Safe(r) Space Policy
Community accountability is Islamic. We see accountability as a process in which a community – a group of friends, a family, a church or mosque, a workplace, an apartment complex, a neighborhood, etc – work together to do the following things:
Create and affirm values & practices that resist harm and encourage safety, support, and accountability
Develop sustainable strategies to address community members’ abusive behavior, creating a process for them to account for their actions and transform their behavior
Commit to ongoing development of all members of the community, and the community itself, to transform the political conditions that reinforce harm, oppression and violence
Provide safety & support to community members who experience violence that respects their self-determination
Our goal is to make Center DC a courageous space that is rooted in the Prophetic example. That means being a community that is committed to justice, upholds the rights and agency of those harmed, calls on those who cause harm to take responsibility for their actions, and supports ALL community members in changing the conditions that allow harm to happen in the first place. We intend to be as transparent as any given situation allows and are committed to coming up with creative ways to intervene and interrupt behavior - be it intentional or unintentional - that harms our community. We believe that this process is a living & breathing one, and are excited to build it with you and learn as we grow, inshaAllah.
Our Community Accountability Process
Let us Know
The first step is telling us when something happens that doesn't feel right or causes harm. The process can be initiated via email to saferspace@centerdc.org.* That email account is checked exclusively by our Safe(r)Space Intake Coordinator, James Huff. You can share as little or as much as you'd like in writing, but it’s helpful if you’ve started thinking about what support might look like and how we can help. As a general policy, we do not engage with conflict on social media.
*As of 9/7/23, If your grievance is with an individual in leadership at Center DC, a separate process will be followed, led by our board. Please email board@centerdc.org. If deemed appropriate, they may bring in a third party to support both accountability and transparency.
2. We’ll do an intake
Once our intake coordinator identifies our team’s availability, 1-2 members of our Safe(r) Space Committee will reach out to schedule a time to meet or talk to you about what happened, what support you need from our team, and what you'd like to see happen next. You can request a different intake team, should you feel there is a conflict of interest. We will accommodate your request whenever possible. During the call, they'll take notes, but your identity will be kept fully confidential.
3. We’ll come up with options
The Safe(r) Space team will review what was shared and offer some suggestions to the you for next steps. We will keep your identity confidential unless you tell us otherwise. Suggestions may include:
a private mediation
an exchange of apology/accountability letters
a healing circle with those impacted
an accountability process to address the needs
recommended reading and check-ins,
a public community conversation or event,
a referral to a another professional helper, like a victims advocate, a chaplain, a mental health professional, etc.)
possibly punitive measures to keep you and others safe
or sometimes, that no action be taken
4. You decide what happens next
We'll review the possible next steps with you and you get to decide what happens from there. You get to choose how involved you are in the process and whether or not we move forward at all.
5. We’ll support next steps
Our goal is to make Center DC a brave space that is willing to take on hard conversations, be as transparent as the situation allows, and hold community members (and ourselves) accountable when harm happens. As a community, we are willing to do the hard work of acknowledging that harm, engaging it, and dismantling the systems that allow for it to happen in the first place. It is sometimes long, hard, and messy - and we can’t guarantee everyone will be happy with the outcome - but we are committed to building a safe(r), more supported, community at Center DC. We believe that this process is a living & breathing one, and are excited to build it with you, adjust as we learn to do better and grow together.
Need Support? Have an idea? Want to support this process?
email us at saferspace@centerdc.org
Last updated 3.4.24