Grievance Policy

Effective Date: 1/1/2026

IIRS Grievance Policy

Nishita Rao is fully committed to conducting all activities with the highest ethical principles in mind. She strives to create an educational environment that is respectful, inclusive, and deeply conscious of the diverse lived experiences of our participants. She complies with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be non-discriminatory in our promotional activities, program content, and in the treatment of all program participants. She adheres strictly to the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) Code of Professional Ethics.

While she goes to great lengths to assure fair treatment for all participants and attempt to anticipate problems before they arise. She believes in addressing these concerns promptly, transparently, and fairly as essential to maintaining the integrity of her educational offerings. Participants are always encouraged to talk directly with Nishita, to facilitate faster resolutions. However, if an informal resolution is not achieved, or if the participant feels uncomfortable addressing the issue directly, the following formal grievance procedure will be enacted.

1. The person with a grievance will first try to informally resolve their grievance by contacting
   Nishita Rao or the Event Facilitator with the issue concerning the training, its delivery, the evaluation method, or technological issue.
2. If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the resolution through informal means, the aggrieved person shall put their grievance in writing to Nishita Rao or the Event Facilitator.
3. Nishita Rao or the Event Facilitator will then consult with appropriate personnel at the organization that have approved the course to find fair methods of resolving the grievance.
4. If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the solutions put forth, then they will be directed to put their grievance in writing and contact the appropriate organization, e.g. AASECT or state in which training has been provided. The appropriate AASECT personnel can be reached at ce@aasect.org
5. The AASECT CE Provider (Nishita Rao) or the Event Facilitator (ISEE) will abide by any decisions regarding resolution of the grievance.
6. Nishita Rao’s contact information: pillowtalkwithnixi@proton.me
   

AASECT Grievance Policy

AASECT is fully committed to conducting all activities with ethical principles in mind. AASECT will comply with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be non-discriminatory in promotional activities, program content, and in the treatment of program participants. The monitoring and assessment of compliance with these standards will be the responsibility of the chair of the Professional Education Steering Committee in consultation with the members of the Continuing Education committee, the AASECT ethics chairperson and the convention chairpersons.

While AASECT goes to great lengths to assure fair treatment for all participants and attempts to anticipate problems, there will be occasional issues which come to the attention of the convention staff, which require intervention and require action on the part of the convention staff, or an officer of AASECT. This procedural description serves as the guideline for handling such grievances. When a participant either orally or in written format files a grievance and expects action on the complaint, the following actions will be taken:

1. If the grievance concerns a speaker, the content presented by the speaker, or the style of presentation, the individual filing the grievance will be asked to put their comments in written formats. The CE chair will then pass on the comments to the speaker, in an anonymized format, of the aggrieved individual.
2. If the grievance concerns a workshop offering, its content, level of presentation, or the facilities in which the workshop was offered, the event chair will mediate and be the final arbitrator. If the participants request action, the event chairs will gather the information and present to the board for appropriate action documenting the grievance for record-keeping purposes (the aggrieved individual need not sign the note)
3. If the grievance concerns the AASECT CE program in a specific regard the CE chair will gather and present the information to the board for review.
4. AASECT does not arbitrate business practice complaints.