On April 10th 2020 the European Disability Forum (EDF) organised a two hours webinar about the COVID-19 pandemic and what challenges are persons with disabilities are facing. The speakers shared how persons with disabilities are experiencing the measures adopted by the different countries when these don’t take into consideration a disability perspective.
This webinar was conducted by André Félix, EDF External Communications Coordinator and was supported by Raquel Riaza, Events and Administration Officer and by other colleagues from EDF‘s office. The webinar was accessible for persons with disabilities providing live captioning and international sign language interpretation. It was recorded and a transcript is available
The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission launched an inquiry to understand the experiences of disabled defendants and accused people in the criminal justice system. They looked at:
whether their needs are properly identified
the types of adjustments being made to accomodate their needs, and
whether they can fully participate in court processes and understand the charges they face.
Based on their findings, recommendations are made to UK Governments.
The use of video hearings was rapidly expanded in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In April 2020, interim findings from this inquiry were released to help mitigate the risks that this technology poses to disabled people in the criminal justice system.
