Executive Summary
Anecdotal information has indicated that family violence is emerging as a serious problem in the deaf community in Canada. This project provides a review of the basic needs in the area through information gathered from stakeholders in the field of deafness as well as from a number of Public Legal Education and Information (PLEI) centers in various regions of Canada. The focus is on those people who use sign language as their primary mode of communication.
The methodology included telephone contact with agencies and individuals across Canada and site visits were made to New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia. It was established that family violence is a major issue (in families with deaf persons) in all parts of Canada. A lack of appropriate services and a clear lack of appropriate educational and informational materials was indicated in all regions of Canada.
The need for increased effort in the area of Public Legal Education and Information was strongly confirmed. Culturally Deaf individuals use sign language (ASL or LSQ) as their primary means of communication. Few materials are available in this format on the subject of family violence in the context of legal issues. Thus the majority of deaf persons do not have access, not only to materials, but also to training and education programs which are most often designed exclusively for hearing persons.
It was found that in various regions of the country some preliminary work in the area of Public Legal Education and Information had already taken place - videos and print materials were available in appropriate formats and considerable expertise was available in the area of family violence in general. However, while various materials did exist, the system for distributing and making materials available on a national basis was lacking. Communication across the country in terms of this issue is minimal at this time.
A number of conclusions are offered which emphasize the urgent need to develop Public Legal Education and Information programs in partnership with the deaf community and agencies which serve the deaf. The need for national coordination and the development of priorities which can lead to concrete action is paramount in order to effectively utilize scarce resources. The recent Supreme court decision (Eldridge v. British Columbia, 1997) can be seen as providing a further stimulus for action at this time.
The unique needs of deaf Aboriginal and First Nations people and the Inuit need to be addressed separately. While information from Quebec is included in this report, the special needs of deaf Francophones and Anglophones in Quebec, as well as deaf Francophones in other provinces, needs to be addressed in a special study.
The report also contains basic references to the literature on family violence and the deaf as well a listing of available materials and resources.
Resource details:
Prepared by: Jamie C. MacDougall, PhD
Resource URL: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/fv-vf/rep-rap/deaf-sourd.pdf
Type/Format of Resource: Article
Category/Topic of interest: Woman Abuse; Deaf and Disability
Population Group: Women with Disabilities/Deaf Women
Language of Resource: English
Year of Publication: 2000
Contact Information:
Family Violence Initiative
Family, Children and Youth Section, Department of Justice Canada
t- (613) 946-2222
f- (613) 946-2211
tty- N/A
[email protected]
http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/fv-vf/incl/contact.html
Associated Document:
Family Violence in Canada
(Acrobat PDF file)
Relates to Current Project: Service Coordination for Women with Disabilities
