Sign Duo - Deaf and Hearing Couple Vlog

Sign Duo is vlogging of a Deaf and Hearing couple who show the world that differences don't matter when it comes to the people you love.

Sign Duo is a vlogging channel on YouTube also known as Deaf and Hearing couple vlog, they've been high school sweet hearts since 2011 and Ryan who is Deaf has been teaching Ellen who is hearing, American Sign Language.

A California couple wanted to bring you all a look into how a relationship with a Deaf person and a Hearing person works. They hope to share some signs and show you all that Deaf and Hearing relationships are wonderful of life.

With this being first video they plan to bring better quality and better content in the future. They will be posting videos on American Sign Language and closed captions soon, please subscribe to Sign Duo Channel on YouTube.

Follow @SignDuo:
Instagram - https://instagram.com/signduo
Facebook - https://facebook.com/signduo
YouTube - youtube.com/channel/signduo
Patreon - https://patreon.com/signduo

Deaf Women More Likely to be a Victim of Abuse

Deaf individuals are more likely to experience domestic violence than hearing individuals in the United States.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Newsnet5: Deaf individuals are one and a half times more likely to be victims of relationship violence than hearing individuals, according to research out of the Rochester Institute of Technology.

"He would grab me, push me down, kept pushing me down, hitting me," said Dawn Marie Fucile, a Cleveland resident who is Deaf. She spoke through an interpreter.

Fucile recalls her three-year abusive relationship which she says happened in Parma two decades ago.

"He got a hold of me and threw me physically, coffee table," she said of her ex-boyfriend who is also Deaf. "I missed it by just an inch."

Fucile, who is 48 years old, said she finally mustered up the strength to call the police. Twice, officers came to her house. Twice, they left without arresting the man.

"Both of the officers that were there, I could understand them, but they were being like 'oh poor you. You can't communicate," she added.

Fucile said the lack of communication services and education among police at that time contributed to a lack of help.

"We know that there are more victims that are Deaf and Hard of Hearing that don't have access to information or services, and that's a big problem," said Linda Johanek, CEO of the Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center in Cleveland.

Johanek, with help from the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center and Cleveland Police, are trying to reverse the problem, which Johanek and Fucile said is only exacerbated by the fact that the Deaf community is tight-knit. For a member, it is difficult to break away, no matter the circumstance.

Through a federal grant, the domestic violence center, its shelter and all five police districts have iPads equipped with video remote interpreters. Officers can take the iPads with them on calls.

Fucile said the technology is a big step in the right direction.

"Do not be afraid to ask for help," she added. "I got help because I decided to move on."

Parma police said they now use a text messaging service to communicate with Deaf Individuals. For in-depth interviews, Parma and Cleveland police said they bring in live interpreters.

Fucile said her ex-boyfriend was eventually charged and convicted of domestic violence.

SOURCE - NewsNet

Related Posts: #DomesticViolence

METRAC Campaign Aims Toronto Deaf Women

The METRAC campaign and program is aimed at making justice more accessible to Deaf women in family breakup situations.

TORONTO, Ontario -- MetroNews: A new campaign in Toronto aims to help Deaf women facing family breakdowns navigate the legal system.

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Through its Family Law Education for Women program, METRAC has partnered with Springtide Resources and members of the Deaf community to create two videos being launched Thursday.

The videos were produced in American Sign Language, with closed captioning, and contain detailed information about child custody rights and information about support services for survivors of domestic assault.

METRAC has for years provided sign language services for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing women through direct translation, but feedback from the Deaf community showed it “wasn’t very helpful,” said METRAC’s legal director Tamar Witelson.

“This is about increasing access to justice. There’s a lot of concerns when women are separating from their partners, and it’s even harder for Deaf women,” she said, noting that having a multimedia element in the resources will go a long way.

The challenges facing Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing women during family separation battles can stretch beyond just access to justice. If a family is breaking up due to intimate abuse in relationships, for example, the woman is less likely to even seek legal help because of stigma around such cases, Witelson said.

“We still have many women in this situation who don’t even understand what their legal rights are,” she said. “Many even end up going in court without a lawyer to represent them.”

According to Canadian Hearing Society, there are over 530,000 people in Ontario who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. That’s almost 5 per cent of the population.

SOURCE - MetroNews

Related Posts: #DomesticViolence