The second day of Dövas Dag 2024 brought us to Helsinki, Finland, where the cruise ship is temporarily docked. Onboard, many deaf individuals are visiting the information stands, while this year’s theme, “Sign Language through life”, is at the forefront. Since 2012, this has been the vision of Sveriges Dövas Riksförbund (the Swedish National Association of the Deaf). With this motto, the board aims to emphasise that sign language is essential for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, from birth to their final years, in order to access all activities in their daily lives. Visual Box is investigating whether this is indeed the case in practice in Sweden.
The Reality Behind the Motto “Sign Language through life”
In Sweden, deaf and hard-of-hearing babies are diagnosed with hearing loss immediately after their birth. Although, from a medical standpoint, cochlear implants (CIs) are often chosen as a first solution, the Swedish National Association of the Deaf advocates for the provision of sign language from day one. “Technology alone is not a lifelong solution,” states Joakim Hagelin Adeby, the vice-chair of Sveriges Dövas Riksförbund. “There must be a comprehensive offering that includes sign language for deaf individuals from birth, so they can make their own choices later on and not be introduced to sign language too late.”
Despite Sweden being a leader in deaf education compared to other Scandinavian countries, there is a noticeable decline in the enrolment of deaf children in schools for the deaf. Many children are now integrated into mainstream schools. “We need to ask ourselves how their mental well-being, social contacts, and more will be supported going forward,” adds the vice-chair. This spring, the Flemish government amended its basic education decree to introduce a language section for Dutch – Flemish Sign Language and Dutch, enabling deaf and hard-of-hearing children in Flanders to receive comprehensive bilingual education. However, like in Sweden, Doof Vlaanderen, the national association for the deaf in Flanders (Belgium), also emphasises that access to sign language must be ensured in early childhood for a more successful education and subsequent life stages.
The Legal Status of Swedish Sign Language
In 2006, Flemish Sign Language (Vlaamse Gebarentaal) was recognised by the Flemish government. However, this recognition is merely symbolic and does not imply that sign language users in Flanders receive all sign language rights. Swedish Sign Language (Svenskt teckenspråk) is the first sign language in the world to be officially recognised by the Swedish government in 1981. This recognition was a significant milestone for the Swedish deaf community and has led to substantial improvements in education for deaf individuals. Despite this recognition, Swedish Sign Language does not enjoy the same legal protection as other minority languages in Sweden. “This recognition does not automatically guarantee all sign language rights for deaf individuals in Sweden,” the vice-chair notes. “For example, the right to sign language interpreters is not enforceable. There is no strong legal foundation for it.”
Sveriges Dövas Riksförbund strives to strengthen the legal status of Swedish Sign Language to ensure that all sign language rights for deaf individuals are effectively safeguarded.
While it is often assumed in Belgium that sign language rights in Sweden are well-established, challenges still exist there as well. The legal status of Swedish Sign Language appears to be stronger than that of Flemish Sign Language, which is only symbolically recognised in Belgium. Additionally, it is notable that deaf theatre and media in Sweden receive more structural funding. We will explore this further in the next article.