
We find it important to provide you with information about safety: what we can do to prevent problems and how we can deal with problems if they do arise. We divided this page into two broad categories: social safety and physical safety.
Ibex is an association with great diversity. Members with different (cultural) backgrounds, nationalities and ages come together during activities. Everyone should be able to feel comfortable and at home at Ibex activities. To emphasize the importance of this, we explain here which rules Ibex enforces to warrant a socially safe sporting environment. Because Ibex is part of the Dutch Climbing and Mountaineering Association (Nederlandse Klim- en Bergsport Vereniging; NKBV) many of the rules and code of conduct are taken from the NKBV. A detailed description of these rules can be found at: Spelregels voor een veilige sportomgeving | NKBV. A broader description of NKBV policy for a safe sporting environment can be found at: Veilige Sportomgeving | NKBV. The board can decide to expel members from the association if they do not adhere to the rules mentioned here (on the basis of article 8 of the Ibex statutes).
To make sure that Ibex activities are fun and (socially) safe there is a code of conduct, made by the NKBV. This code is divided into 3 categories: (i) general rules, which are valid during all Ibex activities, (ii) additional rules for indoor climbing and (iii) additional rules for outdoor climbing. A detailed description of these rules can be found at: Spelregels voor een veilige sportomgeving | NKBV.
Discrimination, bullying, sexual and other harassment, threats, stalking and gossiping, both online and offline, however subtle, are all forms of unacceptable behaviour and can have a great impact on your feeling of safety and happiness. If you experience or have experienced unwanted or unacceptable behaviour, or if someone you know experiences or has experienced unwanted or unacceptable behaviour, you can approach a Confidential Contact Person (CCP). Ibex, Thymos, the Bongerd and the NKBV have CCPs available. If you (also) wish to talk to a professional, you can also contact a Confidential Counsellor (CC). WUR has Confidential Counsellors available.
The confidential contact person (CCP) is there to listen to you if you want to tell your story in confidence. The CCP can help you make a plan that suits you and your situation best. You are in charge of the conversation: the CCP is there for you and will never take any action that you are not aware of. There are multiple CCPs you can approach.
Ibex CCPs: Ibex has two CCPs: Janne and Marnix. You can contact them via ccp.janne@wsacibex.nl or ccp.marnix@wsacibex.nl. They are also members of Ibex, so you can also get into touch with one of them during an activity.
Thymos CCPs: The CCPs of Thymos (or VCPs in Dutch) are part of the Thymos board. You can reach these persons by email: vcp.thymos@wur.nl. You can also visit the Thymos office in the Bongerd (past the toilets, at the entrance of the meeting room to the right). For more topical information about the CCPs of Thymos, you can take a look at: Meet our Confidential Contact Persons | Thymos.
Bongerd CCPs: Sportcentre the Bongerd has multiple CCPs (or VCPs in Dutch). For more information about the CCPs of the Bongerd, you can take a look at: Code of conduct at Sports Centre de Bongerd | SCB.
NKBV CCPs: The NKBV has two CCPs (or VCPs in Dutch): Tim van der Linden en Regien Winnubst. They can be reached by email: vcp@nkbv.nl. You can choose to talk to the NKBV CCP if it is about intimidation by persons involved in Ibex and/or the NKBV, like an instructor or mountain guide, but also other cases of (sexual) intimidation or unacceptable behaviour can be discussed.
Wageningen University & Research has Confidential Counsellors available. These are professionals, unlike the CCPs which are usually trained volunteers. You can reach the Confidential Counsellors via email: vpstudent@wur.nl. For more information about Confidential Counsellors, you can take a look at: Confidential Counsellor for Students | WUR.
Wageningen University and Research (WUR) has a protocol for social safety. Via this protocol you can reach out to professionals to receive the help you need or to officially report unacceptable or undesirable behaviour or sexual intimidation. For more information about the WUR protocol for social safety, you can take a look at: Social safety | WUR.
Ibex is part of the NKBV. Because of this we are bound by the rules for sexual harassment in the Regulation Sexual Harassment (Reglement Seksuele Intimidatie), drawn up by the Institute for Sports Justice (Instituut Sportrechtspraak; ISR).
These rules describe what is considered sexual harassment and when someone is guilty of sexual harassment (within the context of the association). This particular regulation is drawn up more broadly than the Dutch Criminal Code (Wetboek van Strafrecht). Therefore, also more minor incidents can be considered sexual harassment in sports law and can thereby be punishable by law.
Sexual harassment is any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical behaviour with a sexual connotation with the objective or consequence that a person's dignity is violated (Regulation Sexual Harassment, article 5 paragraph 1).
