British Deaf Association
  • ABOUT US
      • BDA Manifesto
      • What we stand for
      • Our Work
      • Board
      • Strategic Vision
      • Management Team
      • What the BDA means to you
      • History
      • Annual Reviews
  • WHAT WE DO
    • SIGN LANGUAGE
      • BSL in GCSE
      • BSL Act Now! Campaign
      • Legal Status for BSL
      • Our work in Government
      • BSL Facts & Resources
      • Research & Consultations
      • Sign Language Week
      • National BSL Day
    • OUR PROJECTS
      • Community Development
      • BSL Charter
      • Deaf Roots & Pride
      • Family Sign in the Home
      • Signs of our times
      • Advocacy Service
      • Heritage
      • Dementia Toolkit
      • Dementia Research
      • England Loneliness Project
    • VIDEO INFORMATION IN BSL
      • COVID-19
      • Family Sign at Home
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Hate Crime Prevention (Scotland)
      • Derbyshire Crime Project
      • Leicestershire Deaf Forum COVID-19 Project
      • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
      • Access to Justice
  • NEWS & EVENTS
    • NEWS
      • All News
      • England
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Wales
    • EVENTS
      • BSL Conference 2025
      • National BSL Day
      • All Events
      • England
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Wales
    • OTHER
      • British Deaf News
      • World Federation of the Deaf
      • European Union of the Deaf
      • SHARE: The Deaf Visual Archive
      • Sign Language Week
      • Deaf Awareness Week
  • GET INVOLVED
    • SUPPORT US
      • Make a difference
      • Ways to Donate
      • Fundraise for the BDA
      • Fundraising Opportunities
      • Sending Sponsorship Money
      • In-Memoriam Donations
      • Gifts in Wills
      • Our Supporters
    • JOIN US
      • Current Job Opportunities
      • Become a Member
    • MORE FROM US
      • Newsletter
  • CONTACT
    • GET IN TOUCH
      • Contact Form
    • OUR OFFICES
      • England – London
      • England – Derby
      • Northern Ireland – Belfast
      • Scotland – Glasgow
      • Wales – Cardiff
    • SOCIAL MEDIA
      • Twitter
      • Facebook
      • Facebook – British Deaf News
      • Instagram
      • Linkedin
      • YouTube
  • SHOP
  • |
  • MEMBERSHIP
  •  |
  • DONATE
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT US
      • BDA Manifesto
      • What we stand for
      • Our Work
      • Board
      • Strategic Vision
      • Management Team
      • What the BDA means to you
      • History
      • Annual Reviews
  • WHAT WE DO
    • SIGN LANGUAGE
      • BSL in GCSE
      • BSL Act Now! Campaign
      • Legal Status for BSL
      • Our work in Government
      • BSL Facts & Resources
      • Research & Consultations
      • Sign Language Week
      • National BSL Day
    • OUR PROJECTS
      • Community Development
      • BSL Charter
      • Deaf Roots & Pride
      • Family Sign in the Home
      • Signs of our times
      • Advocacy Service
      • Heritage
      • Dementia Toolkit
      • Dementia Research
      • England Loneliness Project
    • VIDEO INFORMATION IN BSL
      • COVID-19
      • Family Sign at Home
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Hate Crime Prevention (Scotland)
      • Derbyshire Crime Project
      • Leicestershire Deaf Forum COVID-19 Project
      • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
      • Access to Justice
  • NEWS & EVENTS
    • NEWS
      • COVID-19
      • All News
      • England
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Wales
    • EVENTS
      • BSL Conference 2025
      • National BSL Day
      • All Events
      • England
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Wales
    • OTHER
      • British Deaf News
      • World Federation of the Deaf
      • European Union of the Deaf
      • SHARE: The Deaf Visual Archive
      • Sign Language Week
      • Deaf Awareness Week
  • GET INVOLVED
    • SUPPORT US
      • Remember A Charity Week 2022
      • Make a difference
      • Ways to Donate
      • Fundraise for the BDA
      • Fundraising Opportunities
      • Sending Sponsorship Money
      • In-Memoriam Donations
      • Gifts in Wills
      • BDA Shop
      • Our Supporters
    • JOIN US
      • Current Job Opportunities
      • Become a Member
    • MORE FROM US
      • Newsletter
  • CONTACT
    • GET IN TOUCH
      • Contact Form
      • 07795 410 724 (SMS)
      • Oovoo/Skype
    • OUR OFFICES
      • England – London
      • England – Derby
      • Northern Ireland – Belfast
      • Scotland – Glasgow
      • Wales – Cardiff
    • SOCIAL MEDIA
      • Twitter
      • Facebook
      • Facebook – British Deaf News
      • Instagram
      • Linkedin
      • YouTube
  • SHOP
  • |
  • MEMBERSHIP
  •  |
  • DONATE

