Protocol for Prevention and Response to Sexual Misconduct, Harassment, and Abuse of Power

Our Commitment to Community Safety

Purpose

This protocol aims to:

  • Ensure a safe, sacred, and respectful environment for all Hridaya community members (program participants, teachers, and staff) at our centers in France and Mexico.
  • Prevent any form of harassment or abuse, including sexual, workplace, or program-related.
  • Establish clear procedures for reporting, addressing, and investigating incidents.
  • Align organizational practices with applicable laws.

Commitment to Community Safety

At Hridaya, we are committed to nurturing a space rooted in love, awareness, dignity, and respect for all. In this spirit, we hold a clear position: sexual harassment, sexual abuse, coercive sexual conduct, exploitation of power dynamics, and any form of non-consensual sexual behavior have no place in our community.

Any action that violates consent, misuses positional or spiritual authority, creates unsafe conditions, or compromises another person’s dignity, freedom, or autonomy is contrary to the ethical and spiritual foundations of Hridaya Yoga.

All reports will be received with care and taken seriously. Hridaya is committed to responding with fairness, confidentiality, compassion, and dedication to the safety and integrity of the community. As appropriate, Hridaya may implement interim administrative measures, including suspension or restriction from activities, while a review or investigation is ongoing.

Scope

This protocol applies to:

  • All program participants, teachers, and staff of Hridaya Yoga
  • Any activity, program, session, meeting, or communication officially organized, sponsored, hosted, or authorized by Hridaya, including retreats, modules, workshops, individual sessions, group meetings, and online communications, as well as interactions with staff acting in their professional capacity
  • Harassment or abuse that occurs in any direction, including:
      • Teacher/Staff → Participant
      • Participant → Teacher/Staff
      • Participant → Participant
      • Teacher/Staff → Teacher/Staff

     

Hridaya may review incidents occurring outside our facilities or official activities when there are relevant power dynamics, safety risks, or a direct impact on the community. Decisions about whether to review such incidents will be made at Hridaya’s discretion, recognizing that not all private interactions between adults fall within the organizational context or the scope of this protocol.

Note: This protocol is an internal community process and does not replace the role of legal authorities or the right of any affected person to seek legal support or file a criminal complaint. In most situations, the decision to pursue legal action belongs to the affected person. Hridaya may provide information about available legal options, offer accompaniment if the affected person chooses to report, and cooperate with lawful investigations by competent authorities. Hridaya may also take appropriate steps, including cooperation with authorities, when legally required, when there is an imminent safety risk, or when a minor or other vulnerable person may be at risk.

Hridaya Principles That Guide This Process

  • Dedication to the Spiritual Heart: All actions, decisions, and interactions are guided by the Spiritual Heart—honoring truth, integrity, and the sacredness of every individual in the community.
  • Clarity: Communication is clear, honest, and specific, ensuring that expectations regarding behavior, consent, and safety are understood by all members of the community.
  • Coeur de Lion (Courage and Compassion): We approach all situations with courage, compassion, and integrity, promptly and ethically addressing issues of misconduct.
  • Transparent Communication: We are committed to fostering open, conscious dialogue within the community in order to build trust, support safe reporting of concerns, and promote accountability.
  • Commitment and Responsibility: Every sangha member—teacher, staff, or participant—is responsible for upholding the organization’s ethical standards and ensuring the safety and well-being of others.
  • Inclusive Participation: Everyone is encouraged to help create a safe, respectful, and harmonious environment that nurtures accountability and collective responsibility.
  • Reverence for the Uniqueness of Each Being: Everyone’s dignity, autonomy, and sacredness are respected. Harassment or abuse in any form is unacceptable.
  • Safety and Support: We are committed to fostering a safe, compassionate, and respectful environment in which affected individuals are supported with care, appropriate protective measures are taken, and misconduct is addressed through a careful, empathetic, and accountable process.
  • Embodied Integration: Spiritual teachings are lived through concrete actions—treating all sangha members with respect and ensuring that sacred teachings are never misused for manipulation or harm.

Consent and Power Awareness at Hridaya

At Hridaya, consent for intimacy must be explicit, enthusiastic, ongoing, and freely given. Consent may be withdrawn at any time, and any such withdrawal must be respected immediately.

