We hope to have a “light touch” approach to rules, but we do have some.

Much of our online activity is on our Discord server. We have slightly different rules for in person events and our Discord server.

Age of Participants

Most of our in-person events will be all ages appropriate. Any in-person event that is to be restricted to people who are 18+ only will be clearly indicated. (We don’t anticipate holding many such events, but they may include events such as overnight events.)

For in-person events we ask that anyone under the age of 16 is accompanied by an adult.

Our Discord server is open to people aged 13 and over. In accordance with Discord’s Terms of Service, users aged under 13 are not permitted to be on our server.

Whilst our Discord server is not primarily intended for or advertised to young people, they are welcome to participate in our server, but we will take their safeguarding seriously. Users will not be required to declare their ages, and our server operates on the assumption that all material on it may be viewed by minors.

Adults are discouraged from engaging in direct message (DM) conversations with young people. Individuals should use their own judgement in this. Interactions between people close in age (e.g. between an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old) are less concerning than those where there is a large age gap. The onus for appropriate behaviour will lie with the adult in such situations. Where an adult has behaved in an inappropriate manner towards a child, the child will not be held to blame for this, and appropriate action will be taken against the adult.

Summary of Discord Rules

1. Members must be at least 13 years old to participate on our server.
2. Adults are expected to behave appropriately towards any young people on our server.
3. Some light swearing will be tolerated on our server – generally, anything that would be considered acceptable up to and including a 12 certificate film.
4. Explicit content, often referred to as NSFW (Not Safe For Work) content is not permitted on our server.
5. Our server is inclusive of people from all backgrounds. Bullying, harassment, or discrimination targeting a protected characteristic will not be tolerated.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

All AWOL events and online locations are to be inclusive spaces, where people of all backgrounds are welcome.

We abide by UK law, including the Equality Act (2010). Bullying, harassment, and/or discrimination against someone based on a protected characteristic will not be tolerated. The protected characteristics, as defined by the Act, are:

• Age
• Sex
• Sexual Orientation
• Gender Reassignment (irrespective of whether or not a physical transition has taken place)
• Race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin)
• Disability
• Religion or Belief
• Being Married or in a Civil Partnership
• Being Pregnant or on Maternity Leave

Statement on LGBT+ Inclusion
AWOL is inclusive of all members of the LGBT+ community, and AWOL spaces are to be considered safe spaces. This includes being inclusive of our transgender members. We will use the chosen names and pronouns for our transgender members. The deliberate deadnaming or misgendering of a transgender person (whether or not they are on this server) will not be tolerated.

Statement on Race and Religious Inclusion
AWOL is inclusive of all races, nationalities, ethnicities, and religious beliefs. Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all other forms of abusive behaviour targeting these characteristics will not be tolerated.

General Statement on Inclusion
AWOL is inclusive of all protected characteristics. The lack of a specific mention of a specific characteristic above does not mean that any abusive behaviour targeting said characteristic will be tolerated.

Reporting Procedures

If you feel a person has behaved inappropriately at an AWOL in-person event, please either raise it in person with an AWOL Co-Ordinator present at the event, or e-mail us at: associatedwritersoflondon@gmail.com All concerns will be taken seriously, will be investigated, and, where necessary, appropriate action will be taken. If you believe the matter concerned is criminal in nature, then you are, of course, free to report the matter directly to the police. AWOL Co-Ordinators will be happy to support you in this if necessary.

Should the behaviour of a person on our Discord server, in either the server channels or in a direct message (DM) to yourself, give rise to any concerns, including, but not limited to, bullying, harassment, and/or discrimination as described above under “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”, then please take the following actions:

• Take screenshots of the behaviour in question.
• If the behaviour has taken place in a DM, block the user.
• Report the matter directly to Discord if you feel it is appropriate to do so. Details on how to do that are here: https://discord.com/safety/360044103651-reporting-abusive-behavior-to-discord
• Report the matter to the server owner (who are listed on the server), via DM, if you feel it is appropriate to do so.

Any information shared with the server owner or a moderator may be shared with other parties, which may include the police, where it is deemed appropriate to do so. If you consider it appropriate, you are, of course, free to report the matter to the police directly.

Specific Advice for Minors

We have a separate page containing advice for minors, which can be read here.