The Deaf Women Association of Nigeria (DWAN), Lagos State chapter has expressed serious concerns over increase in cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) involving sexual, physical, emotional and psychological injustices against Deaf Women and the attendant difficulty posed by communication barriers when seeking redress in the social justice system.
Chairperson of the association, Yemisi Isado, in a stakeholders forum expressed worries that unless something is done, the spate of rape, among other social injustices, would continue to increase.
Expounding on the theme, the GBV survivor recounts how on several occasions she had to intervene to save deaf women caught in the crossfire of sexual, physical, emotional and psychological assaults by those who claim to love them.
According to Isado, the injustices are, in most cases due to inability to communicate grievances and needs in a manner that an average individual or law enforcement officer would understand. This is happening even when these women know where to go when they fall victims of abuse.
It was also noted that courts across Nigeria are not equipped with sign language interpreters, and as a result, several deaf women have abandoned the idea of seeking justice. In most cases, they can’t afford to hire a lawyer or pay for the service of a sign language interpreter.
Isado made urgent calls for an end to this culture of deaf women enduring violent assaults and pains.
Keynote speaker at the forum, Tomisin Adeyefa argued that women in Nigeria are still subjected to silence, coercion and fear – along with the obstacles that come with not having access to information and other helpful facilities that can help improve their sexuality and sexual health.
Speaking further, the disability rights advocate observed that though having consent of both parties is best in a sexual relations, the average woman with disability often rely on spouses, care-givers, neighbors, colleagues, etc, for consent. And when consent is withdrawn, the woman is tagged ungrateful. This is why most cases of molestation, harassment and outright sexual assault continue to thrive in the community.
Adeyefa, however, advised women and girls with disabilities to develop necessary skills, to be firm, and be assertive so they can withstand exploitation and violation.
She also urged them to discover and tap into the power of negotiation as this will be helpful in further protecting themselves from unsafe and unwanted sex.
Another guest speaker, Barrister Toyin Taiwo-Ojo remarked that people with disabilities (particularly the deaf) communicate differently from those without disabilities.
According to her, people with visual impairment maybe prevented from receiving written health promotion messages where there are no large-print, braille versions or screen readers.
Similarly, audio versions of health messages maybe inaccessible to deaf persons, likewise videos that do not include captioning and/or manual interpretation (such as Sign Language).
She also argued that the use of technical language, long sentences, and words with many syllables pose significant barrier to understanding communication for people with cognitive impairment.