Short answer: you're right. I think Readercon's response can and probably will discourage some people from reporting, because what's the point? Sure, a con might have a policy, but obviously that doesn't mean much.

At the same time, there's been a huge backlash against Readercon's decision, and I think that's encouraging. I hope it makes it clear that the SF/F community is less willing to tolerate this kind of crap than it used to be.

But yeah. Readercon's decision hurt.