The following, by themselves, do not constitute consent:

  • Perceived flirtation or attraction
  • Warmth, friendliness, or openness
  • Tantric, spiritual, or emotionally intimate contexts
  • Lack of verbal refusal or resistance
  • Previous interactions, familiarity, or prior relationships

 
Any sexualized behavior occurring within a context of power imbalance (considering the scope of this protocol) is considered high risk and subject to heightened scrutiny, regardless of intent.

Boundary violations may occur without penetration, explicit force, or overt sexual acts. Impact, context, persistence, and power dynamics are central to how conduct is assessed.

Perceived mutuality, misunderstanding of signals, or appeals to spiritual, Tantric, or energetic contexts do not excuse or justify boundary violations.

Prevention Measures

Annual Ethics and Boundaries Training
  • All teachers and staff members are required to complete ethics and boundaries training each year. All new team members must complete this training before beginning their service. Training covers consent, appropriate conduct, relevant laws, and Hridaya’s vision on sexuality and sacred relationships.
 
Agreements
  • Participant Agreement for a Respectful and Safe Environment (France and Mexico): Acknowledged as part of the online registration process.
  • Teacher Code of Conduct and Staff Code of Conduct: Signed annually, reaffirming personal commitment to ethical principles and respect for all program participants and colleagues.
 
Trained Personnel
  • All teachers and staff involved in a program must be approved by the Head of Sangha, in consultation with senior teachers as needed.

Response Protocol

A. Complaint Reporting

Complaints may be submitted by:

  • Email to the confidential address for the center where the incident took place:
  • Google Form for the center where the incident took place, which may be submitted anonymously:
  • Speaking directly to a trusted teacher. To begin the formal review process, the person making the complaint will still be asked to submit the complaint through the Google Form for the relevant center.

 

Complaints will be reviewed by the relevant center’s Care and Accountability Committee, a group of trusted long-term teachers and administrators. All reports will be treated equally, whether the person accused of acting inappropriately is a teacher, program participant, or staff member.

Anonymous reports will be reviewed to the extent possible. However, anonymity may limit Hridaya’s ability to gather additional information, conduct a full review, communicate updates, or implement certain supportive, protective, or corrective measures.

Note: Most complaints will be handled through Hridaya’s internal review process and with as much privacy as possible. In rare situations, such as immediate danger, involvement of a minor, ongoing risk of harm, or conduct that may need to be reported by law, Hridaya may have to contact the appropriate authorities. Whenever possible, we will speak with and support the affected person before taking this step.

 
B. Initial Response and Interim Safety Measures

Upon receiving a complaint, the Care and Accountability Committee will begin an initial response focused on safety, support, and stabilization, followed by an administrative review focused on gathering and assessing relevant information and determining appropriate organizational measures.

Any member of the Committee who has a personal, professional, or other conflict of interest related to the matter or the individuals involved will disclose the conflict and recuse themselves from the process.

Immediate Actions
Objective: Prevent further harm and stabilize the situation

  • Review the complaint, assess immediate safety needs, identify appropriate interim administrative measures, assign responsibilities, and create a clear plan for follow-up, support, and review.
  • Temporarily prevent contact between the affected person and the person whose conduct is under review.
  • If the person whose conduct is under review is a teacher or staff member, immediately remove them from teaching, serving, or participating in Hridaya programs or activities until the situation is resolved.
  • If the person whose conduct is under review is a program participant, restrict or suspend their attendance at programs, classes, or group activities as necessary to ensure safety.
  • Make clear that any temporary suspension, restriction, or removal from contact, teaching, serving, programs, or activities is a precautionary measure only. Such measures are intended to support safety while the matter is being reviewed and do not constitute a finding or determination regarding the conduct alleged.
  • Maintain supportive, consent-based contact with the affected person to assess their needs, provide appropriate support, and promote their ongoing sense of safety.
    • Offer immediate spiritual support and a trusted point of contact.
    • Explain that Hridaya provides spiritual guidance, not mental health care, and encourage the person to seek support from a qualified mental health professional as needed.
    • Ask explicitly what support the affected person needs, such as listening, space, updates, or accompaniment.
    • If appropriate, gently provide information about the option of reporting the situation to the local authorities.
    • Accompany the affected person to the local authorities if they choose to report and request such support.
    • Respect confidentiality and anonymity to the extent possible, while explaining any limitations arising from legal obligations, immediate safety risks, or the requirements of a fair review.
    • Provide clear updates about the process as appropriate.
    • Continue periodic check-ins, respecting the affected person’s boundaries and availability.
    • Never threaten, discriminate against, or impose negative consequences on a person for making a complaint or participating in the process in good faith.
  • Treat the person whose conduct is under review with dignity and respect.
  • Offer appropriate check-ins and spiritual support to the person whose conduct is under review during the immediate pause period, insofar as this does not compromise the safety of the affected person, the integrity of the review, or the work of the authorities if they are involved.

