The Diversity Outreach Committee

Diversity in forensic sciences: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) representation in different medicolegal fields in the United States

An-Di Yim, Jessica K. Juarez, Jesse R. Goliath, Isabel S. Melhado,

Forensic Science International: Synergy, Volume 5, 2022, 100280, ISSN 2589-871X,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2022.100280.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X22000651)

Abstract: The benefits of a diverse and inclusive working environment are well documented. This study examined forensic science literature, demographic data reported from professional organizations, and demographic surveys to compile information regarding racial and ethnic diversity within different subdisciplines of forensic science. Results showed that practitioners self-identified as Black or Hispanic were underrepresented in scientific fields closely related to forensic science. Moreover, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students were underrepresented at the undergraduate level, despite increasing college enrollments. This lack of representation may have consequences on knowledge production and innovation. By recognizing the current status of diversity in forensic science, this study is the first step toward mitigating the trend of underrepresentation. We encourage professional organizations to be transparent about the diversity in their membership and provide actual practitioner demographic statistics. These data are beneficial to studying the effects of underrepresentation and developing effective strategies to improve representation.

Keywords: Diversity; Representation; Medicolegal; Forensic science

Objectivity is a myth that harms the practice and diversity of forensic science

Allysha Powanda Winburn, Chaunesey M.J. Clemmons,

Forensic Science International: Synergy, Volume 3, 2021, 100196, ISSN 2589-871X,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2021.100196.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X21000668)

Keywords: Subjectivity; Mitigated objectivity; Social studies of science; Cognitive bias; Implicit bias; Quality control; Diversity; Equity; Inclusion

Highlights

• Forensic science data are theory laden; pure scientific objectivity is a myth.
• Upholding this myth marginalizes forensic scientists with subjective positionalities
• Objectivity rhetoric is exclusive; ethical forensic science needs diverse perspectives.
• Espousing objectivity prevents us from supporting the communities we serve.
• Mitigated objectivity acknowledges implicit bias, constraining it via quality control.

Approaches to decolonising forensic curricula,

A.S. Chaussée, J. Winter, P. Ayres,

Science & Justice, Volume 62, Issue 6, 2022, Pages 795-804, ISSN 1355-0306,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2022.06.003.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135503062200079X)

Abstract: Forensic science in UK Higher Education involves a constellation of subdisciplines, each with a biography shaped by a colonial past. Deeper examinations of the structures of curriculum design allow educators to address where colonial assumptions may reside and the impact of these legacies on the present. One process to assist this endeavour is Decolonising the Curriculum (DtC), which seeks to question and dismantle colonial structures of knowledge and support contextualisation to broaden, rather than narrow, the curricula. DtC toolkits, like those developed at the University of Winchester in the south of England, may provide practical support to programme teams to reflect on how colonial attitudes shape new and existing curricula. DtC may be seen as supporting existing quality processes that are part of the reflection cycle and tested through institutional and other accreditation quality procedures. Toolkits support programme teams to identify existing good practices and areas requiring further reflection and development. We offer perspectives on areas that would benefit from critical evaluation when teaching subjects with foundations in race science, colonial attitudes, and social injustice. The paper focuses on three main approaches to support decolonial discourse: sustained historical inquiry, questioning ethnic classifications and identity, and the presentation of international forensic work. Rather than seeing DtC as a threat to educational quality, it may be more constructively seen as an integral part of quality processes in curriculum design to support more diverse, inclusive, and authentic learning in forensic Higher Education.

Keywords: Decolonising curriculum; Forensic science; Inclusivity; Quality

DEIA: What I learned from the AAFS Diversity Outreach Committee by presenter - Joe Treviño | Criminalist, NYPD Police Laboratory (This webinar originally occurred on March 28, 2024

https://forensiccoe.org/webinar-2024-deia-outreach-committee/

Information on the 2025 Speaker(s):

Marvin Anderson - Innocence Project

Tebah Browne - Innocence Project 

General information regarding the DEI practices and measures in Baltimore:

• Baltimore County Government: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | Baltimore County Government (baltimorecountymd.gov)
• City of Baltimore Office of Equity and Civil Rights: Equity Office | Office of Equity and Civil Rights (baltimorecity.gov)
• Organizations, Restaurants, and places committed to DEI initiatives for tourism: Warm Welcome | Visit Baltimore 

Local resources:

• Baltimore Safe Haven (Trans-led Drop in Center): Baltimore Safe Haven
• The Pride Center of Maryland (LGBTQIA+ Support): The Pride Center of Maryland | Pride Center Baltimore | 2418 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore, MD, USA (pridecentermd.org)
• An LGBTQ+ Guide to Baltimore (LGBTQ Friendly Hotels, Bars, Shopping, and Restaurants): An LGBTQ+ Guide to Baltimore | Visit Baltimore
• Sexual Assault Survivors Resources: Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault | MCASA; Rape crisis centers: Rape Crisis and Recovery Centers | Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault | MCASA | Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault
• Human Trafficking: Human Trafficking - Governor's Office of Crime Prevention and Policy (maryland.gov)
• Baltimore Public Transport: Transit Services | Baltimore City Department of Transportation

