How We Got Started

At the 2008 Dragon*Con in Atlanta, we were crossing the street back to our hotel. Just outside the main lobby doors, a man had a woman backed up against the wall and was yelling at her quite loudly as she cringed away from him. He was loud enough to be heard by anybody going in or out of the lobby. When we approached them, we asked the young woman if she needed help, which she gratefully accepted. The man had tried to pick her up in the hotel bar, she politely declined his offer, and he then caught up with her just outside the hotel.

None of the three dozen or more con attendees walking past this young woman stopped before we approached. Nobody asked her if she needed help. We couldn't stop thinking about how terrifying it must have been for her to watch all these people, who could clearly hear what was going on, just walk past without even looking in her direction. In that moment, Geeks Got Your Back [formerly Backup Ribbon Project] was born.

The concept started out very simple -- we gave out badge ribbons that said BACKUP! in large friendly letters. Anyone wearing this badge ribbon promised to step in to help anyone being harassed at a geek event. We later transitioned to Geeks Got Your Back buttons for people to have visible outside of just events.

Several thousand ribbons and buttons later, we starting doing panels at events to talk about harassment and bystander intervention. We then began collaborating with event committees to help them draft/revise their antiharassment policies and codes of conduct. We are proud to say that we were part of the ad-hoc committee that helped ReedPop revise its code of conduct for its events, including New York ComicCon. The policy is easily visible on large signs in multiple areas of each event.

Code of Conduct for New York ComicCon

We truly believe that anyone can get involved in stopping harassment at geek events. If you wear a Geeks Got Your Back button, you are promising that:

• You WILL help out anybody being harassed

• You WILL believe them

• You WILL actively listen to them and help accordingly

No judgement. No exceptions. We got your back.