Zero Tolerance Policy
The Testicular Cancer Foundation (TCF) exists to create a safe, supportive, welcoming community for people affected by testicular cancer.
TCF events are built around connection, support, friendship, and shared experience. Protecting that environment is one of our highest priorities.
This Event Code of Conduct applies to all TCF-sponsored, affiliated, organized, or supported events and activities, including the TCF SUMMIT, regional meetups, community gatherings, dinners, social activities, excursions, volunteer events, and other official or unofficial activities occurring in connection with a TCF event.
Participation in a TCF event is a privilege, not a right. By attending, participants agree to abide by this Code of Conduct and the direction of TCF staff and designated event leaders.
1. Treat People With Respect
Every participant is expected to treat fellow attendees, TCF staff, volunteers, speakers, sponsors, venue employees, guests, and members of the public with dignity and respect.
Disagreements happen. Personal attacks do not need to.
TCF will not tolerate bullying, harassment, intimidation, threats, aggressive behavior, humiliation, unwanted sexual conduct or advances, discriminatory or hateful conduct, or deliberately targeting another person.
Being provoked does not excuse retaliation.
2. Political, Divisive, and Disruptive Conversations
TCF events exist to bring people together around a shared experience and mission. They are not intended to be forums for political debate, campaigning, activism, or other divisive discussions.
Participants may have different political, religious, social, and personal beliefs, and those differences should be respected. However, TCF staff and event leaders reserve the right to immediately end or redirect any political, ideological, religious, social, or otherwise controversial conversation that they believe is creating conflict, making others uncomfortable, disrupting the event, or taking away from the supportive environment TCF is working to create.
If a TCF staff member or event leader asks participants to change the subject, disengage from a discussion, or stop a particular conversation, participants are expected to do so immediately.
Repeatedly continuing, restarting, escalating, or attempting to provoke these conversations after being asked to stop will be considered a violation of the TCF Code of Conduct and may result in removal from the activity or event.
TCF events should never be used to campaign for or against a political candidate, party, movement, or cause; distribute political materials; pressure other attendees to adopt a particular political or ideological position; or intentionally provoke political or cultural conflict.
The goal is not to police personal beliefs. The goal is to protect a community where people with different backgrounds and viewpoints can come together around what brought us here: supporting those affected by testicular cancer.
3. Zero Tolerance for Harassment, Threats, or Violence
TCF has zero tolerance for conduct that threatens the physical or emotional safety of another person.
Serious violations may result in immediate removal without warning.
- Physical violence or threats of violence
- Fighting, aggressive confrontation, or intimidation
- Harassment or bullying
- Sexual harassment or unwanted sexual attention
- Hate speech, slurs, or discriminatory conduct
- Threatening, stalking, or repeatedly pursuing another attendee
- Using private, sensitive, or vulnerable information to embarrass, threaten, manipulate, or harm another person
- Encouraging others to target, isolate, intimidate, or harass someone
- Retaliating against someone for reporting a concern to TCF
4. Respect Personal Boundaries
TCF events bring together people who may be discussing deeply personal experiences involving cancer, treatment, relationships, fertility, mental health, family, and survivorship.
Respect people's boundaries.
If someone asks you to stop a conversation, leave them alone, give them space, or discontinue physical contact, you are expected to do so immediately.
"No" and "stop" do not require further explanation.
5. Protect Each Other's Privacy
People often share things within the TCF community that they would not share publicly.
Do not photograph, record, screenshot, publish, repost, or share another participant's personal story, medical information, conversation, photo, or other private information without their permission.
What someone chooses to share with the community is their story to tell, not yours.
6. Alcohol Is Never an Excuse
Some TCF events may include alcohol.
If you choose to drink, you remain fully responsible for your behavior.
Intoxication does not excuse harassment, inappropriate conduct, aggression, property damage, unwanted physical contact, or any other violation of this policy.
TCF may ask an attendee to stop drinking, leave an activity, return to their room, arrange transportation, or leave the event entirely if their behavior creates a concern for themselves or others.
7. Respect the Venue and the People Around Us
Attendees must follow applicable laws as well as the policies of hotels, restaurants, transportation providers, activity operators, and other venues hosting TCF activities.
Participants are expected to treat venue employees and members of the public with the same respect expected within the TCF community.
Illegal activity, intentional property damage, dangerous behavior, or conduct that creates an unreasonable risk to another person may result in immediate removal.
8. Keep Conflict Out of the Event
TCF events are not the place to continue personal disputes originating in Discord, WhatsApp, social media, private messages, or elsewhere.
Do not use a TCF event to confront, retaliate against, embarrass, intimidate, or settle a dispute with another community member.
If there is an ongoing conflict, participants are expected to disengage and bring concerns privately to TCF staff.
9. TCF Has the Right to Intervene
TCF staff and designated event leaders have the authority to intervene whenever they reasonably believe behavior is disruptive, inappropriate, unsafe, harmful to another participant, or inconsistent with the purpose and values of the organization.
TCF is not required to issue a warning before taking action.
Depending on the circumstances, TCF may:
- Give a verbal or written warning
- Separate individuals involved in a conflict
- Remove someone from a particular activity
- Require someone to leave a venue
- Remove someone from the remainder of an event
- Require someone to leave event lodging or accommodations where permitted
- Prohibit participation in future TCF events
- Suspend or permanently remove access to TCF-affiliated online communities
- Contact venue security, emergency services, or law enforcement when appropriate
10. TCF Reserves the Right to Remove Participants
TCF reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to deny participation, revoke event access, or remove any individual from a TCF event at any time when TCF determines that doing so is in the best interest of the safety, wellbeing, integrity, or operation of the TCF community or event.
TCF is not required to establish that a specific rule was violated before taking reasonable action to protect its community.
Removal may occur with or without prior warning.
An individual who is removed from an event may also lose eligibility to participate in future TCF programs, events, online communities, or other TCF-affiliated activities.
11. Off-Site Conduct May Still Matter
This policy is not limited to conduct occurring inside an official meeting room.
Behavior occurring at hotels, restaurants, bars, transportation, excursions, after-hours gatherings, nearby locations, online spaces, or other settings connected to a TCF event may be considered by TCF when determining whether someone may continue participating.
Simply leaving the official event space does not eliminate the responsibility to treat fellow community members appropriately.
12. Report Concerns
If something happens that makes you or another participant feel unsafe, threatened, harassed, or seriously uncomfortable, please tell a TCF staff member or designated event leader as soon as possible.
Do not feel obligated to confront the person yourself.
TCF will take reports seriously and will handle them as privately and respectfully as reasonably possible. Retaliation against anyone who raises a good-faith concern is prohibited.
13. Our Standard Is Simple
TCF exists because people facing testicular cancer deserve a community where they can show up honestly and know they have people in their corner.
Look out for each other. Respect each other. Know when to disengage. Protect people's privacy.
And don't behave in a way that takes away someone else's ability to feel safe and supported within this community.
If your behavior jeopardizes that environment, TCF reserves the right to ask you to leave.
Participant Acknowledgment
By registering for or attending a TCF-affiliated event, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to follow the Testicular Cancer Foundation Event Code of Conduct.
I understand that participation in TCF events is a privilege and that TCF may, in its sole discretion, remove me from an activity or event, revoke my participation, or restrict my participation in future TCF activities if TCF determines that my conduct is inconsistent with this Code of Conduct or the safety, wellbeing, integrity, or mission of the TCF community.
I understand that serious violations may result in immediate removal without prior warning.