 

During the initial response and administrative review, community safety takes precedence over social or community reintegration.

Participation by the person whose conduct is under review in social gatherings, celebrations, or informal community spaces will not be prioritized over the safety, stability, and well-being of the affected person or the wider community, even when no formal determination has yet been made.

 
C. Administrative Review and Determination

Following the initial response, the Care and Accountability Committee will conduct a fair, careful, and confidential administrative review. Interim safety and support measures may remain in place or be adjusted as additional information becomes available.

The purpose of the review is to understand the concern, assess its implications for individual and community safety, and determine what action Hridaya should take within its organizational and community context. This process is administrative in nature and does not determine criminal guilt or civil liability.

The Care and Accountability Committee will:

  • Review the complaint and any relevant information provided.
  • Invite the affected person to provide or clarify additional relevant information when necessary, while avoiding unnecessary repetition or pressure to recount their experience.
  • Interview the person whose conduct is under review.
  • Interview witnesses, as appropriate.
  • Review other relevant communications, records, or information, as appropriate.
  • Liaise with the affected person throughout the process, including by providing updates, explaining next steps, receiving additional relevant information, and discussing ongoing safety or support needs.
  • Provide the person whose conduct is under review with a reasonable opportunity to respond to the concerns relevant to the review.
  • Assess the available information in light of the nature, context, impact, persistence, and seriousness of the conduct, including any relevant power dynamics, patterns of behavior, or risks to individual or community safety.
  • Determine any appropriate protective, corrective, restorative, accountability, or other administrative measures in accordance with the Resolutions and Administrative Measures section of this protocol.
  • Communicate the outcome to the affected person and the person whose conduct was reviewed to the extent appropriate, while respecting confidentiality, privacy, safety, and fairness.
  • Document the process confidentially, including the information considered, interim and final measures, decisions reached, and the reasons for those decisions.

 

Any conversations conducted as part of this process are intended to support safety assessment, compliance with guidelines, community protection, and administrative decision-making. They are not intended to determine criminal responsibility or replicate the role of law enforcement authorities.

Confidentiality, privacy, and harm prevention principles apply to all parties involved in the process. All individuals will be treated with dignity and respect throughout the review, and any resulting administrative measures will be based on the available information, proportionality, safety considerations, and the specific context of the situation.

 
D. Empathetic Communication Standards

All interactions with affected persons will prioritize respect, safety, and autonomy.

This means:

  • Participation is voluntary and paced by the affected person
  • No pressure to recount details or relive the experience*
  • No “why” questions or questioning of perceptions
  • No spiritual reframing, minimization, justification, or meaning-making
  • Clear validation that, if inappropriate conduct occurred, responsibility lies with the person who engaged in that conduct

 

*While our primary purpose is to offer support and ensure safety, a request for a formal review or potential protective measures may require us to ask clarifying questions about what occurred. We will limit these questions to what is needed to understand the concern, assess safety needs, and ensure a fair process for all involved. We will ask with care and transparency, explain why the information is needed, and avoid asking the affected person to repeat details unnecessarily.

Note that the autonomy, dignity, and decision-making capacity of the affected person will be respected throughout the process, except where legal obligations or immediate safety risks require otherwise.

 
E. Hridaya’s Role Throughout the Process
  • Hold the situation with presence, love, compassion, and trust, upholding the cherished values we stand for at Hridaya, while taking care not to fall into judgment, projection, minimization, or villainization.
  • Provide appropriate spiritual and community support to both the affected person and the person whose conduct is under review, while ensuring that such support does not compromise safety, confidentiality, or the integrity of the review.
  • Prepare an experienced teacher to provide spiritual support to the affected person and the person whose conduct is under review at any stage of the process. Where appropriate, different support persons will be assigned to avoid conflicts of interest and preserve appropriate boundaries.
  • Clearly explain the scope of Hridaya’s role, including that Hridaya offers spiritual guidance, community support, and an internal administrative process, but does not provide mental health care or determine criminal or civil liability.
  • When appropriate, encourage those involved to seek support from qualified mental health, legal, medical, or other relevant professionals.
  • Cooperate with local authorities when legally required or when necessary to address a credible and immediate safety concern.
  • Hridaya reserves the right to implement administrative measures, including suspension, restriction, exclusion, or removal from activities or responsibilities, based on safety assessments and organizational responsibilities, independently of whether a criminal complaint is filed.
 
