EDIS Statement on Recent Racist Violence in the UK

EDIS wants to extend our care and solidarity to our community, the wider science and health research sector, and to everyone who has been impacted by the recent Islamophobic, racist, xenophobic and anti-migrant riots in the UK. To our Muslim colleagues, migrant colleagues and colleagues from the Global Majority – we want to reaffirm that EDIS stands with you in the face of this violence and that we do not tolerate any form of discrimination or intimidation in our community.

Whilst the overt violence of recent weeks is shocking, we acknowledge that it is not surprising to many who have been subject to the same prejudice their whole lives and have witnessed harmful rhetoric becoming increasingly mainstreamed. Set against a backdrop of rising Islamophobia, antisemitism and other hate-based crimes based on divisions of faith, race and other form of identity, this overt violence is the tip of the iceberg of societal inequality and deliberate division that must be fought through a social justice and intersectional lens.

We know that the UK science and health research sector is made richer and more impactful because it is diverse and international. We also know that the sector is both a product of society and influential to society, which means that each of us has a responsibility to ensure the sector does not perpetuate the discrimination we are currently seeing across the UK.

EDIS’ vision is to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive science and health research sector and to transform how research is done, who is involved, and who benefits from its outcomes. The strength of our coalition sits at the heart of this goal, and it is therefore essential that our community is at the heart of our response and ongoing anti-racism work. Over the coming weeks, we will be developing spaces for our community to come together, including dedicated space for those in our membership who have been directly affected by the recent violence to connect with one another.

We are encouraged by the many people who have taken to the streets through counter-protests to share the message that refugees, migrants, Muslims and all people from the Global Majority are welcome in the UK. It is imperative that our sector mirrors this collective resistance to prejudice, and EDIS will continue to create inclusive, celebratory and supportive environments for everyone who is, or wants to be, part of science and health research.

We have collated the below resources to support anti-racism work both in and outside of the workplace.

Anti-racism in the workplace:

• A Toolkit for Trauma-Informed Workplaces
• Supporting staff following a traumatic incident
• Wellcome’s anti-racist principles, guidance, and toolkit
• A guide to bystander intervention

Additionally, Healing Justice London is a community-led organisation working on anti-racism, anti-colonialism, and health. They have a range of trauma-informed resources for those impacted by racism including:

• Anchoring Resilience – A recorded webinar by Nkem Ndefo sharing shares tools and practices that can support nervous system regulation, especially during times of crisis and turbulence
• Aftercare Guide – A trauma-informed and embodied guide for decompressing from engaging with racism
• An embodied guide for self-regulation before, during and after anti-racism protests

A larger collection of podcasts, webinars, and resources is available on their website here. They also run free weekly online yoga and breathwork sessions accessible here.