Backbone Campaign Response to Incidents that Occurred at 2017 Localize This Action Camp

Backbone Campaign acknowledges that institutional patriarchy exists in most organizations, including ours, and we apologize for the negative impacts that folks have experienced as a result. We are taking steps to further educate ourselves and improve, and commit to doing so in an ongoing manner. We appreciate the constructive conversations that have occurred during and after our 2017 Action Camp. Backbone Campaign board and staff are doing work to move forward having learned from our experience.

As part of this work, Backbone Campaign has adopted the following policies:

• Camp and other overnight events must begin with trainings in Radical Consent and Sexual Harassment. The first day of Camp has always focused on Anti-Oppression training and Group Agreements, but in the future Radical Consent will be added to those trainings – with no concurrent workshops scheduled.
  

• As part of the Group Agreements, we will discuss how to conduct oneself if you are called out, as well as how to get help if you feel boundaries are threatened or crossed. We will introduce concepts in Giving and Receiving Feedback in a way that honors both giver and receiver and strengthens the overall health and well-being of the group. Any overnight workshop throughout the year will also include a condensed version of the anti-oppression PLUS radical consent orientation, as part of establishing group agreements and ground rules.
  

• More care and training needs to be given to the Action Camp Vibes Team. We envision the Vibes Team as a group of 2-3 people who are tasked with this role in advance of Action Camp and trained by professionals to handle issues in a confidential, respectful and professional manner. There will be a standard of confidentiality and the role of the Vibes Team will be explained to campers.=

• Backbone Campaign will hire a trainer and host a training for all Board members and staff on anti-patriarchy, sexual harassment, gender sensitivity, and consent.

We remain committed to the important work of the Backbone Campaign as an organization committed to engaging the community in creating a just and sustainable future in these critical times, and we will continue to seek to embody our values in the work that we do.