Adopted by Board June 9, 2019
Bias Response Team
JUUstice Washington is committed to the increasing, measurable manifestation of our valuing of equity, diversity, and inclusion in all of our work. Therefore, co-creating and maintaining an environment in which staff, Board members, volunteers, and guests have equal access to feeling respected, welcomed, and valued is a priority for us. The purpose of the JUUstice Washington Bias Response Team (BRT)—which includes representatives from staff, Board members, and volunteers—is to address incidents that involve conduct that may reflect bias against members of our community based on their identity (e.g., sex, race, color, ethnicity, gender, gender identity/expression, age, ability, national origin, veteran status, religion). We recognize that all of us are at risk of engaging in biased conduct due to the pervasive effects of multiple systems of privilege/oppression on all of our lives.
The BRT is committed to providing appropriate organizational support for JUUstice Washington staff, Board members, volunteers, and guests who may have been targeted or affected by biased conduct in JUUstice Washington’s online or physical settings. The BRT encourages anyone who feels they have experienced a bias incident to report it to the BRT so that it can: 1) support those who feel they have been targeted by bias, 2) help those who may have engaged in biased conduct understand how their behavior—even unintentionally—has negatively affected others, and 3) help those who may have engaged in biased conduct more effectively contribute to co-creating and maintaining an environment in which JUUstice Washington staff, Board members, volunteers, and guests have equal access to feeling respected, welcomed, and valued within JUUstice Washington’s online and physical settings.
The BRT is comprised of members of the JUUstice Washington Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers, as well as the Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). At its discretion, it may include others within the JUUstice Washington community and may consult with outside experts in equity, diversity, and inclusion experts as needed.
While, the BRT does not engage in disciplinary action, it can refer a matter to the JUUstice Washington Board of Directors for further action if an incident appears to have violated JUUstice Washington’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy. The BRT may invite, but cannot compel, anyone alleged to have engaged in biased conduct to meet with a representative of the BRT to discuss the impact of the incident on others.
Understanding a Bias Incident
A bias incident involves conduct—including speech, nonverbal behavior, and actions—that discriminates against, stereotypes, harasses, bullies, oppresses, excludes, creates a hostile environment for, or otherwise harms anyone in the JUUstice Washington community based on their identity (e.g., sex, race, color, ethnicity, gender, gender identity/expression, age, ability, national origin, veteran status, religion). Biased conduct does not have to be intentional to cause harm. Whether it results from explicit or implicit bias, biased conduct that is generated by misunderstanding, discomfort, stereotypes, fear, or hatred related to identity is still oppressive.
Determining for certain that harmful words or behaviors were motivated by bias may not always be possible. However, you don’t have to be certain that a bias incident occurred to contact the BRT and discuss your experience.
Bias incidents may or may not involve behavior that violates any federal, state, or local laws or JUUstice Washington policy (e.g., Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy). If you feel you have been targeted by a crime, one of your options is to report it to the police department that holds jurisdiction over the area in which the crime took place.
Reporting a Bias Incident
Anyone who feels they have experienced a bias incident in a JUUstice Washington setting may report it to the BRT in the following ways:
You may download the information on this webpage as a PDF document, Bias Incident Reporting, to print or share with anyone needing support related to a bias incident in a JUUstice Washington setting.
Once you report a bias incident, one or more members of the BRT will contact you to talk about your experience and offer support. They will talk with you about your rights as a member of the JUUstice Washington community, as well as about possible responses. You and the BRT will work together to develop a plan of action. That plan can include the BRT contacting the person you feel engaged in biased conduct to ask if they are willing to talk about the incident (if we have their contact information). However, the BRT has no power to require that the person participate in such a meeting. The BRT does not make any judgment about whether bias occurred; it solely provides support and education. If the BRT believes that JUUstice Washington policy may have been violated, it will refer the incident to the JUUstice Washington Board for review.