Accessibility for Anarchists (non-BSL)

Preamble

There are 151,000 deaf people who use British Sign Language as their first or preferred language in the UK. As minority language users, their communication methods and support needs are very different to those deaf people who prefer to speak and lipread.

This document is intended as an advice sheet to working with deaf people and including them in your events and networks. It covers several different contexts with advice on how to work effectively with signing deaf people and with BSL/English interpreters.

General advice on building inclusive spaces for signing deaf people

1. Include deaf people! Repeat what you have said, write things down, use a speech-to-text app on your phone, learn to sign, whatever. Deaf people often miss out on incidental information, especially if there are no other signers or interpreters present, so make an effort to keep them up to speed with what’s going on.
2. Not all deaf people use the same languages. Some may speak well, but not understand others when they speak. Others may lipread well but prefer to express themselves in BSL. Be aware of these differences and ask what they prefer.
3. If a deaf person has an interpreter present, approach them for a chat! Don’t be put off!
4. If you are arranging an outing (to the pub, for lunch or whatever), give deaf people notice so that they can book interpreters if they want to.
5. While it might appear to be a good way of bonding, don’t expect deaf people to spend their social time teaching you sign language. There are lots of resources online to use, don’t add to the deaf person’s emotional labour.
6. Signing deaf people often miss out on in-group gossip and politics. Take the time to fill them in on these things.

Booking BSL interpreters

1. You can access a national list of qualified BSL interpreters here.
2. The Interpreters of Colour network have a membership made up of people of colour, who are traditionally under-represented in the profession here.
3. The LGBTQIA+ Interpreter and Translator Network can be contacted on Twitter – @LGBTQIA_ITN.k
4. It is always worth checking first with the deaf person if they have preferred interpreters, and contact them first.
5. When booking interpreters, provide the date, start and finish times, and location in the subject line of your email. In the body of the email add more information about what the booking is about, how many people will be there (how many deaf/hearing, signing/non-signing), and whether it will be in person or online.
6. Once you have confirmation from an interpreter (see here for rough ideas of how much it might cost), you can send more detailed prep. It’s always worth checking with the interpreters how much prep, and of what type, they would find most useful.

General advice on working with interpreters

1. Interpreters are there for everyone, not just for deaf people.
2. Provide prep to the interpreters. Don’t wait to be asked for prep by the deaf person, be proactive in offering material either directly to the interpreters, or to the deaf person to pass on to them.
3. Prep might include any notes, minutes or agendas for meetings, access to texts/videos which might be discussed, anything that means the interpreter will be able to prepare themselves to provide the best interpretation they can.
4. If you’re not sure that your meaning is being put across accurately, check what the deaf people have understood from the interpretation. Good interpreters won’t be offended by this, it is their job to make sure everyone understand each other.
5. Don’t stop and wait for the interpreter to catch up unless they ask you to. There will naturally be a few seconds lag time as they listen, process and interpret what you say. Stopping to wait makes the process stilted and slower.
6. Be wary of assumed knowledge! You and the deaf person might be familiar with in-group practices, names etc. However, the interpreter won’t share this knowledge. Be extra careful with names, acronyms, jargon and other specific knowledge that the interpreter may not be familiar with.
7. Interpreters are usually highly trained, highly qualified language professionals. Assume they will be able to interpret anything that you say (especially if you have provided adequate prep materials), don’t ‘dumb down’ what you are saying out of fear they might not understand. However, see point 4 above.

Organising meetings/events with interpreters

1. Give notice! Generally, you will need at least 3 weeks’ notice to give yourself a good chance of booking interpreters. It is possible to book interpreters at short notice, but it is best not to take the risk.
2. If you are booking interpreters for an event, make sure that the relevant deaf people know in advance so that they can attend.
3. Make sure the interpreters are prepped. Provide them with PPT, notes, agendas, general information about what will be covered, who will be present etc. Don’t leave it to the deaf person to provide prep, be proactive in sending this out to interpreters.
4. If the meeting will be longer than 30 minutes or will include lots of discussion, book two interpreters to co-work.
5. Book interpreters to cover any pre-/post-event discussion or chat, not just for the event itself. Meetings and similar events are often a good chance for everyone to catch up with one another, make sure that deaf people are included in this.

Running meetings/events with interpreters

1. Work with the interpreters and deaf people to work out the best seating arrangement for line of sight before the meeting starts. If the event is online, make sure that the interpreters can be pinned, any screen sharing will not affect the deaf person’s ability to see the interpreters, and that the caption feature is enabled.
2. Make sure the interpreters have copies of any paperwork (such as minutes of past meetings, handouts etc.) so that they can refer to them during the meeting.
3. Discuss with the interpreters beforehand whether they will need breaks. Enforce these breaks, do not carry on ‘informal discussions’ throughout the break, as deaf people will be excluded from these.
4. If an online meeting will include breakout rooms, make sure that there is at least one interpreter in the same breakout room as each deaf person.
5. Because of the time-lag issue, be particularly vigilant in making sure that deaf people are given a fair chance to contribute. Either agree a signal before the meeting starts so that deaf colleagues can indicate they wish to contribute or keep an eye on your deaf colleagues to see if they wish to add something.
6. Enforce turn taking rules. Interpreters can only interpret for one person at a time, so make sure people do not speak over one another/interrupt. For online events, it is good practice to ensure that people say their name at the beginning of each contribution, so that the interpreter and deaf people know who is talking.
7. Be wary of jargon, assumptions of shared knowledge etc. The deaf people may well share your knowledge of jargon, but the interpreters might not.

For events/meetings with signing deaf people from other countries

1. There is no one, universal signed language! Deaf people who are not from the UK will have their own national language, which may be very different from BSL. BSL interpreters will not be able to work into or from those languages.
2. Each country will have its own ways of training, recognizing and registering interpreters, so it is best to ask the deaf person’s advice on who to book and how to book them.