Policies

How to Make a Proposal for General Assembly

Submitted by AthenaTsakos on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 12:37pm
Policies
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Process for Submitting Proposals at Occupy Baltimore

1. Submission. Proposals must be submitted in writing one day before
the General Assembly at which they are considered. All proposals
should be posted and publicly visible at the Occupy Baltimore site.
Proposals should also be posted online (on the Occupy Baltimore Google
Group until a space is made available on the website). Until Occupy
Baltimore has a dedicated computer terminal with internet, volunteers
at the General Assembly should type and submit written proposals from
the site. The General Assembly may use consensus to approve
consideration of urgent but late proposals--these should be posted as
soon as possible.

2. Advocate. Proposals should have an advocate who is not a member of
the facilitation team on the night when the proposal is being
discussed.

3. Stages of Discussion:

A. Presentation. The advocate will read the proposal and give a short
explanation of its rationale.
B. Questions. The group will address questions about the proposal to
the advocate, who may respond directly. Members may also propose small
friendly) amendments, which the advocate may choose to accept.
C. Concerns. The group will voice their concerns about the proposal.
D. General discussion. Includes responses to concerns as well as
suggestions for modifying the proposal.
E. Resolution. Find consensus on what to do with the proposal. The
proposal may pass, pass in a modified form, fail, be tabled, or be
sent back for revisions. The proposal’s advocate is responsible for
these revisions whether alone or in committee.

4. Consensus. A proposal may not pass if any member of the group
objects to its passage. However, individuals with stand aside
to passage, despite their concerns, in the interest of group progress.
If a proposal is blocked after two nights of substantial discussion,
it may be passed with a 95% supermajority on the third night of
discussion or later.

5. Structure of Discussion. The General Assembly has the power to
decide what form discussion will take. This may include breaking into
groups, using modified stack systems, or pursuing other forms of
creative decision-making. The General Assembly may set time limits for
individual speakers and for a whole discussion. Advocates for a
proposal may suggest time limits which can be adopted by the group.

NOTE: The General Assembly (GA) agenda is finailized one hour before GA, during the Facilitation meeting at 7pm. Any "emergency proposals," proposals not submitted in writing can be brought to the attention of the Facilitation team but must be approved by the GA as urgent before being placed on the agenda. This is stated in the proposal as:
"The General Assembly may use consensus to approve
consideration of urgent but late proposals--these should be posted as
soon as possible."

Any late proposals not approved by the GA as urgent, may still be considered for the following day.

Sexual Offense Policy

Submitted by admin on Wed, 11/02/2011 - 9:32am
Policies

#occupybaltimore Sexual Offense Policy

Since its inception, #occupybaltimore has maintained a zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment, abuse, and assault. We maintain that creating a safe space for all people is paramount to our goal of building community. We actively oppose sexual violence in all its personal, cultural, and systemic forms.

Procedure

Victims can alert the Security Team using the all-purpose call, "Round-up!" to ensure immediate physical protection and subsequent enforcement of our policy.

Sexual harassment is defined as any unwanted commentary or physical contact. It is the victim's prerogative to classify any action as sexual harassment, and to decide whether or not the harasser be ejected from #occupybaltimore. If the victim chooses to enforce the ejection policy, the harasser will be ordered not to return until the Safer Spaces Committee in conjunction with the Mediator’s Committee has reviewed the incident on the following day.

Instances of sexual abuse and assault will be handled according to the expressed desires of the victim. The Security and Medical teams are equipped with a list of resources, including contact information for the police, hospitals, sexual assault hotlines, and women's shelters. In these instances, #occupybaltimore welcomes the involvement of the Baltimore City Police and encourages victims to report crimes. We also recognize that the U.S. Justice System is flawed, especially when it comes to cases of sexual assault. If for any reason the victim feels uncomfortable with police involvement, their wishes will be respected.

Anyone reporting sexual assault, with or without police involvement, will have the support of the #occupybaltimore community. This includes but is not limited to medical assistance, transportation, protection, investigation, mediation and conflict resolution, and emotional support and counseling.

Resources
Baltimore City Police
- Emergency: 911
- Central District Precinct: 410-396-2411

TurnAround, Inc.
- Sexual Assault Response Hotline, 9am-7pm: 443-279-0379
- Local Office: 410-837-7000

Baltimore City Health Dept.
- Emergency Medical Care Team: 410-545-3229

Mercy Medical Center (Sexual Assault Center and Emergency Services)
- 410-332-9477

Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
- Main: 410-550-0100
- Emergency : 410-550-0350

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore (24-hour crisis intervention)
- Main: 410-578-5678
- Emergency: 410-578-5000

University of Maryland Medical Center
- Emergency Room: 410-328-6722
- Pediatric Emergency: 410-328-6335, 410-328-6677
- Child Sexual Abuse: 410-328-5289
- Adolescent Clinic (Rape Team): 410-328-8336

RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network):
- National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE
(1-800-656-4673)
- Online Hotline: www.online.rainn.org

House of Ruth (Emergency Shelter for Battered Women and Children)
- 24-hour Hotline: 410-889-7884
- Legal Services: 410-554-8463, 410-889-7790, 410-889-7791
- www.hruth.org

Child Protective Services
- Adults: 410-361-5000
- Children: 410-361-2235