Legal Aid Attorneys to Receive Sign Language Training
By: , January 11, 2024
Photo: Contributed
Executive Director of the Legal Aid Council (LAC), Mrs. Dian Watson. The LAC will be staging its final Justice Fair for 2022 on Friday, November 25, at Harmony Beach, St. James.The Full Story
The Legal Aid Council (LAC) will be providing sign language training for empanelled attorneys as part of efforts to better serve the disabled community.
The initiative forms part of the Social Justice (So-JUST Project) being implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through Can$12 million in funding by Global Affairs Canada, from 2023 to 2030.
Executive Director of the LAC, Dian Watson, told JIS News that while the Council has always provided legal services to the disabled community, this latest initiative will build its capacity to serve the deaf Jamaicans.
She noted that through this thrust, deaf persons will be better able to understand their rights and responsibilities as well as the different legal options available to them.
“We believe that sign language will facilitate better engagement with the deaf community. We want to ensure effective communication, so that legal information and court proceedings are fully understood by clients who use sign language as their primary source of communication. It is about legal empowerment,” she said.
The training initiative is in its final stages of development, with partners such as the Jamaica Association for the Deaf and others set to provide support.
The LAC Executive Director noted that the legal aid attorneys will also benefit professionally from the training, as it will broaden their skillsets.
“It’s going to be beneficial for all concerned. It’s going to be beneficial to the [Council] because we will be better able to serve our clients. It’s going to be beneficial to the clients because they’ll be empowered and know their rights and obligations. It’s going to be beneficial to the attorneys because it is going to set them apart, contribute to their professional development, and potentially, they will attract a broader base of clients,” Mrs. Watson noted.
The initiative will be accompanied by a public education campaign targeted at persons with disabilities, which will get under way later this year.