Community Accountability Announcement

Autistics United Canada organizers have asked a fellow organizer to step down from their role after a number of their actions negatively impacted the safety of other AUC members, particularly multiply marginalized members. Over the past few months, Autistics United Canada organizers have been in conversation with this person, calling them in with the help of a friend of theirs and fellow organizers. At this time, we still welcome this person as a continued general member.

We are also trying to take accountability for our responsibility in this as a group and are taking steps to prevent similar incidents in the future. This includes building capacity among organizers by:

• Creating spaces to build skills among organizers for accountability as an ongoing practice, including a safer space for organizers to discuss and take accountability for our actions
• Conducting ongoing training for organizers old and new about accountability, conflict resolution, and transformative justice
• Revising our community guidelines specifically for organizers to include clearer accountability protocols
• Creating a resource list about accountability and transformative justice for all our members

All of this is part of our efforts to make Autistics United Canada a safer space for our current and future members, particularly autistic BIPOC, women, and non-binary folks.

We further recognize that a balance needs to be made between avoiding cutting people off from community (harmers and harmed), and at the same time ensuring that people doing harm in positions of power are removed from those positions of power.

If anyone would like clarification on this post or would like to share resources - please reach out to us by emailing us at [email protected] or messaging us on our social media. Thank you for your understanding and support as we struggle together to create safer and more just spaces inside and outside of AUC.