British Sign Language sign for Deaf
8th March 2003 – a most memorable day in the Deaf Community with the announcement that British Sign Language (BSL) had been recognised as an official British language. Impressive stuff and, whilst not directly involved at that time, I had been aware of the campaigns run by many deaf people to seek that recognition. I remember stories of deaf people marching through the streets of London, Brighton and the infamous Wolverhampton Six.
British Sign Language recognised?
It sounded good and I remember thinking that all the campaigning had been successful. How proud people felt that they’d been involved in changing history – to achieve an announcement from the British Government was awesome.
Today is the 10th anniversary of that recognition and I sit here wondering what recognition has really meant. I’ve read a flurry of Tweets congratulating various organisations on the 10th Anniversary but I also see an Early Day Motion 1167 calling on the Government to prepare a short, cross-departmental report which pulls together all that it is currently doing to support BSL users and to identify the barriers that still remain to BSL users’ full participation in, and contribution to, British society.
10 years on, do deaf people have full access to services that others simply take for granted?
Parliamentary Reception
There are some things that have been achieved but I’m sure that it is not nearly what people expected back in 2003 with those headlines announcing “British Sign Language recognised”. Today, to mark the occasion, there has been a parliamentary reception at the House of Commons on behalf of the BSL Alliance. The alliance includes Signature, National Deaf Children’s Society, British Deaf Association (BDA) and the Royal Association of the Deaf and in this, the 10th anniversary year, again we see calls to get BSL back on the agenda.
Parliamentary Reception in London
There are still too many barriers that prevent Deaf people from participating in society
As Chief Executive of the British Deaf Association, David Buxton says: “Ten years on from recognition, we need the government to re-engage with the many thousands of people who use British Sign Language, whether as their first language or alongside English. There are still too many barriers that prevent Deaf people from participating in, and contributing equally to, society.”
But is it just about British Sign Language or does the problem go deeper?
Access to Services
Time and time again I am astonished at the lack of access for deaf people whether that is at the doctors’ surgery, in hospitals, in the high street or through the judicial system. Deaf people do not have full access.
Deafness is a difference and a difference is only disability when a barrier is put in the way
Going back a few years, I worked with a large public organisation on the Disability Equality Duty which followed on from the Disability Discrimination Act. At that time I recognised that there were many barriers which needlessly existed and which prevented deaf people from full participation in society. Many of those barriers are still in place. Everything from adverts on TV to Police Witness Appeals – it seems that if you can’t use a voice phone, you are excluded. It was then that I recognised that, rather than considering deafness as a disability, it was, in fact, simply a difference. It was how society responded that would either disable or enable an individual. I was following the Social Model of Disability without even knowing it.
Back then there was not even access to the emergency services. Thanks to the work of national 999 Committee things have changed with the introduction in 2009 of the national emergency SMS text service; albeit almost 75-years after voice 999. So now a deaf person or speech impaired person can call for the emergency services but there is no guarantee that communication will work once the police, fire or ambulance arrive.
Access means more than British Sign Language
I’m convinced that this is more than simply about access to language. Frequently there is reference to the need for a British Sign Language Act, similar to the Welsh Language Act which requires public bodies to be bilingual and results in the dual language road signs, websites and so on. I do wonder, though, whether that would solve the problem. I can’t help but think that, if anything, what we need is a Deaf Awareness Act, something that requires public bodies to consider their access across the board. This would, obviously, include access to British Sign Language but it wouldn’t stop there. Consideration would have to be given to the other aspects of communication from initial contact to complaints. Only then would we see improvements.
Far too many people do not understand the issues around deaf access. Many believe that improving access is simply a case of adopting written notes but written notes are no replacement for fluent dialogue and people do not properly engage with people through abridged text. It is unfortunate that currently deaf access will only be improved by the dedication and commitment of individuals who recognise the issues … people who ‘get it’. The trick now must be to figure out how to ensure that others ‘get it’ too!
Ten years on, has access for deaf people improved? I believe it has improved but it has yet to be fully embedded and mainstreamed within society. The key must be education to raise awareness of what access really means.
Awareness and a positive attitude
For now, I join in the congratulations of those involved in British Sign Language recognition in the past and for those involved in the continued fight towards inclusion but please, do not stop with a focus only on BSL – awareness and a positive attitude is also required to bring access.
