Potentials of online justice spaces

Through our social media, West Coast LEAF aims to engage our community in conversations and mutual learning about gender justice and human rights, and about the laws and policies that can either undermine or advance these aims. We view our public communications, including our social media, as one of our strategies for working towards our vision of an equal and just society for all women and people who experience gender-based discrimination.

West Coast LEAF values open and inclusive dialogue, including critique of our work and messaging, which can help us learn and improve as an organization.  The exchange of ideas and perspectives is essential to building relationships and communities, expressing what matters to us, and learning from one another. At the same time, we recognize that discriminatory comments on our social media can undermine open and inclusive dialogue by creating a hostile climate for communities our society has systemically marginalized. We consider it unacceptable that people are squeezed out of online spaces and conversations as a result of hate, harassment, and stigma.

As an organization that offers public legal education, West Coast LEAF also cares about keeping the content on our social media accurate and relevant. Incorrect or misleading information can cause harm when applied to people’s real-life problems.

West Coast LEAF and our public communications are non-partisan. As an organization focused on holding government and elected representatives to account, we do not endorse any political party or candidate.

Respectful communication

In order to keep our social media aligned with our values and aims, West Coast LEAF may sometimes hide or delete comments or posts, or block social media users. We may use these strategies to address the following types of content:

• Discriminatory, hateful, and stigmatizing messages (including but not limited to misogynistic, transphobic, racist, poor-bashing, ableist, xenophobic, and/or homophobic messages)
• Harassment
• Misinformation
• Harmful or misleading advice
• Spam or advertising
• Promotion of political parties or candidates
• Photos or personal information posted without the consent of the relevant people
• Content that is against the law

Please keep in mind that we are a small team and do not have the capacity to monitor our social media channels on a full-time basis. We will do our best to moderate our social media in a timely way, but delays will sometimes happen.

If you have any questions or concerns about our social media, including this social media moderation policy, please contact education@westcoastleaf.org.