CAHR is committed to anti-racism and anti-oppression. We stand in solidarity with those protesting racial injustice. We call for the end to police brutality, especially against Indigenous and African, Caribbean and Black people. We commit to a path of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples as outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. As the leading organization of HIV/AIDS researchers in Canada, we recognize our responsibility to enact change to achieve racial justice and equity by, with, and for Indigenous and African, Caribbean and Black communities. We commit to the following specific actions:
- Striving to ensure that the members of the CAHR Board of Directors continue to reflect the greater diversity of its membership including Indigenous, Black, and other oppressed groups;
- On-going anti-oppression training for both CAHR Board and staff members;
- Developing and putting into practice a CAHR Conference Code of Conduct and a Board of Directors Code of Conduct, with the aim of providing a safe, harassment-free environment for all members regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, national origin, ethnicity, or religion;
- Disseminating a list of anti-racism resources to all members of CAHR and reminding all of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action;
- Continuing to host oral abstract sessions at our annual CAHR Conference that focus on scholarship about, by and for key population groups affected by HIV including: Indigenous communities; African, Caribbean and Black people; sexual and gender minorities, and people who use drugs;
- Continuing to host dedicated symposium sessions led by Indigenous researchers and African, Caribbean, and Black researchers, respectively and each featuring speakers from these communities;
- Addressing the key findings of an anti-oppression consultant who undertook a full review of CAHR’s policies, conferences, workshops and other activities and conducted stakeholder interviews in 2021;
- Capturing expanded data to ensure that CAHR’s programs reflect the breadth of the community that it serves;
- Reviewing CAHR’s suite of awards and committing to adjusting internal policies to both promote and better ensure greater diversity of awardees;
- Continuing to offer conference scholarships to community members to cover the cost of CAHR conference registration;
- Implementing guidelines that ensure CAHR Conference co-chairs, track chairs and reviewers make explicit efforts when selecting speakers for keynotes and oral presentations to ensure: “1) equity of opportunity for CAHR members who are: racialized persons / persons of colour, women, Indigenous / Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ persons, early career and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas; and 2) the subject of oral presentations reflect diversity of affected groups and regions of Canada”; and
- Planning future workshops that strengthen research capacity of Black, Indigenous and other People of Colour.
We remain committed to sustaining these activities and seeking new opportunities for Black, Indigenous and other People of Colour to contribute to and benefit from CAHR’s annual conference, workshops and our mandate. Our goal is to support efforts by the membership to create meaningful change in our community. We acknowledge that these are important steps on a path to reconciliation that recognizes the enormous contributions already made by these communities, and the incredible potential yet to flourish.
Sincerely
CAHR Board of Directors
Version 1: July 2020
Version 2: Updated December 2021
