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Social/Policy Environment & Culturally Deaf Survivors

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Issues Related to the Social and Policy Environments

Deaf people value collective learning and gathering with other people of the same language and culture for socializing and support. The core of the Deaf culture comes from community institutions including Deaf schools and Deaf clubs. These kinds of community institutions play a critical and positive role in forming and keeping Deaf people gathered together. For many Deaf survivors who are receiving services and other support from victim service organizations, it is common to be the only Deaf person, which is a very isolating and disempowering experience given the emphasis Deaf people place on gathering with other Deaf people.

When there is either a lack of communication access or a lack of culturally competent services for Deaf survivors, Deaf survivors face an even greater sense of isolation. For example, if no one else knows American Sign Language (ASL) and there is not an ASL interpreter available, a Deaf survivor cannot readily reach out to an advocate or a peer for support. Similarly, if staff and other survivors do not fully understand Deaf culture, they may misunderstand the thinking, attitude, or behaviors of Deaf survivors. Moreover, staff may unintentionally treat Deaf survivors in ways that are culturally insensitive and may end up leaving these survivors feeling increasingly isolated, disrespected, and/or disempowered.

For these reasons, many Deaf survivors do not feel a fit with services that are not culturally accessible. As a result, they do not benefit from the peer and staff support that is an integral component to most domestic violence and rape crisis programs, and a necessary part of a survivor’s healing process.

Examples of Problems

• A Deaf survivor has been in shelter for almost three months. She is the only Deaf person and the only person who uses American Sign Language. She stays in her room and does not interact with other people. The shelter staff thinks she is not motivated or not cooperative and thinks about whether her stay should be extended.
• A Deaf survivor is meeting with an advocate at her local rape crisis center. They are using an interpreter to communicate. It is a very difficult conversation for the survivor, as this is the first time that she has talked with anyone about being raped. The advocate makes eye contact with the interpreter and does not look at the survivor while communicating. The advocate tells the interpreter to tell the survivor her comments instead of speaking directly to the woman herself. The survivor feels disrespected by the advocate and does not want to use these services again. 
• A Deaf survivor participates in a support group with an interpreter present and with other hearing survivors about dynamics of abuse. During group, she talks about the discrimination that she experienced as a Deaf person (which she refers to as audism). She expresses that she is hurt by the fact that many services that are available to her do not understand her culture. The meeting facilitator and other participants do not understand how her comments relate to what the group is talking about, and they don’t know how to respond. They continue the conversation without directly responding to her concerns. She does not feel like the support group is helpful to her and she stops attending.
• A Deaf survivor arrives at a shelter with her hearing dog. The house manager has never heard of a hearing dog and tells the woman that the shelter has a policy that does not allow pets. Feeling frustrated and scared, the woman agrees to find a temporary home for her dog so she can stay at the shelter. She contacts her mom and they arrange for her to pick-up the dog from a different location.
• Residents at a shelter get together over dinner on Sunday night to decide who will do various chores for the week. Feeling unsure of how to communicate with a woman who is Deaf, the other residents have a conversation in front of her without engaging her in it and they assign a task to her. She sees them write a task next to her name on the chore board. She feels left out of the conversation, frustrated that people are making decisions for her, and isolated from the community. 
• A local domestic violence and sexual assault organization gave a presentation on abuse at a local Deaf school. After the presentation, one of the school’s Deaf house parents or dorm counselor approaches the presenters. She is very upset and wants to talk about an experience that she recently had that she thinks could have been abusive. But, she is worried about confidentiality. In the past, she disclosed something personal to someone before and other people in her organization found out. Her trust in this organization was violated. She felt betrayed. So, she fears that her confidential information will violated again.
• A hearing child of a Deaf survivor comes with her while she is receiving services. The child repeatedly stomps on the floor, to get the attention of her mother – a culturally appropriate way of getting one’s attention in Deaf culture. The staff person asks the child to stop stomping on the floor as it is distracting to other people in the area and suggests some discipline strategies to the mother.

Suggested Solutions

• Reach out to Deaf organizations and Deaf schools in your area. Invite them to train you and your staff on an on-going basis to learn how to effectively serve Deaf people.
• Collaborate with Deaf organizations to provide support services to Deaf survivors, when appropriate. Be sure to check with survivors first before using Deaf specific services. The Deaf community is a tightly knit community where word travels fast. Using Deaf services might make it harder for her to remain hidden.
• Hire Deaf staff members and other individuals who understand Deaf culture and know American Sign Language. If Deaf staff members are hired, interpreters will need to be hired, too.
• Recruit Deaf volunteers and other individuals who understand Deaf culture and know American Sign Language. Recruit and enlist American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters for on-call services.
• When meeting with Deaf survivors, make direct eye contact. If you have to look away because of a distracting noise or because someone is calling your name, let the Deaf survivor who you are working with know what is happening.
• When you start working with a Deaf survivor, be proactive and ask her directly what you and other staff members can do to make her experience in the program and with other participants more welcoming and inclusive. Ask her what she thinks about the process and how she felt during the process. Listen to her feedback and use it to improve services.
• When in group meetings, arrange seats in a circle so that a Deaf survivor can see everyone’s face and interpreters. Interpreters should sit next to speakers, or across from where the Deaf survivor sits, with no light in the background so they can be clearly seen. Also, have everyone say their name before speaking so that she can easily identify who is speaking. Both strategies will help Deaf survivors feel more connected to the group.
• If you notice that a Deaf survivor is not fully participating or does not appearing to be engaged, ask her about her experience in the program or support group. If she doesn’t feel included, ask her for her opinions about what could be done differently. Ask her for her thoughts about the interpreters and the quality of their services.  
• If a Deaf survivor does not feel comfortable participating in a hearing support group or other group meeting, provide her with alternatives. Set-up opportunities for her to meet with a Deaf advocate or a support group within a Deaf organization. If there is not one in your community, reach out to an organization in your state or a neighboring state. Set-up a videophone or a webcam with a high speed internet to allow Deaf survivors to contact friends, family members, or other people who are part of their circle of support.
• Assure Deaf survivors that confidentiality is strictly kept in accordance with your organization’s confidentiality policy. Explain the policy to her and provide her with a written copy of the policy. Reiterate that all staff, volunteers, and interpreters understand and follow the confidentiality policy. Always ask Deaf survivors for their permission before contacting Deaf agencies, Deaf schools, or Deaf communities. Deaf communities are small in size, and people may figure out who is being served by your organization.
• “Hearing dogs” or “signal dogs” are specially trained dogs who assist people who are deaf in navigating in situations where hearing would reduce a person’s ability and certainty. Federal law requires that a person using an assistive animal is provided an accommodation to have a pet in shelter situations. Be aware that some survivors may have left behind service dogs’ license and gears that are needed. 
• Check with local Deaf-based victim services and collaborate with them to effectively meet the needs of Deaf survivors. To learn more about Deaf-specific services in your area, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline , which keeps an up-to-date database of contact information and services.

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