Sign LOUD is a 1-year project funded by the British Academy to understand perspectives of deaf mothers and practitioners (e.g. police, domestic abuse services, etc.) on domestic abuse and communication issues and the impact on deaf families.

This a joint project between Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh working with various experts on domestic abuse and deaf communities.

Summary

Domestic abuse is primarily perpetrated against women by men and has far-reaching impacts on individuals and families, with women and children often experiencing trauma. Language barriers compound the challenges faced by both women and children experiencing domestic abuse and children are often involved in assisting with communication in deaf families.

Deaf women are 2-3 times more likely to experience domestic abuse. This participatory project
will explore the perspectives of deaf mothers and practitioners (e.g. police, domestic abuse services, etc.) on domestic abuse and communication issues and the impact on deaf women and children. Interviews with deaf mothers, workshops with support service practitioners, a range of stakeholders and policy experts will create recommendations to improve the response to the whole family.

Enhanced understanding of the impact of domestic abuse on children and mothers in deaf families will enable project partners to identify steps to reduce the risks for deaf families and improve service provision, explore future research centring children and consider implications for all women and children facing domestic abuse without access to the majority language of the country.
More about the team:

•⁠ ⁠Professor Jemina Napier from Heriot-Watt University who is a hearing BSL user and CODA with
many years of experience of conducting research with deaf people about sign language
interpreting and communication.
•⁠ ⁠Dr Claire Houghton from the University of Edinburgh who is a hearing non-BSL user with a
background in action research with young and adult survivors of domestic abuse to impact
practice and policy.
•⁠ ⁠Lucy Clark, who is a deaf BSL user and a domestic abuse survivor with experience of researching
domestic abuse and advocating for better access to information on domestic abuse for deaf
women
•⁠ ⁠Tasnim Ahmed, who is a deaf BSL user and a domestic abuse survivor who has been involved in
previous projects on domestic abuse as a participant and consultant, and advocates for deaf
ethnic minority communities to have better understanding of domestic abuse