Operational Policies

IUSTI Operational policies

This document contains the following policies

Complaints Procedure

IUSTI is committed to advance public health so far as it is affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and to promote, encourage and improve the study and practice of the art and science of diagnosing, treating and preventing STIs. If one has a complaint about the organisation we want to hear about it and we will do our best to put it right.

Our Complaints Procedure has the following goals:

To deal with complaints fairly, efficiently and effectively;
To ensure that all complaints are handled in a consistent manner throughout;
To increase member and user satisfaction
To use complaints constructively in the planning and improvement of the Union.

Who can complain?

Anyone who is receiving a service from IUSTI can complain.

How to complain

IUSTI would like to resolve any complaint as soon as possible.

Many complaints can be resolved informally. In the first instance contact the IUSTI person you have been working or corresponding with, who will try to resolve the issue.

If you make contact in person or by phone, make a note of the name of the person you speak to. If a solution is offered at this point, make a note of this as well.

If you are not satisfied or do not wish an informal solution, you may pursue a formal complaint which must be made in writing.

Email your written complaint to: secretary@iusti.org

What Happens Next?

• We are a charity led by volunteers so there can be delays in responding to a complaint but we aim to acknowledge your complaint within 14 working days. You may be contacted to make sure that we have understood your complaint properly. You may also be contacted by the person investigating the complaint.
We aim that you will receive a response to your complaint within 28 working days of its receipt
In all cases, a complaint will be given full and fair consideration.
However, if as a result of your complaint, disciplinary proceedings are taken against a member, an internal procedure will apply. You will be informed that disciplinary proceedings have taken place, but as these proceedings are confidential, you will only be informed of the details or outcome of matters outside of this procedure.
If a criminal offence is alleged, then the police will be informed.

Who can I complain to if I am not happy with the decision of IUSTI?

We are a charity registered in the UK with the Charity Commission. Further details regarding how to complain about a charity are to be found at

www.gov.uk/complain-about-charity

Declaration of Interest Policy

Each Trustee and executive member should complete the IUSTI Declaration of interest policy form each year.

This should be returned to the secretary general for filing secretary@iusti.org

Executive committee member: conflict of interest

At the start of each Executive Committee meeting each Executive Committee member is reminded by the chair to update and declare anything relevant to the agenda.

Trustee: Conflict of Interests

Any Trustee who becomes a Conflicted Trustee in relation to any matter must:

declare the nature and extent of his or her interest at or before discussion begins on the matter
withdraw from the meeting for that item after providing any information required by the Trustees
not be counted in the quorum for that part of the meeting
be absent during the vote and have no vote on the matter

When a Trustee is a Conflicted Trustee, the Trustees present at a meeting who are not Conflicted Trustees, if

they form a quorum without counting the Conflicted Trustee and are satisfied that it is in the best interest of

the Charity to do so, may by resolution passed in the absence of the Conflicted Trustee authorise the

Conflicted Trustee or a Connected Person, notwithstanding any conflict of interest or duty which has arisen or

may arise for the Conflicted Trustee or Connected Person:

to continue to participate in discussions leading to the making of a decision; or
to disclose information confidential to the Charity to a third party, or
to take any other action not otherwise authorised which does not involve the receipt by the Conflicted Trustee or a Connected Person of any payment or material benefit from the charity, or refrain from taking action designed to remove the conflict

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IUSTI policy on engaging in political activity and campaigning

The International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (hereafter referred to as the Union or IUSTI) is a UK-registered charity, without political, religious, or social ties. IUSTI is a global organisation of members, whose objective is achievement of international cooperation in the control of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection.

As a charity IUSTI will not undertake political activity that is not relevant to, or does not have a reasonable likelihood of, supporting the charity’s charitable purposes.
Individual trustees or members are not permitted to use the charity as a vehicle for the expression of personal political, religious or social opinions.
In deciding whether to support a political, religious, or social campaign, the Charity trustees will carefully weigh up the possible benefits and risks in relation to the charity’s purposes. They will also consider what laws may apply to their proposed methods of campaigning and/or political activity.

Privacy Policy

By using the official IUSTI website, you signify your consent to the following conditions of use. If you do not agree to these conditions of use, please do not use the site.

This policy should be read in conjunction with our terms and conditions. It explains:

What personally identifiable information IUSTI collects
Who collects the information
How the information is collected
With whom the information may be shared

IUSTI adheres to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
IUSTI adheres to UK Data Protection legislation which governs the collection and management of personal information.

