Deaf News: Concerns raised over ‘spike’ in non-deaf people registering for Emergency SMS service

Deaf women have expressed their concerns following reports of a ‘spike’ in sign-ups to the Emergency SMS service from non-deaf people after the death of Sarah Everard.

Numerous non-deaf people have taken to Twitter to share registration information for the text service – intended specifically for deaf people and those with speech difficulties to contact 999 – after Everard’s death prompted conversations around male violence and women’s safety.

Speaking to The Limping Chicken, Deaf content creator Sarah Adedeji said: “My knowledge on it is very limited because I only found out about it in passing. But, I knew that it was a service specifically suited to Deaf/[Hard of Hearing] people.

Asked about how she felt after seeing more non-deaf people talking about using the service recently, Adedeji said she was “very confused” and “very annoyed”.

“I was confused because something was telling me ‘I’m sure that this isn’t the service people should be registering with, why has it gone viral?’ and I was annoyed because it was just another example of abled people getting their hands on something that belongs to the Deaf/HoH and those that struggle with speech, and then running rampant with it without regards as to what the consequences of their actions would be.

“Don’t get me wrong, I understand the context behind it going viral, but it just caused more complications, really.”

Adedeji also went on to add that while she isn’t a fan of gatekeeping, the service should be something which should be gatekept to prevent the service from being overwhelmed.

“Do not get me wrong, I am all for the safety of women, regardless of whether they’re Deaf or not. Fully.

“But wouldn’t allowing those that aren’t Deaf to overwhelm this particular service just put Deaf women at more of a risk? There’s already a few resources in place for those that aren’t Deaf so why give away the one thing we do have?

“I would rather that there are separate services,” she said.

uk oomfs in light of the recent situation, pls text 999 ‘register’ and it’ll prompt you to text ‘yes’ and they’ll register your number to the emergency SMS service!!

takes not even 2 minutes to do, pls stay safe !!!#Emergency #ReclaimTheStreets #ReclaimTheNight #SarahEverard pic.twitter.com/FttlrYGZoW

— -niamh🍑 (@angelkeery) March 12, 2021

As well as Emergency SMS providing access to the emergency services, hearing people unable to speak during a 999 call can use Silent Solutions, where police are notified that a person is in danger by pressing 55 on their number pad.

Another Deaf woman, who also raised concerns over the service potentially being overwhelmed, told The Limping Chicken: “The Silent Solution system already exists for hearing people who find themselves unable to speak during a 999 call. While EmergencySMS may feel like a safer option, misuse could actually put a deaf person in danger.”

The individual, who asked to remain anonymous, added: “[Deaf people] can’t pick up the phone and ring 999 because they can’t hear. They can’t use the Silent Solution system because again, they can’t hear the person on the other end of the phone.

“A hearing person signing up to EmergencySMS is widening their options; a deaf person signing up is doing so because it is the only option. Unless we count the 18000 Relay UK service, but again, if Relay operatives are busy then we have the same problem.”

She continued: “EmergencySMS is run by Relay UK. Relay UK assistants read the text messages users send and relay them to 999 operators.

“If hearing people begin using EmergencySMS, there is the potential danger that there won’t be any relay operatives to aid a deaf person in danger, when hearing people could have simply rang 999.”

They also said that if a hearing person uses the EmergencySMS service, the technique they use to recover someone “might be different” and “more visually focused”.

The Limping Chicken understands that there has been evidence of those who don’t meet Emergency SMS’ criteria signing up to the text service.

omg apparently that register 999 things if for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired i feel really bad now for registering i didn’t know

— eden🍭 (@id0nteven) March 13, 2021

A spokesperson for the communications regulator Ofcom, who were involved in first setting up the service, said in a statement: “We are aware that there has been a spike in emergency SMS registrations following the death of Sarah Everard.

“[The] light-touch registration helps to protect the service for people who need it. There are up to 500 messages a day from unregistered numbers to 999. Most of these are clearly not intended for the emergency services (e.g. ‘I’m on the train’) and dealing with these would risk overloading the relay service.

“There are unfortunately also people who use emergency SMS to make hoax calls, and these people can be barred from using emergency SMS at the request of the emergency services.

“We think that the current registration requirement does not create any significant barriers to use by deaf or speech-impaired people. If potential users had to provide evidence of need, this would make registration more difficult and would mean that people could not register in an emergency and use the service immediately.”

They also went on to add that alternatives to Emergency SMS are available for hearing people.

“If someone calls 999 and doesn’t speak, the BT call handler will listen for background noises such as coughs, noises or taps on the handset. If no emergency service is requested, but anything suspicious is heard, the BT call handler will connect the caller to the Silent Solution system,” they continued.

More information about Emergency SMS and Silent Solution can be found online.

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.