Mathis
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‘I am a Deaf person and Auslan is my language – my first language, not English.’
Mathis, mid-30s, is Deaf and has cerebral palsy and a vision impairment.
Not long ago he spent about 18 months in prison.
Mathis told the Royal Commission that police, courts and the correctional system failed multiple times to help him access language.
When he was arrested police didn’t arrange an interpreter and expected him to communicate using written English.
‘They get really, really angry that I can’t communicate with them. You know, it’s very difficult for my brain to be able to process the information, write it down.’
Sometimes police did supply an interpreter, but Mathis needs an interpreter ‘every single time’.
‘It doesn’t matter if it’s short or a long meeting or a short conversation. I do definitely need one. I don’t want to have to write down in English.’
Mathis also wants more male interpreters.
‘It’s very difficult a lot of the time. You know, it’s embarrassing, and I’ll need a male interpreter for specific situations.’
In court, Mathis’s criminal proceedings were protracted and delayed because he didn’t have interpreters. He said it was very difficult and unfair.
‘When I went in to jail, there was no interpreters at all that were provided to me.’
Prison officers had no patience communicating with Deaf prisoners.
One time, officers who were wearing masks because of COVID-19, instructed prisoners to line up. Mathis couldn’t lip-read and was confused about what was going on and what they wanted him to do.
‘They wouldn’t put their masks down for me and then, you know, they slapped me right across the face. My glasses flew – you know, fell off, and it really, really hurt.’
Prison officers placed him in a small room by himself. He had no access to an interpreter and couldn’t communicate with the officers outside the room. He had to wait until they opened the door in the morning to communicate with them.
Mathis said there should be some form of video system in the room. The officers could provide an interpreter and Mathis would be able to access his first language.
Without interpreters, Mathis couldn’t speak to his family or friends like other prisoners did. He couldn’t attend therapy for the required offender management programs.
‘I need to be able to have access to improve myself. And I can’t improve myself.’
Mathis wants more training about Deaf awareness for people working in the criminal justice system.
‘We need more interpreters, especially in that system.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.