Information collection and use. When you apply for IUSTI membership, or to join IUSTI hosted events e.g. Webinars, you are asked to provide personally identifiable data such as your name, institution and department, work address, email, phone numbers, and clinical fields of interest. This information is required to process your membership application or to renew or vary existing membership.

Information sharing and disclosure. IUSTI will not sell or rent your personally identifiable information to anyone. Only officers of IUSTI and associated persons (e.g. web server staff) have normally access to your personally identifiable data. IUSTI is a global organisation as is the distribution of its officers and regional directors. Thus, this personally identifiable data is available to IUSTI officers at a global level.

IUSTI does not store credit card details, nor does it share customer details with 3rd parties.

Limitations of use
Under no circumstances shall IUSTI be liable for any special or consequential damages arising from the use or reliance on information contained within this website.

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Social Media Policy

This policy sets out guidelines on how social media should be used to support the promotion of IUSTI, while protecting the charity and its reputation and preventing any legal issues. Publication and commentary on social media carries similar obligations to any other kind of publication or commentary in the public domain.

Social Media Channels
The officers are responsible appointing a member(s) who will set up and manage IUSTI’s social media channels. Individual members should not set up other Facebook groups or pages, X accounts or any other social media channels (LinkedIn, Instagram) on behalf of IUSTI. This could confuse messaging and awareness.

Scientific meetings:
IUSTI meetings should have a reach far beyond those physically present. Social media can help increase the impact of the conference as delegates share their thoughts and reaction to the presentations and posters.
Meeting organisers should encourage conference attendees to participate fully on-line and should have a communication/social media committee to help formulate appropriate strategies. Those presenting at the meeting should expect that there will be on-line discussion of their material. The following simple guidelines will help IUSTI have the maximum impact:

Presenters have the right to ask that certain talks, slides, or findings are not publicised on social media. Examples might include personal details, personal or patient stories or clinical photographs. Session chairs will ask speakers to identify where use of social media is not appropriate. Presenters will be encouraged to discuss any personal concerns with the chair of the session.
Presenters (oral/poster) can choose to explicitly state that they do not want aspects of their presentation copied and displayed on social media. They can use the logo below to communicate this to the delegates. Please note that although IUSTI requests that delegates respect this policy, IUSTI is unable to guarantee that the information presented will not be shared outside of the meeting.

Presenters need to adhere to professional guidance on consent especially for clinical photographs and be aware of copyright law, ensuring they have appropriate permission for images they use in presentations.
If presenters are concerned about context for social media, a pre-prepared tweet might be considered that they are happy for people to use on the bottom of each slide, or at the end of their presentation with the key message. It’s useful for presenters to also verbally express their preference at the beginning of their presentation. Presenters should let the audience know if they prefer not to be photographed
Delegates taking photographs of clinical material where they have been explicitly asked not to risk being reported to their professional body.
Audio or video during any session should not be recorded without the session chair’s or presenter’s permission. Flash photography should not be used
Please think how any comment, tweet or post might be viewed by the public across the world in different cultural contexts, and avoid use of language that may be seen as inflammatory or derogatory.
In posting to social media one should think about one’s reputation as well as IUSTI’s. Express opinions and deal with differences of opinion respectfully. Passionate discussions and debates are fine, but always be respectful of others and their opinions.

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Further guidelines

Libel
Libel is when a false written statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation is published online or in print. When posting content on social media, creators should not bring IUSTI into disrepute by making defamatory comments about individuals or other organisations or groups.

Copyright law
As a UK registered charity, it is critical that all staff abide by the laws governing copyright, under the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/contents . Never use or adapt someone else’s images or written content without permission. Failing to acknowledge the source/author/resource citation, where permission has been given to reproduce content, is also considered a breach of copyright.

Confidentiality
Any communications that members make in a personal capacity must not breach confidentiality.

Discrimination and harassment
Members should not post content that could be considered discriminatory against, or bullying or harassment of, any individual, on an official IUSTI social media channel. For example:

- - making offensive or derogatory comments relating to sex, gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, age, religion, or belief
  - using social media to bully another individual
  - posting images that are discriminatory or offensive or links to such content

Lobbying Act
IUSTI is not a political organisation and does not hold views on party politics or have any affiliation with or links to political parties. When representing IUSTI, members are expected to hold IUSTI’s position of neutrality.

Protection and intervention
The responsibility for measures of protection and intervention lies first with the social networking site itself. Different social networking sites offer different models of interventions in different areas. For more information, refer to the guidance available on the social networking site itself e.g. Facebook.

