Liam O’Dell: The ‘new normal’ post-coronavirus must serve deaf people

While the current pandemic is far from over, a lot of people are still looking ahead to the future with hope. Coronavirus bringing everything to a standstill has exposed a variety of issues which need addressing in the future. One phrase in particular, ‘the new normal’, has been used when imagining life after lockdown.

It’s vital that a post-COVID society is more considerate of the needs of deaf people. In covering coronavirus’ impact on the deaf community for The Limping Chicken over the past few months, it’s clear what needs to happen next.

First and foremost, we will need a legislative overhaul, starting with the Equality Act. I’ve written about the flaws in the law before, but like with many other things, the coronavirus crisis has revealed existing problems. In the case of the Equality Act, it’s demonstrated once again that the legislation lacks the bite needed to truly hold inaccessible services or organisations to account.

When a campaign was launched by Deaf presenter Lynn Stewart-Taylor over the lack of a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter at the UK Government’s daily coronavirus briefings, it gained most of its traction through the power of social media. The name of the campaign – Where Is The Interpreter – comes from the hashtag Lynn used on Twitter to share her concerns. The hashtag would later go on to trend on the platform in the UK.

Such is the situation with ‘trial by social media’ that for some companies, the damage to their online reputation is too great, and the discrimination or poor access is addressed. Unfortunately, in the case of #WhereIsTheInterpreter, social media alone wouldn’t be enough. The campaigners behind the initiative are preparing their own legal challenges, following a fundraiser on the website CrowdJustice.

It’s a detailed and pricey process, and for many disabled people, it’s why raising the issue on social media is the only option available to them. However, staggering costs and an Act which is rarely initiated by many in the deaf community suggests that we need a legal upgrade. Lynn has called for a BSL Act in England and the UK, and there couldn’t be a better time to demand our rights.

Just think, it could certainly offer a workaround for discrimination. No longer would we have to rely on the bureaucracy of a legal challenge under the Equality Act. If the right procedures are put in place, it would hopefully be a lot harder for the UK Government to ignore the needs of deaf people.

Giving credit where it’s due, however, the Equality Act 2010 involves the handy duty on employers to make “reasonable adjustments” for their disabled employees. The only downside is that the problem with this duty has been exposed during the current pandemic.

Friend and fellow disability campaigner Dr Amy Kavanaugh sums this up well in a tweet from March: “As a disabled person it hurts to see all the adjustments that we’ve been denied suddenly be made available because non-disabled people might get sick.

“But we will remember, we see you & your ableism. So next time you deny us accommodations, we will say “but during Coronavirus?”

As a disabled person it hurts to see all the adjustments that we’ve been denied suddenly be made available because non-disabled people might get sick.

But we will remember, we see you & your ableism.

So next time you deny us accommodations, we will say “but during Coronavirus?”

— Dr Amy Kavanagh (@BlondeHistorian) March 7, 2020

Remote working is a fine example of this, and accessibility when it suits hearing and non-disabled people isn’t proper access at all.

Hypothetically speaking, if a UK BSL Act similar to Scotland’s is ever implemented, other benefits will also follow.

To use another issue from the current situation, we are currently seeing concern over what face coverings mean for those who lipread or communicate in sign language. Face masks recently became mandatory in Scottish shops, and England will follow suit on 24 July.

When campaigning on the issue of face masks, deaf charities have talked about raising public awareness of the communication needs of deaf people. Individuals and organisations have certainly come a long way over the years to shine a spotlight on the lives of deaf people (look no further than the brilliant deaf episodes of EastEnders and Casualty recently) and now we need our lawmakers to do the same, too.

If a UK BSL Act, when passed, is to be like Scotland’s, then the publication of BSL plans would surely strengthen sign language’s place in our society.

Were we to have all this in place now, then I’d like to think members of the public would know more about the communication difficulties ‘opaque’ face masks can cause, as well as all the other issues deaf people face on a regular basis. In spotting the barriers, hearing people can work to dismantle them to ensure effective discussions.

All of this could follow a revolutionary path for the deaf community if it happens. Recognition – of the legal kind, rather than the 2003 kind – leads to curiosity, which leads to education and understanding, which leads to awareness.

It’s likely that more discussions will come around the ‘new normal’ in the future, but let us first make sure that the consideration of accessibility, from the outset, becomes normal after coronavirus.

Disability activists often stress that accessibility should never be an afterthought. As we plan to rebuild our society after this pandemic, this cannot be emphasised enough.

Photo: Ollie Cole.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.