DDAG was established in 2020 to promote equality, equity, and inclusivity within the dental profession. As the strategic oversight group of the DDAG, we are watching in horror at the scenes of unrest and violence across parts of the country, fuelled by racism and islamophobia. DDAG understands the personal impact these events will have on of our workforce and communities.
We are committed to advocating for and calling out discrimination, prejudice and bias. We do not work in a societal vacuum and recognise that these are challenging political times since. We welcome fair and open discussions however, these conversations should not be an open invitation for voicing hate speech, spreading misinformation on social media or in professional environments. We would hope across our profession, professional standards are adhered to and we continue to display our values of equality, compassion and respect.
As a profession we hope the workforce is reassured that we need not tolerate racism, discrimination, or abuse whether from colleagues, patients, or wider community groups.
We call on all dental organisations to provide emotional support, protection against racism for all within the clinical environment. We call on our various prestigious institutions to stand by and protect our students; for prominent dental societies to provide support via networks for their members who need somebody to talk to if they have been impacted; and for the stalwart high street practices to have internal conversations with their teams to reassure them and have a complete zero tolerance approach to behaviours that promote any divisive ‘othering’ or cause offense.
Lastly, we call for the profession to stand strong and in solidarity with each other regardless of race, ethnicity or faith and continue to provide oral health care for our patients during this challenging time with the kindness, respect and dignity we always have done.