Responsibilities and beach of policy
Everyone is responsible for their own compliance with this policy. Participation in social media on behalf of IUSTI must be treated seriously and with respect.

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Terms and Conditions

Please read these terms and conditions carefully before using this site or applying for membership of the International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (“IUSTI”). Using this website including the on-line membership facility indicates that you accept these terms (“terms”).

Who are we: This is the website of the International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections, a charity registered in the United Kingdom, charity number 1113234. For contact details please see contacts.

Changes: IUSTI may change these terms at any time, in which case the amended terms will be posted on this web site (“site”) and will apply from the date they are posted. Applications for membership will be subject to the Terms and Conditions of this site applying at the time of application. When you renew or modify your membership, please check the current Terms and Conditions. The format and content of the site is changed frequently. You should refresh your browser to ensure that you access the most up to date version.

Accessing the site: IUSTI reserves the right at its sole discretion to deny any user access to the site or any part of it without prior notice.

Iusti.org copyright statement: The content (content being images, text, sound and video files, programs and scripts) of this website is copyright © IUSTI or third parties. The names, images and logos identifying and owned by IUSTI or third parties and their products and services are subject to copyright, design rights and trademarks of IUSTI and/or third parties. All rights are expressly reserved.

The content of this website can be accessed, printed, and downloaded in an unaltered form (altered including being stretched, compressed, coloured, or altered in any way so as to distort content from its original proportions or format) with copyright acknowledged, on a temporary basis for personal study that is not for a direct or indirect commercial use. Any content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied, or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or in or on any media to any person without the prior written consent of IUSTI, including but not limited to:

- - transmission by any method
  - storage in any medium, system or programme
  - display in any form
  - performance
  - hire, lease, rental, or loan

Requests for permission to reproduce material from this website should be addressed by email to

the Secretary General and copied at the same time to the Web Master

IUSTI makes reasonable effort to acknowledge copyright owners, but this is not always easy. IUSTI wishes to be informed if any copyright owners are not properly identified and acknowledged so that we may make any necessary corrections.

Other individuals and organisations wishing to make IUSTI content accessible through their websites are encouraged to create hypertext links to the required content on this website.

Contributions to the iusti.org website: When you submit any contribution to the IUSTI site, you agree, by submitting your contribution, that you grant IUSTI a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sub-licensable right, and license to publish the contribution on the iusti.org site.

Disclaimer: IUSTI has prepared the contents of its website responsibly and carefully but disclaims all

warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy of the information contained in any of the materials on this

website or on other linked websites or on any subsequent links. This includes but is not by way of limitation:

- 1. any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose
  2. any liability for damage to your computer hardware, data, information, materials, and business resulting from the information or the lack of information available
  3. any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in the information
  4. any decision made, or action taken or not taken in reliance upon the information

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IUSTI further makes no warranty as to the content, accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of the information or that the information may be relied upon for any reason and bears no responsibility for the accuracy, content, or legality of any linked site or for that of any subsequent links. IUSTI makes no warranty that the website service will be uninterrupted or error-free or that any defects can be corrected.

IUSTI shall not be liable for any losses or damages (including without limitation consequential loss or damage) whatsoever from the use of, or reliance on, the website and information therein. IUSTI takes reasonable care to ensure that its website is free of malware, but it is the ultimate responsibility of users to ensure that their computers are protected from any malicious programme code. Any links to other websites do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by IUSTI of any products, services, policies, or opinions of the organisation or individual.

This site is provided primarily for the benefit of the various members of IUSTI. This is not intended to be a health information site for the general public. Nothing in this site is intended to supersede the normal physician – patient relationship or the statutes of IUSTI.

Membership: For details of membership of IUSTI and methods of applying for membership, please see membership. IUSTI reserves the right to refuse an application for membership. IUSTI is a non-profit making organisation and the payment that you make for IUSTI membership is therefore used to further the charitable work and objectives of IUSTI.

Privacy Please read our Privacy Policy .

Applicable Law These terms, use of our sites and the supply of products and services by us are governed by and are to be interpreted in accordance with English law. In the event of any dispute arising in relation to these terms, use of IUSTI sites or in relation to the supply of any products or services by IUSTI, the English courts will have jurisdiction over the dispute. These terms and this site are provided in the English language only.

If you have any questions relating to these terms, please e-mail the Secretary General

In the event of a significant data breach or loss within the charity the trustees have a responsibility to report this as a serious incident to the Charity commission.

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