PROGRESS OF AND CHALLENGES FACED BY THE ANTI-RACISM WORKING GROUP AT KING'S COLLEGE LONDON

Abstract

The Anti-Racism Working Group (ARWG) of the Social, Genetic, Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre aims to help identify, propose, instigate, and support change consistent with an anti-racist agenda within the department. This talk will showcase the work done by the ARWG, the challenges we faced along the way, and where the team plans to go next. The ARWG was established in 2020 consists of three subgroups: (1) SGDP Centre Protocol, which aims to help develop and embed anti-racist procedures and practices within the department, (2) SGDP Centre Internal Events and Communication, which organises events on anti-racism for members of the department and the wider King's College London community, and (3) SGDP Centre External Events and Wider Opportunities, which aims to provide mentoring, allyship, training, and communication for people and organisations outside of King's College London. Since our inception, we have organised multiple events, including a talk from Dr Jedidiah Carlson titled ‘Disrupting the Weaponisation of Genetics Research by Extremists’, and have supervised multiple undergraduate projects with an anti-racism focus, for example, ‘Exploring anti-racist terminology and research practices for mental health researchers’. We also coordinate the annual faculty-wide outreach programme for London-based teenagers that aims to encourage continuation of science education to university level. To track and communicate perceptions and opinions about racism within the SGDP Centre, we distribute surveys and present the findings to the department, as well as deliver regular reports on our progress. A key challenge we encountered was fostering support and engagement from a wider audience. Building capacity across the university has been improved through collaboration with other departments and Culture, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion groups. Currently, the team is developing an anti-racist toolkit for use as an individual or within a team, guidelines on how to increase inclusivity of teaching, and a terminology guide for researchers measuring and reporting diversity. Moving forward, we hope to develop sustainable tools and initiatives that are embedded within departmental practice that promote diversity and equality of opportunity among students and staff across all levels of seniority.