F. Community Care, Confidentiality, and Harm Prevention

During any ongoing process, Hridaya will actively work to prevent secondary harm arising from:

  • Gossip or informal narratives
  • Polarization within the community
  • Recruitment of allies or pressure on the affected person
  • Public speculation or spiritualized justification of events

 

Confidentiality is a shared responsibility. Community members are expected to refrain from spreading information, interpretations, or opinions that may compromise safety, dignity, or the integrity of the process.

The Care and Accountability Committee may take measures to limit exposure, clarify boundaries, and protect all parties from additional harm. At the same time, if there is a real safety concern, Hridaya may need to communicate this to the sangha. Any such communication will be made only at Hridaya’s discretion, and only when considered necessary to address a genuine concern for the well-being of our community members.

Resolutions and Administrative Measures

Hridaya may implement administrative measures whenever available information indicates a credible concern involving sexual misconduct, boundary violations, abuse of power, coercive or exploitative conduct, or conduct that may compromise the safety, dignity, trust, or well-being of individuals or the community.

Administrative measures are not limited to a finding of legal wrongdoing. They may be implemented as precautionary, protective, corrective, restorative, accountability, or organizational measures, depending on the circumstances.

In determining appropriate measures, the Care and Accountability Committee may consider, among other relevant factors:

  • The nature, seriousness, and context of the conduct
  • Whether the conduct involved coercion, manipulation, exploitation, or a power imbalance
  • The impact on the affected person
  • The safety and well-being of the community
  • Whether the behavior appears isolated, repeated, or part of a broader pattern
  • The willingness and capacity of the person who acted inappropriately to take responsibility, respect boundaries, and participate in corrective or reflective processes
  • The need to preserve trust in Hridaya and its ethical standards

 

Possible administrative measures may include, but are not limited to:

  • Verbal or written warnings
  • Exclusion from Hridaya activities, programs, or community spaces
  • Suspension or removal from teaching, service, staff, or organizational roles
  • Limitation of participation in programs or community activities
  • Required training, supervision, mentoring, or reflective processes
  • Agreements regarding communication, contact, or boundaries
  • Mediated, restorative, or repair-oriented processes, when appropriate and voluntarily agreed upon by the affected person

 

Note that the measures available under this protocol are limited to Hridaya’s organizational and community context. Hridaya does not determine criminal or civil liability, but may take action within its own sphere to uphold safety, accountability, trust, and ethical standards.

Hridaya may implement immediate protective measures while complaints are being reviewed. Support, accompaniment, and referrals, if appropriate, will be offered to affected persons throughout the process.

Hridaya will cooperate with local authorities when legally required, when advised by legal counsel, or when necessary to address credible and immediate safety concerns.

Reintegration Criteria

Our Vision on Tantra and Sexuality

Hridaya Community Vision

Teacher Code of Conduct

Sangha Relationships Vision

When the Care and Accountability Committee has implemented administrative measures, including exclusion or restriction from Hridaya, its activities, roles, programs, or community spaces, any reintegration will not be automatic and may be delayed, limited, conditioned, or denied depending on the nature of the conduct, safety considerations, demonstrated accountability, and the well-being of the affected person and the wider community.

Any consideration of reintegration will prioritize: 

  • The safety and autonomy of affected persons 
  • The prevention of further harm 
  • The restoration of appropriate boundaries
  • Community trust and integrity

 

When reintegration is considered appropriate, it may only occur after:

  • Completion of required education, training, or corrective measures
  • Demonstrated understanding of impact, not only intent, and willingness to respect boundaries and organizational guidelines
  • Absence of repeated harmful conduct
  • Written self-reflection reviewed by trusted senior sangha members
  • An assessment that reintegration does not compromise individual or community safety

 

Reintegration may involve temporary or ongoing conditions, including: 

  • Restricted participation
  • Supervision
  • Limitations on teaching or leadership roles 
  • Behavioral agreements

 

Final authority for reintegration rests with the Care and Accountability Committee, which prioritizes safety, trust, and community integrity.