Geeks for CONsent, a Philadelphia-based organization founded by three women, posted a petition for Comic-Con event organizers to enforce a set of more formal anti-harassment policies during the event. Said petition has already garnered more than 2,600 signatures, according to reports from Associated Press.

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The annual Comic-Con is an international event held annually to celebrate superheroes and science fiction characters and according to reports, it is also an event where misbehavior is rampant. Comic-Con events around the US are deemed notorious for groping, unwanted photographing, stalking and even 'upskirting' that such deeds were named 'creeping at a con'.

With the launch of the San Diego Comic Con last week, a prominent science fiction author had decided to 'hold his events away' from the venue, protesting of negligent anti-harassment policies, based on reports from the Los Angeles Times.

Now instead of the excitement dominating the events, the protests against their policies on anti-harassment are on the spotlight.

Incidents of touching, cat-calling and other forms of sexual advances do not only happen in events like Comic-Con but also in almost every form of social interaction. In movies and fiction pieces, women are still widely considered and depicted as 'damsels in distress'.

Conventioneers complained of being touched and groped and also cited the fact the women dressed in scanty clothes were displayed 'for no reason at all' before the audience when Dwayne Johnson came over to the convention to promote his movie 'Hercules'.

"It's very much connected to the larger problem and it's the same phenomena, but manifesting a little more sexually vulgar in the comic space," Rochelle Keyhan, the director of Geeks for CONsent stated.

In response to this, the Comic-Con International released a statement saying that they issued a code of conduct to each of the convention attendees on the day of the event and also beforehand through their online portal.

Still, Geeks for CONsent would like organizers to have a clearer and firmer statement and advisory against underhanded behavior, and should train staff members to deal with sexual complaints and to apprehend offenders in said event.

TagsSan Diego Comic-Con 2014, Sexual Harassment, Geeks for CONsent, Comic Con