ZEM strives to provide an environment and experience free of harassment, assault and discrimination of any kind. This includes being welcome to participate in our activities in non-traditional lead/follow roles as long as the participant is in compliance with our Lead/Follow policy.

We will not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment, or assault from a participant, volunteer, artist, DJ, collaborator or any other party. If you experience an incident, we encourage you to report it promptly using the process described below so that we can handle the situation appropriately.

You are free to accept or decline an invitation to dance for any reason (e.g., your energy level, your role preference, an injury, or simply because you don’t want to dance with that person). We expect that in either case, you treat the person you are responding to with respect and dignity (except in extraordinary circumstances). The Brazilian zouk community has a warm and welcoming reputation, and we hope you will help us keep it that way!

You are encouraged to ask your partner to stop a specific behaviour that make you uncomfortable (e.g., to be hugged, on or off the dance floor) or to avoid a specific movement or set of movements (e.g., dancing in close position, doing lifts or dips, holding your fingers too tight, or doing head movements).

We recommend that when you make such requests, you do so with kindness and understanding unless there are extenuating circumstances. In some cases, you may need to remind your partner more than once (e.g., someone may try not to hold on too tightly, but may unintentionally tighten their grip and need to be reminded).

While this is not usually done unless boundaries have been violated, you always have the freedom to stop a dance for any reason at any time. However, we strongly encourage you to be patient and tolerant with new or nervous partners, and to be constructive and courteous in guiding them towards a better experience for both of you without stopping a dance, whenever possible.

We expect all participants to maintain proper hygiene, including washing hands, keeping your breath fresh, using deodorant, and changing sweaty shirts when necessary. Please make conscious efforts to maintain a proper hygiene to make sure you are at your best for your partners.

We expect all participants to make sure they have their partners’ consent for any dance, movement, or intimate moment. While accepting a dance implies consent to dance within normal boundaries, you should seek additional consent before performing lifts, and especially before engaging in any sexual behavior, including kissing or touching. You should also comply immediately with any request not to perform a specific movement or to stop an intimate behaviour. If you are unsure whether your partner consents to something, you are expected to ask them verbally. If you cannot accommodate a certain request during your dance, you should stop the dance rather than continuing and violating your partner’s boundaries.

You can help your partners understand your limits by being specific about them. Brazilian zouk is a close dance, so it is usually presumed that you are comfortable with some form of close position unless you clearly state otherwise. While many people are able to read your body language, words are the most foolproof way to tell someone that you are not comfortable with something.

You have ZEM’s full support to verbally establish your boundaries, and we can assist you in expressing it to the other person, if you find yourself in a situation where your partner does not respect them. Remember that you have the freedom to say no at any time and for any reason. Even if you agree to some things, you still have the freedom to change your mind or refuse other behaviours. The other person is expected to respect this decision.

We expect anyone collaborating with ZEM in any way or form to meet the same standards as you, and to help us create a safe and positive space for our participants. If you are uncomfortable with any of our volunteers, artists, DJs, collaborators and any other party working with ZEM, please let us know. We will do our best to resolve the issue, and will take action if necessary.

For your information, volunteers, artists, DJs, collaborators and any other party working with ZEM are required to adhere to a conduct policy. This policy includes provisions that they:

• are not allowed to pressure someone for intimacy or sex at any time and in any location during their employment with us;

• will never become so intoxicated that they are unable to behave professionally;

• will not engage in any criminal or illegal acts during their employment or collaboration with us; and

• will comply with our code of conduct and policies.

If a volunteer, artist, DJ, collaborator or any other party working with ZEM violates this part of the agreement, they may receive a warning or be removed from the activity if appropriate.

Before or after the activity

If you wish to report a situation before or after the activity, please contact Josiane or Sébastien at info@zemontreal.com. The earlier you inform us, the more time we have to deal with the situation effectively.

During the activity

If something happens during an activity that makes you uncomfortable or that you don’t know how to handle, we invite you to see Josiane or Sébastien (co-owners of ZEM) directly, as we may not be able to reliably check emails during activities. If you have trouble locating one of us, please ask for us at the registration desk, someone there will be able to assist you.

After you report

Consent is the cornerstone of our support process. We will ask for your consent before taking any of the following actions:

• Speaking to others who were involved in or witnessed the incident, including the person alleged to have violated the code of conduct, in a way that may reveal your identity

• Talking to third parties (e.g., other organizers) in a way that reveals or could reveal your identity, or causes the person alleged to have violated the code of conduct to learn your identity

• Mediating an interpersonal conflict between you and the person you allege has violated the code of conduct

• Calling the police or any other organization, unless there is an imminent risk of harm to you, the person alleged to have violated the code of conduct, or any other person (e.g., if there is a real and substantial threat to someone’s safety or life)

The decision to give or withhold your consent is always yours. Please note that if you ask us not to use your name or if you do not give us your consent to take further action, we may not be able to handle the matter efficiently. This may lead us to taking no action in some situations.

We will always review any reported incident to the extent necessary to reach a conclusion as to what action (if any) should be taken before, during, or after the activity. After reviewing an incident, we may decide to do one of the following:

• Take no action

• Advise the person on their improper behaviour

• Mediate the conflict between you and that person (if applicable, and consented to)

• Require a written behavioural agreement from the person in order for them to continue to participate in the activity

• Suspend the person from participating in certain activities

• Ban the person (temporarily or permanently) from our activities