Creating an inclusive community

Samwell is committed to creating a positive, welcoming and inclusive community where all members are equally valued and respected. No one should be discriminated against due to age, disability, gender reassignment, race, colour, nationality, employment status, religion or belief, marital status, socio -economic status, sex and sexual orientation.

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

Throughout the site, and within our communications, we may refer to Female, Male, and Non-Binary. For clarity, we define these as follows:

Female  –  people who identify as female, whether cis or trans.

Male –  people who identify as male, whether cis or trans.

Non-Binary –  people who do not conform to masculine or feminine gender norms.

‘SAFE SPACES’

Whilst we actively encourage open communication and debate, we also need to balance the needs of the community.  Our research prior to setting up the platform indicated that some members would like designated  gender-specific spaces in which to share their experiences and discuss important topics. As a result we have created this facility within the platform.

Groups – these are run by members who have full control over who to promote to and who to invite. For example, if you would like to run a mixed- gender group, female-only or male-only then that is possible. Groups can be public, private or even hidden. We believe this approach provides the right balance and flexibility for our members. Members of Samwell can also access courses on how to run different types of groups, from social and activity-based, to support or learning focused. Our aim to to encourage a wide variety of groups that facilitate a safe space for members to discuss, share, learn and support one another.

Forums – Groups can contain forums, allowing the group administrators to moderate discussion within the space created.

Your profile – when you join you can choose to remain anonymous and you also have control over who sees what on your profile.

Member connection and chat – the member directory enables you to see ALL members and vice versa, however in order to communicate with other members you have to connect first. You have complete control over who you choose to connect with and at any point can choose to block or disconnect from a member.

ACCESSIBILITY

Samwell  is committed to providing a website that will be accessible to the widest possible audience and we are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our website. At present, we are aware that we do not adhere to all available standards and guidelines, but we endeavour to address this as we grow and increase our capacity.