90 per cent of British Sign Language (BSL) signers and 82 per cent of deaf people faced “negative attitudes and behaviours” in the last 12 months, a new survey from the Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID) has revealed.
Two-thirds (66 per cent) of deaf people, BSL signers and those with hearing loss combined reported negative interactions in the same period, with close to half (48 per cent) of deaf people and those with hearing loss experiencing such discrimination from members of their own family.
The charity’s findings, published in its It Does Matter report for Deaf Awareness Week, come from an online poll of more than 5,380 deaf people and people with hearing loss which, together with a Censuswide polling of over 2,700 members of the general public, marks the organisation’s biggest research project to date.
Half (50 per cent) of deaf people and those with hearing loss said this came in the form of people being impatient with them, and close to the same amount (47 per cent) said they experienced instances where members of the public shouted or talked loudly at them.
A fifth of those with hearing loss (20 per cent) said they’re ignored by most people in public settings, with the figure rising to more than two-fifths (41 per cent) for deaf people and close to three-fifths (59 per cent) for British Sign Language (BSL) signers.
While 54 per cent of deaf people and those with hearing loss reported being excluded from conversations on a regular basis, including being told “it doesn’t matter”, 41 per cent of the general public admitted they aren’t confident when it comes to communicating with these two groups.
When asked why, 42 per cent explained it’s because they don’t have experience talking to deaf people and those with hearing loss and 34 per cent admitting they don’t know how to communicate with them.
This is despite at least one in five adults in the UK being deaf or having hearing loss.
The RNID report reads: “Although members of the public may think they are saving the person from the embarrassment or not being able to understand what is being said, this phrase is not harmless and has a significant impact on our communities by making them feel different and excluded from conversations.
“Small actions such as this contribute to our communities feeling that the public do not value them and that they can’t be bothered to make changes to the way they communicate.”
The research found this resulted in almost one in two feeling excluded (47 per cent), with 39 per cent reporting a knock to their confidence as a result of the negative attitudes and behaviour.
Deaf audiologist and content creator Sarah Adedeji, 23, from Erith in south London, said “a lot of stigma and misconceptions” exist around deafness.
“People told my mum I wouldn’t amount to anything and that I wouldn’t be able to accomplish some things because of my hearing loss. […] My family didn’t learn to sign, so I had to rely on speech and lipreading which was often tiring and isolating.
“Sometimes in a group conversation I wouldn’t catch something and people would say ‘oh, it doesn’t matter’, or people assumed that because I can lipread, I can hear. At some point, I would get listening fatigue and retreat into myself.
“It was damaging, but I just had to put up with it,” she said.
Alongside experiencing negative attitudes and behaviours from family members, retail staff were listed as the top group with which deaf people and those with hearing loss reported experiencing discrimination, starting at 51 per cent among those with hearing loss, before rising to 69 per cent and 81 per cent in deaf people and BSL users respectively.
A quarter reported negative interactions with work colleagues around their deafness or hearing loss in the last year, almost doubling amongst BSL signers (49 per cent).
With 52 per cent of the general population stating they wanted more information about how to better communicate with deaf people and those with hearing loss, RNID has urged the public to follow three tips for easier conversations.
These are to get an individual’s attention by giving them eye contact or gently tapping their shoulder, facing the person when you wish to speak to them, and being patient while talking and repeating or rephrasing sentences if and when necessary.
Managed by the UK Council on Deafness, Deaf Awareness Week takes place on the first full week of May, with this year’s theme being about “celebrating love and trust”.
Crystal Rolfe, RNID’s director of strategy, added: “We can all imagine how horrible it must feel to keep hearing ‘it doesn’t matter’ when we are trying to participate in everyday conversations, but that’s the reality for huge numbers of people, who tell us they are regularly ignored, shouted at and patronised.
“We want people across the UK to stand with us and say that the way deaf people and people with hearing loss are treated really does matter.
“We know the public want to know how to do this, so we’re urging people to head to the RNID website for easy tips on good communication, and some free videos to learn basic phrases in BSL.”
The full report, along with further advice and information, can be found on RNID’s website.
Images: RNID.
Liam O'Dell 