Since Ibex is associated with the NKBV, Ibex members have, according to the Regulation Sexual Harassment, an obligation to report instances of (sexual) undesirable and/or unacceptable behaviour. On all members who suspect sexual harassment within the association rests the responsibility to report this to the board, if the situation permits. Instructors and supervisors are obligated to report any suspicions to the board. The board is obligated to report this suspicion to the Institute for Sport Justice. This can be done in consultation with the NKBV.
The obligation to report does not apply for confidential contact persons (CCPs) or for the victim of sexual harassment. However, confidential contact persons can help a victim with reporting undesirable and/or unacceptable behaviour.
It is also possible to report sexual harassment anonymously at the Institute for Sports Justice. It is also possible to report any form of unacceptable behaviour to the Centre for Safe Sports in the Netherlands: Centrum Veilige Sport Nederland.
Rules of conduct for instructors, supervisors and board members are different than for other members, since these are inherently positions of power. For example, supervisors are also obligated to stop sexual harassment they witness immediately and offer the victim help. These rules are also described in the Regulation Sexual Harassment.
The NKBV also has a directive for the appointment of volunteers (Aanstelling van vrijwilligers 2017 | NKBV). Ibex uses this directive for the appointment of Instructors.
A Certificate of Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent Gedrag; VOG) is a declaration issued by the Dutch Ministry for Justice and Safety. It declares whether or not someone has committed any criminal offences regarding a specific category (for instance sexual misconduct). Ibex intends to enable instructors to request a free VOG from the Ministry for Justice and Safety. Once this is possible, it will also be mandatory for instructors to have a VOG in order to be active in these positions within Ibex.
Ibex is at heart a climbing and mountaineering association. Since climbing and mountaineering are certainly not without risk, we find it important to inform you about those risks. The goal is not to scare you off, but to tell you what you should do to minimise those risks and how you should respond if an accident does occur. The right preventive measures and a quick and correct response are vital to keeping everyone safe while climbing and openness about mistakes and accidents can help the climbing community to improve our safety measures even further.
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Safety is very important in the climbing gym and on the rocks. Therefore, Ibex offers several climbing and belaying courses to ensure its members can keep themselves and each other safe. In order to join certain activities or to borrow certain climbing gear from Ibex, you need to have successfully finished the right course, or be supervised by a licenced instructor. For more information about our courses, you can have a look at: Courses | Ibex.
For certain activities, such as climbing courses and weekends, you also need to read and sign a disclaimer to show that you understand what is expected of you.
Always make sure you are well insured before going on a trip. Many travel insurances do not cover climbing and alpinism because they are seen as extreme sports. We suggest the NKBV travel insurance, but internationals may already have an insurance which covers extreme mountain sports. We arrange the insurance for new members on intro-weekends, but after that, you are required to have your own when you join an Ibex climbing weekend.
Next to travel insurance, we advise you to have a personal liability insurance to make sure that in case you are causing damage to others, this could be compensated.
If an accident or (other) emergency does occur, it is important to know how to act in response. If the incident is serious, don't hesitate to call 112 (or the local emergency services if you are abroad).
After any accident or near-accident, it is important to report what happened to www.klimongevallen.nl. This website is meant for anonymously reporting accidents and almost-accidents. This information is gathered to know more about what kind of accidents happen and how the safety of climbing can be improved. Please also report almost-accidents and small accidents, as they all contribute to the growing knowledge about safety in the climbing world. For the internationals: you need to go to ‘aanmelden klimongeval’ and/or could ask someone of the board to help you report a case.
It is also important to notify the board of WSAC Ibex at wsacibex@gmail.com. During the summer holidays, you can notify the board of small accidents or near-accidents by email as well. For severe cases (fatal or potentially life threatening), you can reach the board on the Emergency phone (see below) at any time during the summer period. For all other cases, the board mail (wsacibex@gmail.com) is still the place to go.
Unfortunately, an accident could attract lots of media attention. In cases of emergency, we will be supported by professionals from the NSAC and NKBV in dealing with this. Please don't speak to media yourself, but redirect them to the spokesperson of the NKBV, as it is important to have one central information point and to be respectful to relatives and possibly involved friends.
In the summer holidays, many of you will hopefully enjoy the mountains a lot! As we all know, climbing and alpinism still are sports that come with risks. As the board is often less reachable via mail during the summer period, but the risk of accidents is higher, the emergency phone is used as a central communication point when needed. (Only for real emergencies!) We will inform you about the exact period in which the phone is active via our regular communication but explain the use of the phone here as well.
We really hope we will never need the above procedure. Stay safe and enjoy your summer holidays!