Cape Town - The deaf community in the province has called for support for deaf people, claiming that they are discriminated against on the basis of their disability, especially when they visit state institutions.
Safer South Africa Foundation provincial co-ordinator Nomonde Scott said that deaf people were also people who have rights in terms of the Constitution.
Scott said when they visit state institutions they are confronted with problems such as the unavailability of sign language interpreters.
“We would be happy if the government could make it compulsory for all state institutions to have sign language interpreters, so when the deaf visit these institutions they can be able to express themselves in a manner that is understandable to everyone,” she said.
She said on Saturday that they would be having a silent walk at Noluthando School for the Deaf in Khayelitsha in support of the deaf throughout the country.
Sive Mcunukelwa, a social worker at Deaf Community Cape Town, said deaf people form communication through sign language and others could lip-read but the challenge with lip-reading is that the person communicating with a deaf person has to be patient.
Mcunukelwa said in the public and private institutions where there is no access to sign language interpreters deaf people struggled to communicate as those officials are not trained or even familiar with sign language communication or culture.
“Second, deaf people always miss important information as it is verbally committed. The most central challenge when it comes to deaf people is inclusion because these institutions are guided by policies and laws which do not include deaf people.”
He said deaf people were facing a long struggle of “recognition” in those institutions. They had to make means on their own to get a service that anyone is entitled to.
Social Development MEC Sharna Fernandez said they were committed to not only raising awareness about the challenges faced by deaf people, but also to continue providing the necessary support to those individuals so that they are empowered and have an equal opportunity to participate in all spheres of life.
“We wish to reiterate that we remain committed to establishing an inclusive society in which no man or woman is left behind,” Fernandez said.
She said as a department, they remained committed to promoting disability mainstreaming to ensure that government services are accessible and inclusive.
Cape Argus