Liam O’Dell: If 2021 was the year we asserted our rights, 2022 is the year we strengthen them

Like most of the worldwide population, I treated 2020 with disdain – especially when it came to the rollback of Deaf people’s rights. A deadly pandemic ate away at the hard-won rights of the deaf community over the years, giving us inaccessible Covid briefings, face masks which robbed us of lipreading and phone calls with our GP.

Was this year any different, or better? We were still recovering from the mess of the year before, of course, but if anything, I feel that made us stronger as a Deaf community. We’ve always campaigned, of course, but the weird way we were all brought together – a lot of the time from our own homes – has been built upon in 2021. Simply put: we got things done.

Under the leadership of Lynn Stewart-Taylor and Katie Rowley, we took the Government to court over #WhereIsTheInterpreter, and won. When three Deaf parents launched a legal challenge against a Little Mix concert promoter, the judge found they had discriminated against the three mums by not providing a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter for the support act. It was a judgment which could well lead to more access for deaf people at large events in the future.

We’ve put pressure on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to speed up Access to Work payments, and we got the mainstream media and broadcasters to pay attention when we were unable to watch captioned content on Channel 4.

After years of calling out the ironic injustice of Deaf BSL users being unable to attend court as jurors, they look set to be afforded that right in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Although, as I wrote in March, we must forgo this positive development if we are to preserve our right to protest.

And if we weren’t making progress in terms of Deaf rights, then we were boosting the representation of Deaf people. Luke Christian, founder of the clothing brand Deaf Identity, became the first Deaf-owned business in a branch of John Lewis earlier this year. In the world of entertainment and media, I’d argue that it’s been one of the best years for Deaf talent.

Actress Vilma Jackson released The Vilma Jackson Show; Signkid and Jonny Cotson produced works for the BBC’s Culture in Quarantine; Rose Ayling-Ellis went and won Strictly; twins Hermon and Heroda continued to dominate the media with their lifestyle and fashion content; India Morse partnered with Joe Wicks on accessible fitness content; and Gabriella Leon and Sophie Stone smashed it on Casualty.

The best part is that all of the above are to name but a few. After years of battling for accurate representation, we’re finally there in terms of entertainment. We’re getting involved, and we’re being cast in Deaf roles. People know we’re here.

It’s why I’m now looking ahead to 2022 with a huge amount of optimism. If 2021 is the year we asserted our rights and made ourselves known, then next year is the year that we build upon that and strengthen those rights.

At the very start of the year, we have Labour MP Rosie Cooper introducing her British Sign Language Bill to the Commons to give legal status to BSL. If you aren’t already, you should be encouraging your MP to support the BSL Act Now campaign to help get the proposals through Parliament.

When it felt like progress was stagnating, we’re also due an update on the BSL GCSE in the “first half” of 2022, when plans for the qualification go to public consultation. It’s vital that we all contribute to that process as soon as it’s published.

Finally, we look set to have a new BSL video relay service for 999 calls next year, too – improving access to the emergency services when we need them.

Basically, there’s a lot of exciting things coming up in 2022. So may you all have a restful New Year break – then let’s get started.

Photo: Ollie Cole.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.