Social Justice Committee

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The GAP Social Justice Committee will work to influence policy related to topics of relevance to social justice in the theory and practice of psychiatry. Some strategies for exerting influence on policy and practice would be:

• publishing thoughtful scholarly papers/monographs on issues in social justice; 

• making timely commentary on current challenges in social justice (blog post);

• responding to topical issues raised by others (op-ed).

Within GAP the committee will work to raise the attention of members to relevant issues at all phases of discussion and dissemination, ranging from membership practices to committee meetings to GAP’s deliverables. The Social Justice Committee will propose a series of recommendations designed to ensure the organization’s attention to diversity, equity, non- exclusion, anti-racism, and issues of broad social justice such as:

• Fostering a respectful and welcoming environment that will attract and retain members from all backgrounds, especially those that have been historically underrepresented in psychiatry and psychiatric leadership; 

• Ensuring that diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and social justice infuse the work of all GAP committees;

• Reviewing all policies, procedures, and processes at the organizational and committee level to ascertain that structural inequities are identified and addressed; and

• Fostering an organization-wide process to develop a DEI plan that will have input from the whole membership and serve to educate all members about the critical role of DEI and social justice as essential features of excellence that impact GAP’s ability to meet its mission.