CAP on Discrimination: end social and racial profiling in Victoria

The Community Action Plan (CAP) on Discrimination is a project-in-the-works to create measurable targets and effective mechanisms to combat social and racial profiling in municipal services in Victoria. Briefing Document

The aim is to make Victoria safer for all, and a first step towards this is to have clear language around what types of institutional behaviour is unacceptable, and around exactly how this affects particularly marginalized groups, including people who are street-involved and racialized youth.

On March 28th 2013, we asked city hall take the lead in combating social and racial profiling in Victoria by making the following resolutions:

• Recognizing human rights to include protection against discrimination based on perceptions of social condition and disability, including discrimination based on stereotypical physical markers of poverty and illicit drug use.

• Identifying policing, health, and social services as critical areas where social and racial profiling occur, and important areas for monitoring and addressing these forms of discrimination.

• Appointing a Council Liaison to support the formation and sustaining of a CAP on Discrimination working-group to guide and oversee the development of an action plan to end social and racial profiling in municipal services in Victoria.

The project began as a collaboration of the City of Victoria Youth Council (CVYC) and the Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group (VIPIRG) in response to their respective research studies, which drew attention to experiences of discrimination among people who are street-involved and among racialized youth by municipal services in Victoria. Current members include: Together Against Poverty Society, AIDS Vancouver Island, Society of Living Illicit Drug Users, Committee to End Homelessness, and the City of Victoria Youth Council.

This project is only as strong as the local community organizations supporting it. Please consider endorsing the project by passing along your logo for inclusion on our web-site endorsements page, or participating directly as a member of the steering committee.

contact safer.for.all@vipirg.ca