Sexual Harassment & Sexual Assault Prevention Committee Recommendations

The Mountaineers is deeply committed to being a safe and welcoming outdoor community where everyone feels valued and supported to learn new things and enjoy time outside together without the risk of bullying, harassment, or physical or emotional abuse. Safe and welcoming communities don't happen by accident. They require intentional effort and active stewardship to become and remain safe and welcoming.

In many ways, the broader outdoor community evolved without that intention or stewardship, and recent reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault across the country highlight the harmful environments that result from a lack of stewardship.

In December of 2023, The Mountaineers redoubled our efforts to support and steward a healthy, safe, and welcoming community with the establishment of a Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Prevention Advisory Committee (SHSAP Committee) to the Board of Directors. In October of 2024, the committee shared a summary report with the Board of Directors, who passed a resolution committing to implementing the recommendations in the report.

the SHSAP Committee's work: a look back

Beginning in January of 2024, the SHSAP Committee met twice monthly, allowing for offline work to be done in between. We started by drafting a charter and scope of work, and agreeing on operating norms. This work was key to setting us up for success by helping us stay focused and create a safe and brave space within the committee for the necessary honest and respectful conversation about an emotional subject that is deeply personal to many.

Foundational Beliefs

We spent two to three meetings discussing our foundational beliefs. One member shared a saying: "Decisions are easy when values are clear." In order for us to discuss what we should or shouldn't do related to sexual harassment and sexual assault, we first needed to identify the core foundational beliefs that we hold to be true within our organization. Those beliefs, which have since been included in the Board Resolution, are:

• Sexual harassment and sexual assault are never acceptable behaviors in The Mountaineers under any circumstances.
• We assume people who report sexual harassment or sexual assault are telling the truth, and must be supported throughout the investigation process.
• We strive to be welcoming and inclusive, and believe in the healing power of an outdoor community.
• We believe people can learn from their mistakes, and as a learning organization, we should strive to give people that opportunity when it does not compromise the safety of other individuals in the organization.
• The community of The Mountaineers is expansive and has undefined boundaries. While we have limited influence on our members’ behavior outside of Mountaineers programs, we expect our leaders to treat others in the community with respect at all times.
• Roles in The Mountaineers that carry more power should be held to a higher behavior standard.
• We cannot eliminate all risk from our community or programs, and we have an obligation to clearly inform our members how the organization is mitigating risk, and what their role is in managing risks for themselves and their community.

clarifying the risk

While every moment around other individuals carries some risk of behavioral harm, we needed to define the scope of what the committee would address. We needed to identify, within The Mountaineers, the areas of greatest concern where behavior can go unchecked. We believe that policies and protocols that address the high risk areas will also support reducing risk of behavioral harm in lower risk areas. We identified:

• Positions of power, especially when activities have a large skill differential between participants and leaders.
• Unvetted roles
• Overnight backcountry activities
• Activities (such as climbing small party rescue) where physical proximity is necessary
• Activities with fewer than three people

Identifying gaps and a vision for a safer community

Throughout the process, members from the SHSAP Committee solicited feedback and input from across our community of members and partners. We received written input, held a member town hall, convened small group focused meetings, and had 1x1 interviews. Combining this input with our foundational beliefs, we identified gaps in our risk management as it relates to sexual harassment and sexual assault. From there, we formed a three-part vision for a safer community.

Definitive Standards and Transparency

SHSA policies, including the investigation process, are clearly defined, communicated to, and understood by all members.

Behaviors and repeated behaviors that will lead to certain expulsion are clearly defined.

Personal histories that make an individual ineligible for membership or leadership due to the risk they pose to other members are clearly defined.

Remedial expectations when resolving SHSA complaints short of expulsion are defined.

Effective Reporting and Investigation Procedures

All members are empowered to report SHSA behavior through clear and trusted reporting processes.

SHSA reports are responded to quickly, the timeline for investigation is communicated to the person(s) bringing the report, and the report resolved in a timely manner.

Behaviors of individuals who have caused harm to other members in the past are tracked.

The reporting system is clear, simple, and accessible.

Committees enact a fair process that considers suspension of leadership roles if a leader violates our policies.

Comprehensive Education and Training

All members of our community promote and support a healthy and inclusive environment where SHSA is unacceptable.

Leaders receive SHSA prevention and basic bystander training.

Members and leaders receive training about our policies and expectations for behavior, our reporting system, what tools and resources are available to our members, their role in a safe and welcoming community, and how they can keep themselves and others safe in The Mountaineers.

The Recommendations

At the writing of the final report in October, the committee acknowledged that thoughtful implementation of the recommendations would be an iterative process, taking more time than some people may wish, given the size and complexity of our organization and the nuances of the issues and solutions. We will continue to learn new things each step of the way, and five years from now, the world will be a different place and we'll know things we don't know now.

With that in mind, The SHSAP Committee laid out a four-phase plan to implement over the coming five years, taking into consideration that the work builds on itself - the details of some action steps will depend on outcomes of a previous phase in the plan. The Committee also made a recommendation that the plan be reviewed and revised on an annual basis, to reflect the iterative process. 

The first two phases of the plan are labeled Phase 1a and Phase 1b because there is a lot of overlap between the two, and collectively Phase 1 is focused on policy updates and developing a more robust and accessible reporting process. Phase 2 focuses on communication and education, and Phase 3 focuses on systems improvements that support the stewardship of a safe and welcoming community.

The phased plan is detailed in the report.

The Board Resolution

At the October 17 Board of Directors meeting, the Board passed a resolution to commit to  the Foundational Beliefs and to implementing the recommendations put forth by the SHSAP Committee.

What's next

The work ahead of us will need to be both grassroots and policy work. The SHSAP Committee envisions a future where branches work together with the Safety, Risk Management, and Equity & Inclusion Committees to combine their expertise to improve our policies, programs, and communications in a way that holistically denies sexual harassment and sexual assault a place in our community. The necessary culture change will need to come from all aspects of the organization, and this work has already started in some areas.  We encourage folks who would like to contribute to this work to reach out to your branch chair to find out the best way to get connected.

This fall, to accomplish the organizational-level work, we will assemble a cross-functional implementation team and their first order of business will be a review and update of all relevant policies, and possibly drafting some additional policies.

A final note

We believe that this work can have positive impact in our community beyond The Mountaineers. We believe there are peer organizations who can participate as partners in this work, making it both more effective and more efficient. We also believe that with additional funding, we can scale in a way that the work serves to steward intentionally safe and welcoming outdoor communities across the country.

We are deeply grateful to the members of the committee, to peer organizations who contributed, and to the individuals who participated in small group meetings, in individual interviews, or by submitting written feedback.