While I agree that this problem could have been handled better in absence of a sexual harassment policy, there's a lot to be gained by having such a policy. In this situation I don't agree that conferences having sexual harassment policies are "scar tissue".
First and foremost, the scare tissue complaint largely relies on a policy being applied to an extremely rare event. Unfortunately this kind of thing is almost certainly less rare than you think. If you run a large or frequent enough event, sexual harassment will happen. It really sucks, but it's a reality of the world that we live in that we need to deal with. To make things worse, it probably will go un-reported and the person that it happened to will simply feel uncomfortable with the event and the community as a whole.
By having an explicit policy that addresses sexual harassment you accomplish a number of things:
* You make attendees more mindful of their actions. Often people who commit sexual harassment don't really realized the full extent and consequences for what they are doing. By stating that this type of behavior is unacceptable, upfront, at least some people will be a bit more likely to think before they act.
* Should something happen, the path to action is clear. Running a conference is a bit of a crazy job. You're keeping track of a hundred things at once and dealing with a dozen people's problems. This is not the best state to be in when you need to decide how to handle a delicate situation. By stating upfront how this type of behavior will be handled, it takes a load off of the organizers' shoulders on the day off.
* A strong signal is communicated to people who are concerned and possibly afraid to attend an event. People go through all kinds of horrible things in life. Often those experiences leave people (understandably) cautious about situations that might lead to similar experiences. By having an explicit policy, people with fears and concerns are given a strong signal that the event in question will be a place where they are safe and welcome.
As with anything you need to weigh the costs and benefits of introducing a policy given the context of your situation and as far as I am concerned, having a sexual harassment policy for conferences is an easy win for everybody involved.
I agree with you that there are a few women who are willing to accuse someone else falsely, and/or exploit harassment policies to advance their own agenda. Pretty much every identifiable group in society has individuals like that.
That said, the OP is just calling for there to be some sort of policy in place, so people aren't improvising when a complaint does arise. The policy doesn't have to be 'mandatory kickban on the first complaint'.
First and foremost, the scare tissue complaint largely relies on a policy being applied to an extremely rare event. Unfortunately this kind of thing is almost certainly less rare than you think. If you run a large or frequent enough event, sexual harassment will happen. It really sucks, but it's a reality of the world that we live in that we need to deal with. To make things worse, it probably will go un-reported and the person that it happened to will simply feel uncomfortable with the event and the community as a whole.
By having an explicit policy that addresses sexual harassment you accomplish a number of things:
As with anything you need to weigh the costs and benefits of introducing a policy given the context of your situation and as far as I am concerned, having a sexual harassment policy for conferences is an easy win for everybody involved.