Report: Disabled community severely impacted by COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the discrimination against persons with disabilities and slowed down the development of improved facilities for the disabled community in Barbados.

This is according to the US Department of State’s 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for Barbados, which also highlighted the need for more work to be done to address the issue of rape and domestic violence, sexual harassment and verbal abuse against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) community.

The report, which was released on Tuesday, noted that while Barbados has a law that prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, it does not extend protection to education or other state services.

“A separate law requires employers to ensure the safety and health of persons with disabilities,” it said, noting that a union representative had indicated that despite some legal protections, persons with disabilities still faced various forms of discrimination.

“The COVID-19 pandemic magnified existing discrimination against persons with disabilities, and it slowed the development of improved facilities. For example, the Barbados Council for the Disabled said some persons with disabilities who were unable to go to a bank because of COVID restrictions, faced challenges using online services,” it added.

The report said the Council also stated that disability benefits were available only for blind, visually impaired, or deaf persons, leaving persons with other disabilities ineligible.

“The Council said that personnel at vaccine clinics were insensitive to persons with non-apparent disabilities. The Council reported that it prioritised mental health assistance and basic needs such as food packages,” it added.

The human rights report stated that the Barbados Council for the Disabled, the Barbados National Organisation for the Disabled, and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) reported that public transportation remained inaccessible to people with disabilities.

“Many public areas lacked the ramps, railings, parking, and bathroom adjustments needed to accommodate persons with disabilities. The Town and Country Planning Department set standards for all public buildings to include accessibility for persons with disabilities. Most new buildings had ramps, reserved parking, and accessible bathrooms,” it said.

In relation to rape and domestic violence, the report noted that laws prohibit such crimes and protected all members of the family including men and children, and was applied equally to marriages and common-law relationships.

However, it added that while the law empowers police to make an arrest after a complaint, visiting the premises and being satisfied that a crime was committed, the law was not consistently enforced.

In fact, it indicated that an NGO reported that the Commissioner of Police was “very concerned about complaints raised by victims of domestic violence and that the Commissioner put mechanisms in place to improve victims’ experience with police”.

“The NGO also reported this high level of support and recognition was not consistently evident throughout the police department, at all police stations, or at the officer level. The NGO reported that the judicial system re-victimised victims of domestic abuse involving child custody disputes. It cited instances where reports of physical abuse and assault were not considered by courts when making determinations of child visitation and co-parenting rights. The NGO said this led to situations where a victim had to continue to interact with their abuser in order to fulfill court visitation orders,” it stated.

The document noted that while one union representative said he was unaware of any reports of workplace sexual harassment cases being filed or prosecuted during the year under review, one human rights activist reported that workplace sexual harassment was “widespread”.

The 2021 human rights report also cited continued verbal abuse against members of the LGBTQI+ community, stating that “an NGO reported that authorities did not take seriously reports of sexual and homophobic harassment”.

It said in some cases, LGBTQI+ individuals identified perpetrators of harassment but were “deterred from reporting these experiences or prevented from seeking justice”.

Civil society groups also reported that LGBTQI+ persons faced verbal abuse at home and in public.

In relation to child abuse, the report said this remained a problem, with one NGO frequently encountering situations involving molestation and incest. It mentioned several cases, including an incident involving a 14-year-old girl at the Government Industrial School which was highlighted in the media.

It also noted that an NGO reported an increase in reports of molestation and incest affecting girls.

While stating that labour-related laws were generally observed, the report indicated that the penalties related to the breach of occupational safety and health were “inadequate to ensure compliance”.

“Penalties for occupational safety and health violations are higher than penalties for analogous violations, such as negligence,” it added.

The report did not indicate any breaches in other areas, including respect for civil liberties, freedom to participate in the political process, corruption and lack of transparency in government, worker rights and some areas related to discrimination and societal abuse.

The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices cover internationally recognised individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements.
marlonadden@barbadostoday.bb