The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

jrussell@tribunmedia.net

NALINI Bethel, the chairperson of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), said no one has ever been prosecuted under the Persons with Disabilities Act, a law passed in 2014 to equalise opportunities for people with disabilities and eliminate discrimination against them.

The lack of prosecutions shows the law has not been adequately enforced, said Erin Brown, a noted dis- ability rights advocate and NCPD commissioner. She believes the main reason is that many lawyers do not want to represent someone with disabilities.

Ms Bethel told The Tribune that 14 adjustment orders have been issued this year to businesses demanding they comply with the disability law. Such orders are issued when places are inaccessible to people with disabilities. For instance, they may not have wheelchair ramps, railings, accessible parking spots, or appropriate bathrooms. Ms Bethel said businesses are usu- ally given 90 days to fix violations identified by one of the three NCPD inspectors.

“Many of our buildings, especially the older buildings, do not meet the code,” Ms Bethel said. “The building codes have been changed and modernised so that they do take into consideration the accessibility for disabled persons. So the newer buildings are more in compliance than the older buildings. Some of the older buildings have to be retrofitted.”

If a business does not comply with an adjustment order in 90 days, the matter could be sent to the Office of the Attorney General. However, Ms Bethel said most businesses usually comply with the orders. “No, nobody has ever been prosecuted under the Act,” she said. “But we do deal with some complaints.”

Ms Bethel said progress has been made concerning the rights of people with disabilities, and there is more “heightened awareness.”

Ms Brown agreed that awareness has increased and progress has been made.

However, she said people with disabilities are not fully accommodated in schools, the police station, or even courts. She said finding lawyers to represent people with disabilities or who specialise in the area is a longstanding challenge.

“Who are you to go to if the law is telling you you must go to this system that has no people who specialise in this, no people who are willing to take on the brunt of trying it?” she said.

She questioned whether the Office of the Attorney General had done its part trying to hold people and businesses accountable under the law.