According to the Jamaica Society for the Blind, approximately one per cent of Jamaica’s population, or about 28,000 people, identify as being blind.
The organisation, however, estimates that more than 89,000 Jamaicans live with low vision. This means that approximately three per cent of the population faces significant problems with sight.
So when, earlier this month, on the second Thursday in October, Jamaica joined the international community in marking World Sight Day, it was more than symbolism for many Jamaicans, the low-key observance notwithstanding. People who are blind in Jamaica, as with those living with other disabilities, face significant obstacles in navigating their lives.
Indeed, blind Jamaicans have limited access to quality education and, therefore, meaningful employment. Access to assistive technology is insufficient, accessible transportation is in short supply, and limited information restricts their independence and economic mobility.
As Professor Floyd Morris, the blind Opposition senator and a leading advocate for people with disabilities, observed, “it is social organisms”, more so than the disabilities themselves, that “create barriers for persons with impairments”.
LACK THEREOF
Jamaica’s Disabilities Act, which came into force in 2022 after a seven-year gestation, provides a strong legal framework from which to address Professor Morris’ “social organisms”. The challenge, however, is the effectiveness, or lack thereof, in the implementation of its provisions.
Despite the law’s guarantee of rights relating to education, training, employment, healthcare, transportation, housing and access to public facilities, many blind and visually impaired Jamaicans still encounter discrimination, inaccessible public spaces and an unwillingness on the part of some workplaces to provide reasonable accommodation. What Professor Morris, in a recent article in this newspaper, referred to as a “charity-based approach to disabilities” persists. There is an urgency for the aspirations of the law to begin translating into tangible action.
It is, of course, understood that, after a long history of unfair treatment of people with disabilities, societal transformation will not be immediate. However, the State has an obligation to ensure that all Jamaicans, regardless of physical or other disabilities, are afforded all the rights guaranteed to citizens. Full inclusion must be society’s starting point.
This newspaper appreciates the work already being done by the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), the watchdog agency. However, the government must provide it with the necessary resources to be more aggressive in fulfilling its mandate.
INCENTIVISE
At another level, the government can use other policy levers to incentivise the full inclusion of people with disabilities, such as offering tax benefits to employers who recruit and retain qualified people with disabilities. Additionally, public-sector agencies should publish annual data on disability employment and establish measurable targets for workplace inclusion.
Expanded training in information technology, digital services, business administration, customer support and entrepreneurship could open new pathways to employment.
Reconstruction after Hurricane Melissa a year ago also provides an opportunity to substantially shift the needle on physical accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, as well as other people with disabilities. This should be reflected in how homes, schools, health facilities, public offices, commercial buildings and infrastructure are rebuilt.
Further, government websites, public documents, emergency alerts and online services should be fully compatible with screen-reader technology and other assistive devices.
Broadly, inclusion requires structural reform and a transformation in public attitudes. As Dennis Zulu, United Nations resident co-ordinator in Jamaica, said, “Jamaica’s commitment to equality will ultimately be measured not by the promises contained in legislation, but by whether blind and visually impaired citizens can participate fully, independently, and with dignity in every aspect of national life. Anything less is not merely a failure of policy, but a failure of justice.”
