Non-Verbal, Deaf and DeafBlind Survivors
Throughout our history, the most vulnerable among us have been left out of important violence prevention conversations due to real or perceived barriers to language access. People with disabilities have been among the most highly impacted by inadequate language access, including but not limited to non-verbal survivors, deafblind, and hearing impaired communities. Every language access plan should include resources and protocols for working with non-verbal, deaf, hard of hearing or deafblind communities.
Non-verbal survivors experience significant barriers is reporting or seeking help for sexual abuse. Specialists recommend diverse methods like writing, pictures, hand motions, speech output or speech generating devices, eye contact, facial expressions as well as physical cues. The term Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) refers to any means of communication, aside from traditional speech, that allows someone to use language. It’s important to always talk to the impaired person and not talk to their interpreter. It’s best practice to always face them in the event that they lipread. As University of Chichester notes, “avoid covering your mouth or face while talking as this makes lip-reading difficult. If someone doesn't understand what you've said, try saying it in a different way, repeat as many times as is necessary. Never say ‘it doesn't matter’ (nevermind)”. Allow the hearing impaired person to choose where to sit in the room — they may need to be at the front in order to lip-read. Consider a horseshoe set up for group discussions.”
Never make assumptions about how much someone else understands or communicates, and especially never expect that all Deaf or hard of hearing people can lip-read, speak or sign in ASL. Approximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing, meaning there is a spectrum ranging from some slight hearing loss to being fully Deaf. Despite facing higher rates of sexual violence, help pathways remain highly inaccessible to many Deaf and hard of hearing survivors.
Fear of being unable to communicate with others in a comfortable way or encountering untrained response staff is a key factor dictating the likelihood of a Deaf or hard of hearing survivor’s willingness to report. Given this, it’s critical to create those accessibility pathways and not just wait for survivors with accommodations to come to you. According to Activating Change, “68% of victim service providers report rarely or never serving Deaf survivors. 1 in 10 victim service providers report using children of survivors as interpreters. 23% of service providers report no sign language interpreters in their area. 25% of victim service organizations identified Deaf and hard of hearing people as underserved.”
Special awareness must also be given to the language access needs of Deafblind people, who may use Deafblind Manual to communicate. Deafblind Manual uses only touch, not sight or speech, and consists of words and sentences spelled out on the hand using individual letter signs. Other Deafblind people use Tadoma, a way to understand what someone is saying by touch, also known as “tactile lipreading”. People who communicate through Tadoma physically place their fingers on the lips, jaw, and/or throat of the speaker
Up to 500,000 Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing people use ASL throughout the country, but there is no universal sign language, barriers to adequate communication are even more strained for Deaf refugees. As we discuss in The Importance of Language Access, a lesser known aspect of ASL is the dialect referred to as Black ASL. Due to the United States’ history of racially segregated schools, Black signers learned ASL in different spaces than White signers and consequently developed their own unique dialect. This can and has resulted in confusion between Black and White signers due to differences in words or phrases as well as a lack of understanding of differing cultural contexts. Nine in 10 ASL interpreters are White and 87 percent are women. This is emblematic of a larger issue. When working in language interpretation and translation circles, it is absolutely imperative to provide interpreters and translators with cultural awareness training in order to maintain the integrity of the messaging communicated by people of all different backgrounds.
It’s also to be aware of other forms of signing or communication, like makaton, which is key word signing that includes picture symbols- sometimes favored by people with Down’s Syndrome, autism, or others who are not able or comfortable to sign or speak.
Recommended Activity: Watch
Watch: What It’s Like to Read Lips | Short Film Showcase - YouTube
Little Moving Pictures' Can You Read My Lips? is an immersive short about lip-reading, based on the essay “Seeing at the Speed of Sound” by Rachel Kolb, who narrates and stars in the piece.
