TW/CW: Harassment, Assault, Abuse
To our supporters, Members, and followers,
Over the years the piercing community has witnessed brave individuals coming forward to share their experiences as survivors of harassment, sexual assault, and abuse within the industry. Unfortunately, no industry is immune to these issues.
The APP and its volunteers stand with survivors. The APP does not tolerate harassment, assault, or abuse in any form.
We want to thank past Board Members for their efforts to tackle these issues over the years. They brought in outside advocacy and legal professionals, created policies for our events and our Members, and developed resources to educate and protect piercees and apprentices. With the groundwork put in place, the 2020-2022 Board of Directors has already begun to further their progress, create new programs, and review policies.
We care about this deeply and recognize our responsibility to:
- acknowledge our past shortcomings.
- make our Conference and all on-location events safe places to volunteer, learn, and network.
- continue work with outside anti-violence and harassment organizations and professionals for guidance.
- continue to provide on-location counseling and education at Conference by qualified professionals.
- regularly review, update, and uphold policies and procedures, alongside our legal team to ensure we are operating within the law.
- update our Bylaws, the rules that govern the APP, to allow for more proactive responses from the organization than before.
- provide resources that will help those who may be vulnerable to or involved in abuse.
We thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to bring you more information about what the APP is doing. The APP has created a dedicated website regarding Harassment & Abuse in the Piercing Industry.
This type of work is never done and the APP Board of Directors is committed to pursuing new ways to improve. We welcome suggestions, proposals, and collaboration. These can be submitted via email to [email protected].