La Calaca Village Community Agreement: Policy and Procedures

Purpose:
  • La Calaca Village and its camps aim to create a safe, inviting and comfortable space for all campers within our village. Each year as we expand our community to include new family and friends, we commit to maintaining this safe and inviting atmosphere amidst an an ever-growing community.
  • Our spaces, both public and private, are dedicated to the safety and inclusive principles of both our community and Burning Man at large.
  • The goal of this document is to provide guidelines, reporting practices, and general behavioral principles that we as a community must adhere to as we strive to support and protect all members of the community.
  • These expectations apply no matter where you are, whether in our village, on the art car, elsewhere at Burning Man, or outside of Burning Man at a village-related event, and also extend to any performers, guest healers, or other visitors to the community.
Camp Expectations:
  • We accept the Bureau of Erotic Discourse challenge:
    We accept the right of everyone to say no and be respected. This camp respects the requirement of consent before and during sex and believes that no person who is unconscious, incapacitated, or underage can give legal consent. La Calaca Village will offer assistance and help fellow Burners reach Burning Man Rangers and emergency services if necessary.
  • We are an ‘enthusiastic yes’ camp, where yes is an unambiguous and joyful expression of consent. If there is not enthusiastic buy-in from both parties or all members of a group for whatever activity you’re engaging in, it is considered non-consensual and a change of action is required.
  • We acknowledge that levels of comfort with different circumstances can vary from person to person and even day to day. If one party feels uncomfortable, the course of action must change.
  • When a camper or participant feels threatened we ask you to make your way to safety. If this is not possible in the current situation, seek the support of others as soon as you can. Once safe, please report the situation to a village leader.
Reporting an Incident:
  • Once to safety, a camper will be asked to report the incident as soon as they feel comfortable. Reporting can occur in one of two ways:
    • Contacting a “Silver Dot” camp representative. “Silver Dots” are inspired by the good work the BRC Rangers have already done with establishing “Green Dot” Rangers who are trained to provide “emotional, mental, and spiritual crisis support for issues that don’t require immediate escalation to professional services”.
      • This individual is trained to receive a report, log it, and share it with appropriate leadership - but is not a licensed behavioral therapist. They are trained to take your report and offer basic feedback, but are not necessarily able to treat the problem beyond standard Burning Man resources.
    • Leaving an anonymous report in one of the public reporting boxes. A ‘silver dot’ representative will then read this report and share with appropriate leadership.
  • Once a report is filed, it will be reviewed by leadership. If it’s determined action needs to be taken, there are two categories violations will fall into:
    • Red Card - this is a violation that will result in immediate removal from the camp, village, and all village activities. This also excludes the offender of being able to join any future La Calaca Village activities.
      • Any incident that leadership determines must be reported to law enforcement is an automatic red card.
      • Red cards can also be invoked for inappropriate behavior that puts the village or campers in direct danger, such as using illegal drugs in public spaces.
    • Yellow Card - this is a violation that will result in immediate counseling of the offender. Leadership will determine what is deemed appropriate to earn back the trust of the community.
      • A yellow card will be added to a camper’s file and will be transferred to any camp within the village until the issue is resolved or the camper is removed from the village.
      • At any time, if a yellow card recipient’s behavior escalates or does not improve, this card can be upgraded to a red card and the camper will be removed from the village.
      • If a camper exhibits improvement over several Burn cycles, the village leadership may determine that the yellow card can be removed.
      • Yellow cards recipients must exhibit a willingness to improve and change. This is not a time where ‘going through the motions’ is acceptable.
      • Yellow card recipients must be willing to acknowledge their transgressions and atone for them. In some cases, this may be towards victims, in others this addresses the group at large - but in all cases, recipients have to be ready to enthusiastically earn back the trust of the group.
  • When there is a dispute between campers about a case or event, in order to resolve this fairly, both parties must address a Silver Dot camp member and share both sides of the story so the Silver Dot can bring this to leadership who will determine additional action.
  • If a camp member witnesses another village member or participant being assaulted, sexually assaulted, harmed, or otherwise treated inappropriately, they are to intervene if possible to do so without escalating the incident or incurring harm. After this, they must report what was seen. Examples of assault include but are not limited to:
    • Aggressive or inappropriate yelling, chastising, or verbally violent behavior
    • Inappropriately calling attention to someone’s appearance (positive or negative)
    • Non-consensual touching, sexual advances, or sex
    • Peer pressure to use intoxicating substances of any kind
    • Following someone back to their living space without consent
If you are accused of a Yellow Card incident:
  • Lead with empathy (and in some cases sympathy) and kindness in all subsequent actions.
  • Don’t deny the impact of your actions. Acknowledge the discomfort caused to the other person, whether intentional or not.
  • Hold space for what has made the other person uncomfortable.
  • Don’t belittle the other person - calling their state of mind or physicality into question only makes things worse.
  • Try to listen to feedback about the incident (e.g. is there something to learn from even if the accusation was unfounded in your eyes?).
  • Seek the support of leadership and ‘white dot’ campers to resolve the issue
  • If appropriate, find ways to ‘go out of your way’ to make the impacted person feel comfortable again.
  • Allow the system to play out and transparently share your side of the story.
    • Be willing to humbly acknowledge the incident, learn something about yourself, and find ways to improve.
This is NOT:
  • Trying to ruin your fun or limiting the free spirit and joy that can be found at Burning Man.
  • A document that supersedes laws and regulations at the event.
  • A governing body. As a private group, we do our best to create a safe space. There will be times when the simpler approach for all is to ask a camper to leave, and there are times when we will do so without further explanation.
  • Turning camp leadership into cops or “fun police.”
  • Asking you to stop engaging in sexual activities.
  • Asking you to stop offering consensual massages or touching fellow friends and family appropriately.
  • A ‘consent’ community. This is an ‘enthusiastic consent’ or ‘unambiguous yes’ community - please be careful to acknowledge the comfort level and state of mind of your fellow participants and look out for their well-being.

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