Laws and Policy Awareness:

• Breastfeeding Laws and Resources: Pages - bf_mdlaw (maryland.gov)

RTI Series on POC:

• Part 1: https://www.rti.org/insights/why-there-arent-more-poc-forensic-scientists-part-1-looking-landscape

• Part 2: https://www.rti.org/insights/POC-in-forensics-part-2 

• Part 3: https://www.rti.org/insights/POC-in-forensics-part-3 

Indigenous populations (articles and podcasts from Donna Chrisjohn-2023 DOC speaker):

• https://atmos.earth/the-native-led-forensics-lab-dedicated-to-solving-mmip-cases/

• https://www.ishinews.com/from-silence-to-science-haley-omeasoos-new-forensic-laboratory-aims-to-combat-the-mmip-crisis/

• https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/rapport//2021/education/rebekah_jacques.html

Podcast:  Thunder Bay, Post Mortem 1 and 2

Thunder Bay goes through a story of what has happened in their community.  It is important to listen to the entire podcast and seasons.  The final two episodes discuss how the community is continually impacted by these deaths and what goes wrong.  It's really impactful.

https://forensicrti.org/just-science-episode-236/

Other resources on indigenous populations

(Each of these orgs have IG and Facebook to follow.  They will share up to date events and information about what is happening in our communities.  They will also provide resources for how to get involved):

• https://www.ncai.org/

• https://www.niea.org/

• https://www.niwrc.org/

• https://boardingschoolhealing.org/

• https://illuminative.org/

• https://ojin.nursingworld.org/table-of-contents/volume-27-2022/number-2-may-2022/diversity-equity--inclusion-policies-of-national-nursing-organizations/

• https://www.nursingcenter.com/cearticle?an=01263942-202112000-00004

• https://www.nursingcenter.com/journalarticle?Article_ID=1630736

RTI Insights on LGBTQ topics:

• https://www.rti.org/insights/queer-identity-workplace

• https://www.rti.org/insights/intersex-inclusivity-in-lgbtqia-research 

• https://www.rti.org/insights/power-of-pronouns

• https://www.rti.org/insights/equity-as-practice-reflections

• https://www.rti.org/insights/noticing-when-brain-is-othering

NIJ diversity article:

• https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/importance-diversity-and-inclusion-forensic-sciences

JFSE article on LGBTQ+ inclusion:

• https://jfse-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/jfse/article/view/98 

Jaymelee Kim, Lucia Elgerud, Hugh Tuller, Gaining Community Entry with Survivors for Forensic Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention, Forensic Sciences Research, Volume 7, Issue 3, September 2022, Pages 346–357, https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2021.2002524

Elisabeth Cuerrier-Richer, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada: A New Population Affinity Assessment Technique to Aid in Identification Using 3D Technology, Forensic Sciences Research, Volume 7, Issue 3, September 2022, Pages 427–439, https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2021.2023417

• Accessibility

  Barrier-free design, standards, systems, processes, and environments to provide all individuals, regardless of ability, identity or situation, an effective opportunity to take part in, use and enjoy the benefits of: programs, services, activities, communication, facilities, electronic/information technology, and opportunities.

• Diversity

  The presence of variety within a group.

• Equity

  Everyone getting what they need in order to have access, opportunities and a fair chance to succeed. It recognizes that the same for everyone (i.e. equality) doesn't truly address needs and therefore, specific solutions and remedies, which may be different between people, are necessary.

• Inclusion

  An environment and commitment to respect, represent and accept diverse social groups and identities; an environment where all people feel like they belong.

• Intersectionality

  A framework for understanding the interaction of cultures and identities held by an individual.

  • Intersectionality explains how an individual with multiple identities that may have been marginalized can experience compounded oppression (such as racism, sexism, and classism) or how an individual can experience privilege in some areas and disadvantage in other areas. It takes into account people's overlapping identities to understand the complexity of their life outcomes and experiences.

• Privilege

  Any unearned benefit, position, power, right, or advantage one receives in society because of their identity.

  • Ability Privilege
  • Cis/Hetero Privilege
  • Class/Economic Privilege
  • Male Privilege
  • White Privilege

• Social Construct

  A social phenomenon or convention originating within and cultivated by society or a particular social group, as opposed to existing inherently or naturally

• Social Justice

  A practice within a society based on principles of equality and solidarity that understands and values human rights and recognizes the dignity of every human being. Such a practice would strive to provide basic human needs and comforts to all members of the society regardless of class, race, religion or any other characteristic.

• BIPOC/POC

  ​​​​​​Black and Indigenous People of Color; collective term for referring to non-white racial groups.

  (Also see: Race)

• Ethnicity

  A social construct that divides people into smaller social groups based on characteristics such as values, behavioral patterns, language, political and economic interests, history, and ancestral geography.

