Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) is a committee of dedicated people that have made themselves available to take on the safety of the community and help resolve any interpersonal issues that may arise. The members work to achieve reconciliation through mediation and in more extreme cases have an active role in determining what protective actions are necessary when there is an internal investigation.
Alfheim is committed to receiving and responding to feedback about the conduct of the community we’ve created. We ask community members to please tell us if they experience even minor inappropriate behavior. This helps us to correct behavior that is out of line with community standards as soon as it happens, and before it becomes a bigger problem. It also helps us to establish patterns of behavior, and to avoid “missing stair” dynamics in our community.
Alfheim is NOT a zero tolerance community. It should be noted that Alfheim Society events often take place within The Alfheim Residence. As such there are Household policies that superseded Society policies and processes. Alfheim Society views banning an offender as a last resort taken only when someone poses an unmanageable danger to others. This may seem strange for a community that claims to put the safety of its members paramount, but we believe that zero tolerance policies do not make an environment safer for the victim. If the only way out for the individual accused is to "prove their innocence”, then they will almost always respond by attacking the credibility of the victim. Victims may also not want the person they are accusing removed from the community. As a result, they may avoid reporting the incident out of a sense of compassion. This creates an environment in which people are unwilling to report any but the most serious incidents. Alfheim believes in accountability, learning, and restorative justice whenever possible.
These mediators are part of the GRAS Committee and therefore have a responsibility to write a conclusion Incident Report of situations that are brought to them. They are also available to serve as Panelists, but will never serve on a panel about an incident they mediated.
To deter people from specifically seeking favor of GRAS members and to maintain the integrity of panelists, there is not a complete published list of GRAS Panelists. The goal of panelists is to gather enough information to be able to make a fair and reasonable recommendation as to whether to allow an individual continued access to events and to be supportive of those who may have been harmed. The goal is NOT to determine guilt or innocence, but to reduce harm, foster healing, resiliency, and preserve a safe community.
To document each report, to determine whether a report is actionable, and to gain sufficient understanding of the situation of each report for a recommendation to be made to the Tzar of Alfheim. Only GRAS Officers will conduct the initial investigation of reported events. All reports are retained and owned by the GRASalfheimSociety Gmail account, and accessible only by the GRAS Officers. As always, the goal is NOT to determine guilt or innocence, but to reduce harm, foster healing, resiliency, and preserve a safe community.