations.

  ・If it is determined that organizational action is required, the case will be handed over to the Harassment Countermeasures Office, which is the next step.

3-4.  Responses and measures taken by the Harassment Review Committee

• The Harassment Review Committee is a temporary committee made up of counselors who have been involved in the consultation, in order to flexibly consider appropriate responses and methods to prevent recurrence depending on the content of the consultation. This committee will mainly consider the following two responses depending on the content, but will also flexibly consider other responses as necessary.。Whether or not they will actually take action is up to the discretion of theIVS KYOTO Executive Committeewill make the final decision.

  ・Consideration of organizational measures

  　・This will be done in cases where the nuisance behavior is repeated or involves serious content such as violence or threats, and it is determined that the safety of the victim is at risk or that there is a possibility that it may affect other participants.

  　・Expected response:

  　　・Organizing records regarding fact-finding with relevant parties

  　　・Deciding whether to involve the person in the problem in future events

  　　・Consideration of improving the environment for event management, etc.

  ・Consideration of environmental improvement measures

  　・In cases where it is difficult to provide anonymous consultation or maintain ongoing contact with the person making the consultation, we will consider taking measures to prevent similar cases from occurring.

  　・Expected response content

  　　・Sharing cases among staff and raising awareness

  　　・Review of response manuals and supplement of guidelines

  　　・Feedback for future spatial design and management systems

• Provision of information to third parties

  ・In order to investigate and respond to individual cases and take measures to prevent recurrence, the minimum amount of information necessary may be shared with third parties only with the explicit consent of the person making the inquiry.

  ・Examples of the main parties to whom information may be shared include, but are not limited to, the following. If it becomes necessary to share information with other parties, we will always explain the purpose, recipient, and content of the information to the person seeking advice in advance and obtain additional consent.

  　・External experts (lawyers, clinical psychologists, etc. who have signed confidentiality agreements)

  　・Members of the IVS KYOTO Executive Committee who do not belong to the Countermeasures Office or Review Committee (e.g., session managers, booth operators, etc.)

  　・Witnesses and other third party witnesses (if fact-finding is required)

  　・The person suspected of committing the offense (to give them an opportunity to defend themselves and to issue a warning)

  　・A support person designated by the person seeking advice (if an interpreter or psychological support is required)

  　・Venue security and facility management staff (if physical security is required)

  ・The information will be shared only with those who have no direct interest in the person seeking advice or the perpetrator (for example, it will not be provided to the perpetrator or their direct superior or subordinates unless the person seeking advice explicitly requests it).

  ・The information provided will be limited to the extent necessary to achieve the purpose, and third parties with whom the information is shared will be subject to confidentiality obligations and non-retaliation obligations equivalent to or greater than those set forth in this policy.

4. To prevent harassment from spreading

No matter how many harassment prevention measures are taken, harassment can occur in places where many people gather. This event is based on this reality, and we recommend the following actions to minimize damage in the unlikely event that harassment does occur.

4-1. If you feel you are being harassed

• There is no need to blame yourself. If harassment occurs, it is not just your problem.

• If possible, the victim should express their desire to the other person to stop the harassment. Even if it is difficult, you will not be blamed.

• If you are unable to tell the other person that you are uncomfortable, do not keep it to yourself; instead, seek help from a third party or consult with them.

  ・If you experience violence, threats or require emergency rescue, or if you feel in danger or are at risk of harming yourself or others, please contact the police or the One-Stop Support Centre for Sexual Crimes and Sexual Violence (English: #8891).

  ・You can do so once you have calmed down, but if possible, please share with us at this event about the damage you have suffered.

• I was harassedIf you feel this way, don't push yourself and just go at your own pace.ConfrontationIt is important tois。AloneDon't hold it inConsider getting support from trusted people around you or from a specialist such as a clinical psychologist.

4-2. If you witness harassment

YourselfWhile protecting the physical and mental health of the victim, if possible, intervene depending on the situation. A person who actively intervenes instead of standing by when sexual assault occurs is called an active bystander. There are five main ways to intervene (called the 5Ds), and multiple methods can be combined.

Once you have considered and implemented the measures listed above and have calmed down, please share with us the details of the incident you suffered, if possible. We will consider measures to prevent recurrence.

4-3. If you have been consulted about harassment

Secondary victimization refers to secondary victimization caused by people around the victim of harassment after they seek advice or report the incident. In order to avoid secondary victimization, it is said that it is advisable to keep the following points in mind.

4-4. If you are identified as a "person who is said to have engaged in harassment"

• When someone tells you that you have engaged in harassment, first accept the facts calmly. It is important to carefully consider the situation without becoming emotional.

• If the behavior you are consulted about is in fact harassment, you should not attribute it to external factors (e.g. the environment or the actions of others), but rather acknowledge that your own actions and attitudes were a factor. It is important to think deeply about how your words and actions affected the other person.

• after thatWhen it comes to relationships with people who have been harassed, the wishes of the person who was harassed should come first. Even if it is for the purpose of apologizing, you need to act with caution. The timing at which the person who was harassed can accept an apology is different from the timing at which the person who was alleged to have harassed wants to apologize.

• Retaliation against those who seek consultation about harassment, those who are harassed, or those who intervene in harassment is not permitted.When discussing harassing behavior, please understand the following:

  An accusation of harassment does not attack you or deny your character.

  ・Stop denying what the other person has to say

  ・Even if what you say differs from your own perception, listen to what the other person has to say and then try to convey "how it looked from your perspective."

  ・You are free to explain why you engaged in harassment, but please understand that doing so does not justify the harassment.

• When you commit harassment, you may feel conflicted or anxious about a variety of things. You need a place where you can safely reflect on what you have done. To prevent recurrence, you should also consider receiving appropriate support, such as the support of a clinical psychologist.

See also: Definitions of Terms

• Consultant: A person who consults the event regarding an incident of harassment.

• Person alleged to have engaged in harassment: This refers to the person who is alleged to have engaged in harassment during the consultation.

• Person who was harassed: This refers to the person who is alleged to have been harassed during the consultation.

• Harassment Prevention Office: This is the organization responsible for preventing harassment at this event and responding when it occurs.

• Harassment Review Committee: Considers measures to respond to and prevent the reported cases

• Harassment Response Staff: This refers to the members of the Harassment Prevention Office who will be the primary responders in the event that harassment occurs at the event venue.

• Harassment counselor: A member of the Harassment Countermeasures Office who has specialized knowledge of harassment.

• Event staff: All staff involved in the event management, including directors, secretariat, executive committee, volunteers on the day, etc.

• Harassment Consultation LINE: This is the official LINE account where you can get advice in case of harassment incidents.

• Event period: The period from July 2 to July 4, which is the IVS 2025 event period.

• Operating hours: 10:00 to 19:00

• Available areas: Main events only

© Tamamusubi Project (SISTERS Co., Ltd. / Non-profit Pillow Co., Ltd.)
Publication year: 2025

*This book is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License. Please be sure to include credit if you modify or redistribute this work.