Portside

Over the past year a steady stream of public testimonials from female jazz musicians has made clear what most already knew privately: Sexism and harassment are deeply ingrained in the improvised-music world.

The We Have Voice Collective, a new group of female and non-binary musicians in jazz and experimental music, plans to release a Code of Conduct on Tuesday that aims to build upon the conversations sparked by jazz’s own #MeToo movement, clearly articulating what a more equitable workplace might look like and setting expectations for change.

The collective comprises 14 instrumentalists and vocalists and is working to ensure that predatory and sexist behavior is seen as aberrant, not as part of the cost of doing business in jazz.

“The idea is to propose solutions, and also open the conversation to go further,” the tenor saxophonist María Grand, a member of the collective, said. “How do we change this culture? And not just in the dynamic of victims denouncing perpetrators, because that puts the victims at a lot of risk. What we’re trying to do is change the cultural mind-set so that people know what to do when they suspect or see abuse.”

Nine organizations — festivals, venues, educational institutions, labels and small media outlets — have signed on to the Code of Conduct, committing to abide by it. The collective hopes they will also display it prominently on their physical premises and websites.

The first wave of adoptees includes Winter Jazzfest in Manhattan, the Banff International Workshop in Jazz & Creative Music and Biophilia Records. The flutist Nicole Mitchell, a collective member, suggested that adherence to the document could become “a mark of distinction, and a certain kind of elegance” for institutions in the jazz world.

The code, which was collectively written over a period of months, is divided into two painstakingly written sections: commitments and definitions. The commitments are a series of specific answers to the question, “How can we commit to creating safe(r) spaces in the performing arts?” The definitions offer a small, detailed glossary explaining the meaning of “sexual harassment,” “workplace” and “consent.”

We Have Voice will be promoting the code and fostering further conversations during a slate of round tables scheduled for May, including one at the New School on May 7 and at the Vision Festival on May 24. (The collective will also convene a discussion at Harvard on May 9, and in Geneva on May 27.)

The group came together late last year, growing out of two independent email conversations. One small group of musicians was discussing writing a code of conduct, and another was composing an open letter to the jazz community on the topic of sexual harassment and assault.