Juliet England: How effective is Deaf Awareness Week?

Deaf Awareness Week has just finished for another year. The theme this time around was ‘Coming through it together’ – a nebulous notion if ever I heard one.

Coming through what, exactly? The pandemic? The latest EastEnders subtitle fail? And who is ‘together’, precisely? Deaf organisations, deaf and hearing people? All deaf people?

The UK Council on Deafness says that the campaign ‘is unique in that so many different organisations participate, each one able to promote their own work within the broad spectrum of deafness.’

But is that part of the problem? Is the spectrum of deafness and hearing loss so broad that it is almost impossible to encompass it entirely in a single week?

It’s true that deaf issues don’t always have the media profile they deserve, and that a week dedicated to them can do a lot to encourage people to think more about what it means not to be able to hear, and can highlight individual stories. The story of a young man with hearing loss, now studying to be a doctor, is a case in point.

Lucy Armstrong, Participation Officer at the National Deaf Children’s Society, says:

“This year’s Deaf Awareness Week has given us the chance to feature several deaf young people on national television to tell their stories, which can only be a good thing.

“Speaking as a deaf person, I think Deaf Awareness Week is an opportunity to highlight and celebrate deafness, but also to remind people to listen to deaf awareness tips during the other 51 weeks of the year as well. Deaf people face these issues every day, so it would make a real difference to their lives.”

But it’s also true that there are so many awareness weeks for everything from crunchy nut cereals to ingrowing toenails that it’s all but impossible to rise above the noise. I’ve often wondered whether the next step will be an Awareness Awareness Week, just so that we can all be more aware.

Another problem is that, with something as complex as deafness, it’s easy to get things wrong, not least if journalists and broadcasters who know nothing about the subject have either not been properly briefed or not done their homework properly.

Equally, it often seems that deaf people themselves are simply not involved enough.

As part of this month’s event, for example, the presenters of ITV’s This Morning, Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield, came under fire on the Tuesday of Deaf Awareness Week after signing their introduction to the programme – and sharing the clip on social media initially with no captions, subtitles or interpretation.

A furious backlash led to the clip being described as ‘embarrassing’ and ‘cringeworthy’. One Twitter user perhaps had a point that a deaf presenter could have been used, while others were quick to remark that this did little to raise awareness … during what was, after all, Deaf Awareness Week.

So that certainly smacked of not having been thought through properly from the outset. Then there’s the other very valid point of what happens when the week is over? There will still be no interpretation for the vast majority of the UK’s broadcast content.

When I threw out this question on Facebook, the reaction was mixed. Some hadn’t even been, er, aware that it was Deaf Awareness Week. However, others appreciated the chance to remind others of their deafness, spread information and share their pride at being deaf.

One respondent, Bill Stead, commented:

“I appreciate the need for awareness, but admit that I don’t feel any affinity with the week – or any benefit.”

Another, who preferred to remain anonymous, said:

“I used to think it was great. Now I’m not so sure. One week of people pretending to change, and for what?”

Sue Worner, remarked:

“It gives me an excuse once a year to remind family and friends through Facebook that I’m deaf, here’s what you can do to help me out, without them just getting grumpy with me for mentioning it. Again. Which, if they actually learned the first time I wouldn’t have to. It allows me to share my pride, which normally I keep quiet for the same reasons. I don’t think it gets enough recognition, any little helps.”

Meanwhile, according to Lidia Smolarek Best:

“There is too much focus on sign language and no other forms of communication or how diverse this community is.”

And Karen Goucher, while saying she ‘loved the thought of celebrating Deaf Awareness Week’, added:

“What has struck me, and many deaf people I follow on social media, is the fact that most of the content we see is of hearing people advising what we need. Hearing people often think they are going the extra mile, when what they are really doing is the absolute minimum they have to do meet the Equality Act requirements, sometimes not even that.”

For her part, Helen Sente suggested:

“It should last longer than week and needs to be more than a few mentions on TV or radio, or a few YouTube clips. Why don’t we do what the rainbow communities do every year and have a weekend of parties or parades? Alternatively maybe supermarkets and other shops could dedicate a checkout exclusively for deaf or hard of hearing people?”

Personally, I love that last suggestion. But I remain concerned about the lack of clear aims around what the week is meant to achieve, and would be hard-pushed to pinpoint tangible achievements of the most recent event. So could it be time for a rethink?

It would be interesting to know what you think.