Resources
A Brief Guide to Consenting with a Nonverbal Partner | Scarleteen
Culture, Language, and Access | Vera Institute
State Deaf-Blind Projects | National Center on Deaf-Blindness
7 Common Accessibility Errors On Websites and How to Fix Them | Helen Keller Services
Supporting Deaf & DeafBlind Survivors |End Abuse of People with Disabilities
Free American Sign Language (ASL)/English Interpreting Resources | University of Houston
Supporting Deaf & DeafBlind Survivors | Center for Reaching Victims
How to care for someone with communication difficulties | NHS
Working with Deaf Survivors | Resource Sharing Project
ASL Sign Language Video Dictionary | Signing Savvy
Stuttering
3 million people in the U.S.A stutter. Research and personal narratives indicate that fears of judgment, bullying, and negative receptions create added anxiety for people who stutter about communicating. Research also shows that children with language disorders have a higher than average rate of sexual abuse. Discussing heavy topics like trauma or sharing about sexual abuse can be difficult for anyone- let alone someone experiencing heightened stress when talking. The stuttering foundation recommends the following 6 steps when speaking with someone with stuttered speech to create the most supportive and welcoming space as a listener.
- Don’t make remarks like: “Slow down,” “Take a breath,” or “Relax.” Such simplistic advice can be felt as demeaning and is not helpful.
- Let the person know by your manner that you are listening to what he or she says — not how they say it.
- Maintain natural eye contact and wait patiently and naturally until the person is finished.
- You may be tempted to finish sentences or fill in words. Try not to do so.
- Be aware that those who stutter usually have more trouble controlling their speech on the telephone. Please be patient in this situation. If you pick up the phone and hear nothing, be sure it is not a person who stutters trying to start the conversation before you hang up.
- Speak in an unhurried way — but not so slowly as to sound unnatural. This promotes good communication with everyone.”
Recommended Activity: Read
I Stutter. But I Need You to Listen. | NYT Opinion - YouTube
John Hendrickson stutters. He has stuttered nearly his entire life. In the Opinion video, Mr. Hendrickson, working with the filmmaker James Robinson, explores the obstacles and emotional burden of his condition and explains the coping strategies and workarounds he has devised to make it through the day in a world that demands that we speak up and speak clearly. The film suggests that the problem may lie not with people who stutter but with a society that is largely unprepared or disinclined to accommodate them.
Resources:
Resources Translated into Other Languages | Stuttering Foundation
Stuttering in Multicultural Populations | Judy Kuster
Blind and Visually Impaired Survivors
Almost 8% of the U.S. population (20 million Americans) have visual impairments, yet visually impaired survivors go largely underserved. This is not only due to a lack of understanding on the intersections of visual disability and sexual violence, but also due to language access issues and the need for available materials in Braille or screen reader accessible forms. Research indicates that computer and technology use is lower among adults with visual impairments, and there are unique elements to the violence they may face that far too often are overlooked. According to Safe Lives, visually impaired survivors speak of abuse “such as the perpetrator moving things around the house so that the victim or survivor trips or is unable to find items they need, or withholding support like sighted guiding or accessible equipment. [Research] participants found that, in general, formal services including domestic abuse services, the police, GPs and housing services usually did not understand their visual impairment and did not take their visual impairment into account when supporting them…Victims described being encouraged to stay with their carer-perpetrator by professionals and family members”.
Recommended Activity: Visit
“When most sighted people think “blindness,” they think of a world in total blackness. But, this is far from accurate. A variety of eye diseases, genetic disorders, and birth defects, as well as aging or suffering an injury, can interfere with healthy vision. And these visual impairments don’t all “look” the same.”
Visit the What blindness really looks like page by Perkins School for the Blind and experience how certain types of vision impairments may look firsthand.
Resources
Blind Accessibility Tips| Blind Accessibility
How can you make your presentation accessible? | University of Washington
Providing Accessible Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Who are Blind or Have Low Vision | End Abuse of People with Disabilities
The double whammy of being a survivor of domestic abuse who is blind and male | The Centre for Male Psychology
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