By Chris Agbo
Going by the report of Disability Rights Advocacy Center (DRAC)’s Accessibility Audit of services available to survivors of violence, persons with disabilities lack access in the multi-spectral services of Health, Social and Criminal Justice Services.
Results from the audit revealed that in the event of any experience of violence against women and girls with disabilities, they are unable to access justice. For instance, none of the courts and police stations had a disability policy, disability focal points or considered the communication needs of persons with disabilities. The audit was conducted in 2017 in the 6 Area Councils of the FCT and Nasarawa State.
Article 9 of the CRPD and Part II of the Nigeria Disability Act, requires governments and all service providers to take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have, on an equal basis with others, access to the physical environment, transportation, information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas.
It is based on this that DRAC on Thursday in Abuja organized a stakeholders’ consultative meeting on the application of universal design in improving access to justice as part of activities under Project Policy to Practice (P2P) to sensitize stakeholders on the findings of the accessibility audit of justice facilities, to sensitize stakeholders on the concept of universal design and to collate information on accessibility needs of persons with disabilities accessing justice facilities.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Executive Director of DRAC, Dr. Irene Ojiugo Patrick-Ogbogu in her welcome address said that the essence of the meeting is to present to the stakeholders in the disability community, the findings from DRAC’s accessibility audit conducted in 2017, sensitize them on the concept of universal design and harvest their input on the modifications that will assist DRAC to engage with duty bearers and justice sector service providers to make some of these facilities accessible and their services disability inclusive.
The participants understood the details of the accessibility audit which considered environmental, institutional, attitudinal and communication barriers in health, social and criminal justice facilities. This was followed by a presentation made by ED, DRAC on Universal Design which is a design in building that meets the needs of everybody.
The participants were then grouped into three with the task of identifying modifications for improving access to Police services, Court services, and services of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs). Groups working in consideration of diverse disabilities, made recommendations on the modifications from the entrance, Lobby/Receptio, Corridors, Elevators, Offices/Rooms, Toilets, Equipment and Furniture, ICT, Colour philosophy, Communication/Attitudes, website accessibility, Languages, sign, symbols and stands and Personnel.
The Executive Director said these inputs would be developed into an advocacy tool that would be used to engage with duty bearers.
The participants were mainly leaders of OPDs from different disability clusters, (the blind, the Deaf, persons with albinism and persons with physical disabilities).
MORE PICTURES OF THE MEETING