• Indigenous

  Distinct social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy, or from which they have been displaced.

• Nationality

  A specific legal relationship between a person and a state, whether by birth or naturalization (i.e. a person's citizenship).

• Race

  A social construct that divides people into smaller social groups based on characteristics most typically skin color.

• Asexual (Ace):

  A person who experiences little to no physical attraction to other people.

  • Aromantic: A person who experiences little to no emotional or romantic attraction to other people.

• (Biological) Sex

  A concept which involves a combination of four elements: chromosomes, hormones, external genitalia, and internal reproductive organs.

  • AFAB/AMAB: Assigned Female At Birth/Assigned Male At Birth; used by many transgender people to refer to their given gender or biological sex

• Bisexual

  A person who has an emotional and physical attraction to persons of the same and different genders.

• Cisgender

  Describes a person whose gender identity and gender expression matches the gender typically associated with their biological sex. Often abbreviated to "Cis".

• Gender

  Refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviors and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time.

• Heterosexual/Straight

  A person who is emotionally and physically attracted to people of the opposite binary sex.

• Homosexual/Gay

  A person who is emotionally and physically attracted to someone of the same gender.

• Intersex

  ​​​​​​​A general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. Intersexuality occurs as often as every 1 in 100 births.

  • Examples include: people who are born with internal genitalia complicating the assignment of sex at birth; people born with both male and female genitalia; people born without genitalia; people born with an extra sex chromosome; people with genitalia suggesting one gender while the hormones produced in puberty are more consistent with the other gender.

• Lesbian

  A female or woman who has an emotional and physical attraction for other females or women.

• Queer

  A person who expresses fluid identities and/or orientations in their emotional and physical attraction to others. The term is sometimes used as an umbrella term to refer to all LGBTQ+ people.

• Transgender

  An umbrella term used to describe a person whose gender identity and sex assigned at birth differ.

• Two-Spirit

  A modern umbrella Indigenous/Aboriginal-specific term used to describe people who fulfill or live any gender non-conforming spiritual and social role in their community; not considered interchangeable with non-Indigenous mainstream definitions of sexuality and/or gender identity.

  • This term is controversial, as it can erase already similar existing terms in Indigenous societies as well as be misinterpreted as "simply Native/Indigenous LGBTQ."

• Ableism

  The discrimination against people with disabilities or the prejudice against those with physical differences or disabilities.

• Ageism

  The prejudice and discrimination against others based on age; the typical assumption is that "everyone is young", thereby ignoring the needs of older persons and society as a whole.

• Antisemitism

  Hostility or prejudice against Jewish people just because they are Jewish. It may take the form of religious teachings that proclaim the inferiority of Jews, for instance, or political efforts to isolate, oppress, or otherwise injure them. It may also include prejudiced or stereotyped views and beliefs about Jews.

• Bias

  Prejudice in favor of or against something or someone, usually in an unfair or negative way.

• (Cultural) Appropriation

  Theft, exploitation, or mimicry of cultural elements for one's own personal use or profit – including symbols, dress, art, music, dance, language, land, customs, medicine, etc. – often without understanding, acknowledgment, or respect for its value in the original culture.

• Discrimination

  Unjust or prejudicial treatment of people for their identities or appearances.

• Homophobia

  A term for fear, anger, intolerance, resentment, hatred, discomfort, or mistrust that one may have toward LGBTQ+ people. Can also connote a fear, disgust, or dislike of being perceived as LGBTQ+.

• Islamophobia

  Prejudice and/or discrimination against people who are or who are perceived to be Muslim, including a fear and/or dislike of Islamic culture.

• Microaggression

  Verbal or non-verbal statements, phrases, or actions that convey hostile, derogatory, or negative attitudes towards a people or group; microaggressions can be a dismissive look, physically distancing yourself from someone, or a negative tone because of one's appearance or identity.

• Model Minority Myth

  The stereotype of a minority demographic whereby members are modeled to be higher achieving than those of other minority groups; using a minority group as a reference in order to perpetuate harmful perceptions of "the other" groups. The Model Minority Myth is also harmful to those in the "model minority" as it obscures and attempts to invalidate the discrimination experienced by members of the group.

• Othering

  The systematically expressed prejudice on the basis of group identities or membership; a common set of dynamics, processes, and structures that produces marginality and persistent inequality across any of the full range of human differences; a strategy of the dominant culture to prevent belonging.

• Sexism

  Prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination based on sex.

• Stereotype

  A widely held or simplified view of a people or group, usually negative; whether positive or negative, stereotypes do not take into account the spectrum of experience and beliefs of a people and are harmful.

• Tokenism

  The practice of making an empty, symbolic effort at diversity to give the appearance of diversity; this is often done by recruiting a small number of people from minority or underrepresented groups for visibility but not actual participation.

• Transphobia

  A term for fear, anger, intolerance, resentment, hatred, discomfort, or mistrust that one may have toward people who are transgender or gender non-conforming.