Transformative equality: Court accommodations for South African citizens with severe communication disabilities

Abstract

Introduction and backgroundPersons with disabilities are at greater risk of experiencing violence than their peers without a disability.Globally, children with disabilities are three to four times more likely to experience violence than their peers without disability (World Health Organization 2015). Recently, a South African study also estimated that children with disabilities were 1.5 and 2.1 times more at risk of sexual abuse than their peers without a disability (Artz et al. 2016). In an American study that compared 9086 women with and without a disability, results showed that 39% of the women who had been raped in the 12 months preceding the survey had a disability at the time of the rape (Basile, Breiding & Smith 2016). Another American study that reported on 21 615 respondents and their victimisation found that 26.6% of women with disabilities reported sexual violence compared with 12.4% of women without disabilities (Mitra, Mouradian & Diamond 2011). This trend was also observed in American men, as 13.9% of men with disabilities reported sexual violence compared with 3.7% of men without disabilities (Mitra et al. 2011).Within the sphere of disability, individuals with severe communication disabilities are particularly vulnerable and have an increased risk of becoming victims of abuse (Bornman, Bryen, Kershaw & Ledwabe 2011). This may be because of the fact that they are unable to shout or call for help, or because perpetrators often seek out vulnerable individuals who they perceive as being unable to Background: Persons with disabilities are generally at greater risk of experiencing violence than their peers without a disability. Within the sphere of disability, individuals with severe communication disabilities are particularly vulnerable and have an increased risk of being a victim of abuse or violence and typically turn to their country's criminal justice system to seek justice. Unfortunately, victims with disabilities are often denied fair and equal treatment before the court. Transformative equality should be pursued when identifying accommodations in court for persons with communication disabilities, as the aim should be to enable such individuals to participate equally in court, without barriers and discrimination.Objectives: This research aimed to identify court accommodations recommended by legal experts, which could assist individuals with severe communication disabilities in the South African court. Method:A qualitative design was used to conduct a discussion with a panel of legal experts.Results: Using Article 13 (Access to Justice) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as a human rights framework, four themes were identified: equality, accommodations, participation and training of professionals. Conclusion:Foreign and national law clearly prohibits discrimination against persons with communication disabilities because of their disability and state that they should be given fair and equal access to the court system. For transformative equality to be achieved, cert...

Responding to neurodiversity in the courtroom: A brief evaluation of environmental accommodations to increase procedural fairness

“…For instance, if a young adult is identified as experiencing high sensory reactivity and associated anxiety on a screening tool, protocol could then dictate that a set of Tier 2 accommodations could be implemented. A systemic pathway to allocate accommodations would also work, considering that many who are neurodivergent have multiple challenges which may need more than one accommodation to achieve active participation (White et al., 2020).…”

“…A systemic pathway to allocate accommodations would also work, considering that many who are neurodivergent have multiple challenges which may need more than one accommodation to achieve active participation (White et al, 2020).…”

Investigating Court Accommodations for Persons with Severe Communication Disabilities: Perspectives of International Legal Experts

“…First, the authors familiarized themselves with the data by exploring the text of each posting. Next, the text was divided into preliminary codes, based on an existing structured codebook developed from Article 13 of the CRPD (Access to Justice) (White et al 2020b). Following reflective and critical analysis, the researchers adapted the existing codebook and combined Article 13 with procedural justice principles, which then became auditable evidence to support the trustworthiness of the study (Braun & Clarke 2020;Tyler 2008).…”

“…For centuries, minority groups, such as persons with disabilities, have faced discrimination, inequality, and countless barriers when attempting to claim their basic human rights, such as access to justice, healthcare, and education (Beqiraj, Mcnamara & Wicks 2017;Bossuyt 2015;White et al 2020b). Within the already marginalised sphere of disability, the most vulnerable group are those individuals with severe communication disabilities as they are unable to rely on spoken language not only to make their needs and wants known, but also to protect themselves and to be safe (Bryen 2014).…”

Court accommodations for persons with severe communication disabilities: A legal scoping review.

“…systems that require the use of tools or equipment in addition to one's body, for instance low-technology options such as paper-and-pencil options, communication books or boards, and high-technology options such as speech-generating devices that produce voice output). Both low-and high-technology communication devices allow the person to use either picture-based symbols, alphabet letters, braille or Morse code to create messages (White et al, 2020).…”