Beat exists to help end the pain and suffering caused by eating disorders and we are here for anyone affected by these serious mental illnesses from all races, ages, genders, sexualities or backgrounds.
We know eating disorders do not discriminate but there are still significantly more barriers for people of colour to access timely, effective and appropriate mental health support. This is not acceptable.
Beat stands against racism and inequality in all its forms, and we stand with the Black Lives Matter movement.
We have taken steps to improve our recruitment procedures to help eliminate unconscious bias by anonymising applications but individuals from BAME backgrounds still make up a small proportion of our staff and volunteers. We need to do more to help us better represent the broad communities we serve and Beat are committed to do so, including by taking steps to increase applications from people of colour.
During last year’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week, we highlighted that eating disorders can affect anyone, regardless of background but we know that the proportion of people of colour who access our services is low. We have been reflecting on what steps we can take to change this. We’re committed to educating ourselves and working to ensure our services are known to and accessible to all who need us, including by ensuring the stories we ell on our website and publications are as diverse as possible and seeking to proactively raise awareness of our services with BAME people.
As a charity, we know we have a long way to go to address the white privilege inherent in our organisation and we know we won’t always get it right. But we are committed to listening, learning and evolving as an organisation.
We would welcome your thoughts and feedback on ways we can continue to make positive changes to Beat and further support BAME individuals affected by eating disorders. Please contact us via email.