News

11th December 2019

Report launched on Access to Justice for Deaf

Watch in BSL
Watch in ISL

BSL

https://vimeo.com/377791915

ISL

Groundbreaking report launched on access to justice for Deaf people in Northern Ireland

On the 11th of December, BDA NI, and leading Deaf researchers, will be releasing a groundbreaking report on the barriers Deaf people face when trying to access justice in Northern Ireland.

The report follows a 2 year pilot project based in Northern Ireland, managed by BDA NI, a leading Deaf people’s organisation, in collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast, Syracuse University College of Law and Rowan University. The work was made possible through the Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) programme and the National Lottery Community Fund.

Article 13 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) states that disabled people have the right to effectively access justice.

Deaf people are denied access to justice for many reasons. Sign language users face significant language barriers when adequate access is not provided.

The report, and supporting resources, investigate these barriers and make a series of practical recommendations for rectifying the issues that the researchers unearthed.

Majella McAteer from BDA NI stated, “this is a hugely significant piece of work. While some barriers to the justice system in Northern Ireland had previously been identified, until now there has been a lack of comprehensive research on this issue. This is the first step, and we are now faced with the challenge of implementing these recommendations”.

A member of the Deaf Advisory Group said that, “as a Deaf person, it has been thrilling to be involved in the Deaf Advisory Group for this project, and having an input in the co-production of this report over the last 2 years ensures it will impact on the lives of Deaf people. I believe the event and the report will raise awareness and ultimately lead to better service for all Deaf people in Northern Ireland.”

Mr Justice Colton, Chairman of the Judicial Studies Board, said, “I warmly commend the work of the BDA in Northern Ireland in producing this important piece of research in which a significant number of judicial office holders were happy to participate. The judiciary has since benefited from a judicial training workshop delivered by BDA NI and I trust that all that flows from the research and the subsequent awareness raising will help to bring about a continual improvement in access to justice for Deaf people in this jurisdiction and foster greater confidence in the administration of justice.”

The report, guidelines and video resources will be launched at an event at the Hilton Hotel, Belfast on 11th December at 6-9pm. For more information, please contact the BDA NI access to justice team at aij@bda.org.uk.

Notes to editors

BDA NI is a leading Deaf charity, run by and for Deaf sign language users in Northern Ireland.

Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) is an innovative 5 year UK wide Programme led by disabled people, for disabled people and funded by the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF).

Deaf Community Equality Act Legal Legal status of BSL Northern Ireland
Previous StoryHelp with heating costs
Next StoryTurning on video subtitles

Related Articles

  • PR-Chloe-Smith-MP-Feat-WEB
    Chloe Smith MP, former Minister for Disabled People and leader of the BSL Act 2022, to become Special Ambassador for the British Deaf Association
    View Details
  • PR-21st-Dec-web-Feat
    BDA calls on Government to invest in Deaf teachers to deliver British Sign Language GCSE
    View Details

SEARCH ALL NEWS

NEWS CATEGORIES

All News
England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales

RECENT NEWS

  • BSL-Poet-Laur-web-feat
    British Deaf Association reveals the UK’s 2025 British Sign Language Poet Laureate
  • MI Final Reckoning
    Mission: Impossible – Daily Captioned Screenings
  • Classroom-web-feat
    At long last, the BSL GCSE moves closer
  • Houses-of-Parliment
    British Sign Language comes to Parliament
  • AI-Statement-web-Feat
    BDA releases a Discussion Paper on AI BSL

BDA Head Office

We welcome your feedback and comments. Please feel free to get in touch:

Email: bda@bda.org.uk

USEFUL LINKS

Accessibility
Privacy Policy
Complaints Procedure
My Donations
British Deaf News

Registered charity - England and Wales (1031687) and Scotland (SC042409) Company No: 2881497 (England and Wales) - Copyright British Deaf Association 2024