Daniel Kostick: Sign my petition for a BSL Act in England

Sign Daniel’s petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/258079

On 14th May 2019 I created a petition to put in law what already exists in Scotland, this being a BSL Act.

BSL was recognised in March 2003, 16 years ago, and yet it still has no legal protection despite the fact that according to the British Deaf Association, 151,000 people use BSL in the UK (excluding interpreters etc).

A BSL act would require public authorities that deal with physical and mental health (NHS), democracy and politics, training and work and education etc to prepare and publish plans that support British Sign Language every 6 years.

The reason I created this petition is because I have profoundly D/deaf parents. This has meant I’ve seen first-hand what life can be like for someone who is D/deaf, and I’ve had to see my parents struggle in a society that doesn’t accommodate for them.

As most of you know a D/deaf person must book an interpreter 2 weeks in advance to see a medical professional or even a GP but sure enough not every issue you see a doctor for can be booked two weeks in advance and there have been numerous occasions where I’ve been asked to assist and interpret for my parents from a young age.

The doctors are not the only place I have had to interpret for my parents as at some meetings with my teachers over my progress, I had to translate so my parents and teachers’ issues could be raised.

For many reasons, many times, I’ve been unable to help them resulting in them trying to go on their own and there being a communication breakdown or them not going at all.

Of course, I am happy to help my family where I can but I should not have to and I often feel guilty when I have had to tell them to do things themselves, especially since I decided to go to university.

Since creating this petition people have come forward to me with their experiences, some being truly horrifying, such as someone’s teenaged daughter telling their mother they have cancer.

Many times, I have thought to myself that could have easily been me or my sister, and what upsets me the most is that I am sure that this is one of many times that this has happened/will happen.

It is madness to me that our government is not supplying D/deaf people the provisions they need to live daily particularly in a society that is focused on our relationship with Europe while as nationals they are not being heard.

These inequalities exist beyond healthcare since 81% of the 43,467 D/deaf children in the UK taught in mainstream schools (that being 84% of all D/deaf children) don’t have special resource provisions and therefore underperform, which demonstrates a massive waste of potential as being D/deaf isn’t learning disability.

D/deaf people are stuck in an unaccommodating hearing world which has Tannoy speakers making announcements and ‘drive thru’ machines with no human interactions making deafness a disability purely in a ‘social model’ sense. The impairment itself isn’t the disability, rather the fact that our society does not meet the needs of that impairment.

I therefore hope due to the reasons detailed above that you will please sign my petition and share it in order to get it to parliament and to end this injustice and allow BSL users to become healthy and active members of society.

Sign the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/258079