There are many things we take for granted. Hearing and seeing the world around us is one of those, in my view. What about if that is not your experience? I have had the pleasure of working with DEWA -the Deaf Ethnic Women’s Association- to get the conversation started about how we can be inclusive in practice for the deaf community. Let me introduce who I have been working with…..
Hello! Tell everyone your name and your role within DEWA?
My name is Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq and I’m the Chair of the Deaf Ethnic Women’s Association (DEWA).
So, what is DEWA and what do you do?
DEWA is a London based charity with a national reach which is run by and for Deaf women from minority ethnic groups. We run a range of services which include a drop-in service, advocacy, workshops, social events and provide information, all of which is accessible for deaf/hard of hearing women and sensitive to their cultural needs. DEWA empowers minority ethnic women to have choice and control, and to be active and be successful in all aspects of their lives without compromising their identity.
That’s really interesting to hear. So what are the sorts of issues that you help people with?
Women come to our Drop-In service with a range of issues – it’s important to remember that their first language is not English, and they may not have had a good experience of education, and so written correspondence about any important matter can be a huge barrier to them. They may come to us with financial issues which can include needing advice on benefits or even financial abuse, or it might be something for their children such as support with navigating the process of getting EHCP or dealing with Social Services, or health related matters. It varies a lot.
A major area that women are seeking support in is legal rights around separation and divorce, child custody or maintenance, and financial entitlements. These are huge and complex topics for anyone to try and understand, and so we try and help educate our women through providing workshops in British Sign Language to improve their general understanding of their rights as well as providing support for their specific situation.
We work very much on the model that sharing information is good to not only promote understanding but also to build social and supportive networks, so we like to hold discussion groups and social events so our women, who can be very isolated and maybe the only deaf person in their family and community, can learn and make friends through DEWA so they know that they are not alone.
That is a really broad range, with some complex factors. What help do you need for your clients from solicitors? What can we do to help?
The major need at the moment is for advice on the family law matters mentioned above. Whilst we can offer information, we don’t have a qualified Solicitor on our small staff team and so we have to support our clients to find a Solicitor who can guide them properly through the process they need to go through. But it’s possible that a woman could approach us needing help with any aspect of the law, just like any other person. Deaf ethnic women experience the same issues and legal problems that hearing people experience, but it’s quite a different thing for them to get the support they need.
What are the main barriers for getting that help or engagement? What are your clients worried about when it comes to working with a solicitor?
Many of our women have experienced cultural or family attitudes which have not encouraged them to be independent, so initially they may be very frightened and not have any idea how they go about taking the first step of finding a Solicitor. Even if we can support them with this, another barrier is waiting for them – communication. If they are sign language users coming from families for whom English is not a first (or maybe even second!) language, then how can they even access a meeting with a Solicitor if they can find one? They would certainly need a lot of the right support to do this, both in terms of language and culture. Any written information can a huge challenge for deaf women who may have had limited access to education so support with paperwork is essential.
For clients who are sign language users, it’s hugely important that they have a properly qualified and experienced British Sign Language Interpreter who can adapt the information so the client can understand it. However, Interpreters generally do not work for free and so there is a question around who covers the cost, and this is often another barrier. On top of this, there are less than 2000 qualified Interpreters in the UK serving a deaf BSL-using population of around 70,000! Even finding an Interpreter can be a challenge! But it’s important never to rely on friends or family to ‘interpret’ – you can never be sure of their level of skill or whether they are truly impartial, and this can have disastrous consequences for a vulnerable client.
The whole process of meeting a new person and having to trust them with sensitive information can be overwhelming for our women, before even starting to consider the language and other barriers they face, so it’s certainly more complicated than just booking a consultation!
How can we support your clients to get initial advice? What is needed for them to feel able to engage?
For you as a Solicitor, the main thing is to be patient and understand that you may need to allow extra time for an initial consultation. There are a couple of reasons for this – when you are working with an Interpreter, you’re going through a third party and it takes longer than a direct conversation. In addition, deaf women who are not familiar with the law may need time to process what you’re telling them and to be able to ask questions so they can be sure they fully understand what you’re trying to explain. Building trust is key, as is reassuring them and making them feel safe. Use plain language and keep checking in to make sure the client understands what you are telling them. If the client doesn’t understand what you are saying in this initial meeting it will only build confusion as you move through the process.
The issues around finding and paying for BSL Interpreters need addressing on a wider scale, because it really is vital that deaf women have full access to communication and accurate information.
What level of skill would an interpreter need to have to be able to support one of your clients in a conversational initial advice session?
It’s important that you use a properly qualified and registered British Sign Language Interpreter. There are a couple of regulatory bodies, but the biggest one is the National Register for Communication Professionals with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD). All the qualified Interpreters on their register carry a yellow ID card, and you can use their website to search for communication professionals in your area. Registered Interpreters have DBS clearance and Professional Indemnity Insurance, and they also adhere to a Code of Conduct. The NRCPD website also has information about the qualification process and how to work with Interpreters: www.nrcpd.org.uk
It is important that you don’t use someone who may have BSL skills but is not properly qualified – there are people out there working without regulation – even if it’s not easy to find an Interpreter. Your deaf client deserves the quality service that you as a professional want to give them, and the Interpreter is a vital part of the process.
How can we support DEWA and the work that you do?
We would love to raise awareness within the legal community about the issues that deaf ethnic women face and widen our pool of contacts, especially those with a specialism in family law. It’s been great to connect with you, Karen, and start the conversation, and I know we both recognise that there is much to do to ensure deaf people can access the legal system, but we can start to move things forward if we all work together. It would be wonderful to find those of you out there who might be interested in knowing more about our client group, and it would also be great to know about any Solicitors who can sign or have experience of working with deaf clients. If we could create a list of those of you with that experience we could add our knowledge of deaf organisations, professionals, and Interpreters to it, and create a resource that could benefit all of us. Let’s get started!
Let’s get started, indeed! Can you help? Can you support? Contact me or DEWA!