1. Exploring
the sexual
vulnerability
of urban deaf
Indians
Shilpa Patil
C Y Gopinath
2000
E N A B L E D B Y T H E M AC A R T H U R P O P U L AT I O N P R O G R A M F E L LO W S H I P

2. Foreword
Unraveling deaf sexual vulnerability
T his study, enabled by a two-year fellowship by the Macarthur Population Programme Fellowship, is possi-
bly the first one conducted in India which attempts to explore the sexual behaviour and vulnerability of the
deaf community. We would like to note at the outset that there are formidable difficulties to be faced in arriv-
1
ing at a research sample group that is truly representative of the diversity of India’s deaf. The project’s sever-
est limitation was that it could only work with groups that were accessible through clubs, hostels, schools or
associations. Such groups represent a decimal minority of India’s deaf people.
There is also a clear danger of generalising on behalf of the national community of deaf persons based on
our limited study sample. We are at pains to underscore the fact that we worked with urban deaf youth, and
have made reasonable inferences about rural deaf youth through our findings. We are aware that whatever
vulnerabilities have been revealed by our study sample, they are only likely to worse with the larger commu-
nity of scattered and isolated deaf Indians who will go through their lives without recourse to any facility that
could improve their conditions, self-respect or survival options. Most of them will probably subsist as burdens
upon the families into which they were born. Though we have reason to believe that they may receive a love
and acceptance of sorts, harsh economics will dictate that their needs will be lowest on the priorities.
The study unravels the issue of sexual vulnerability by examining the familial, educational and social con-
texts in which the attitudes, self-perceptions and survival options of a deaf Indian evolve. This takes us on a
journey that starts with the cradle, and allows us to understand how the treatment and behaviour of hearing
society towards the deaf person finally bring about the hardening of certain key attitudes, and create certain
glaring gaps in knowledge, which together form a basis for a lifelong vulnerability.
We would liked to have had more time than two years, and more venues for research than merely the three
metropolitan centres of Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. However, the project’s imperatives precluded a wider
study, and we hope that it will be taken up in the future, as there is clear need for an even deeper understanding
of the issues raised here.
Anecdotal evidence
From the study itself, and also the interviews and conversations we had during the course of the project, we
believe that the deaf in India are uniquely vulnerable and at risk in the age of HIV/AIDS. To establish the
dimensions of deaf sexual abuse and vulnerability in this report, we have drawn on anecdotal evidence that
came from our research as well as the interviews and conversations around it. This deviation from the strict
protocol of research is our response to the knowledge that such studies are not common in India, and that the
next such may not happen for many years ahead. We are keen that this study be convincing enough about deaf
sexual vulnerability to provoke action. For that reason, we have harvested insights from the entire project peri-
od of two years rather than stick only to the hours and days of our focus group sessions, key informant inter-
views and questionnaires.
Not hearing impaired. Deaf.
Throughout the report, we have followed international practice and used the single word ‘deaf’ to refer to
the range of hearing impairment from absolute deafness to varying degrees of hearing impairment. This deci-
sion is specially significant in India where there is a poor census of people with hearing disability to start with.
In this context, it is more important to use a term that reflects the marginalised status of this community rather
than the biological degree of their handicap. The word ‘deaf’ can better focus attention on society’s attitudes
towards this condition.
When referring to a deaf person in the singular tense, we have arbitrarily used either ‘she’ or ‘he’, to side-
step tricky issues of gender. However, in sections where a specific gender is more relevant, such as sexual
abuse where the female is oftener the victim, we have used that gender.
C Y Gopinath
Shilpa Patil
March 9, 2000
rehabit@vsnl.com

3. Project Signpost
T here has never been a study, either in India or abroad, that looked at the deaf
community’s vulnerability in the age of HIV and AIDS. Because the deaf are
defined in terms of their primary challenge, their hearing impairment, the atten-
2 tion has invariably been pulled towards language, technologies of hearing, and
education. But not being able to hear has profound and disturbing implications for
the quality and course of the relationships into which a deaf person falls. The deaf
person is an unguided target, prone to drifting into situations of high risk armed
neither with awareness nor with wisdom that could save his or her life.
Project Signpost evolved as a first step towards assessing the risks a deaf Indian
youth faces within relationships. The project evolved organically, through theatre
workshops which led to discussions, which became finally a formal research pro-
posal that was awarded a 2-year fellowship by the Macarthur Population
Programme in July 1997. The objective of the study was to evolve an innovative
non-verbal curriculum that could give deaf youth a better understanding of their
health risks within relationships, and the choices before them.
It has been a daunting and difficult study, beset by numerous limitations and
hurdles along the way. Without any guiding precedent either in India or abroad,
Project Signpost had to cut its own path through the woods on many occasions. The
largest constraint was the absence of a single unifying sign language, which influ-
enced both how we conducted out workshops, as well as the methods in which we
chose to clarify biological and technical concepts.
Midway through the project, we had to make a radical course correction and
redefine the ending of the project as peer education. This arose from our growing
awareness that the curriculum would succeed only when it empowered the deaf to
help themselves rather than leave the instruction in the hands of the hearing, with
whom there is always a subtle tension.
Apart from the Macarthur Foundation’s India office, which has been a remark-
able enabler and support to our entire project, we have to acknowledge Tasneem
Raja, who worked with the project for its duration as Project Coordinator, and
brought her skills from her earlier work. The contents of this report owe a great
deal to her efforts.
We also owe a deep debt of thanks to Arun Rao and Anil Rao, the two hearing
individuals who have dedicated their lives to working with deaf youth, and did
much to support our work by giving their time, attention and inputs. The sexual
health curriculum belongs to them and their deaf friends to take forward.
It will be difficulto to list all those others who gave of their time, insights and
experience, especially our innumerable deaf friends who were generous with us,
but of them we specialy mention C. Rajeshwari, co-founder of DAWN in Chennai,
and Sangeeta Gala, of the Bombay Foundation of Deaf Women, who was our sign
language teacher in the early days, and later our via media into deaf communities.
Finally, we mention that this report is a first step, and we look forward to com-
ments, criticism, insights, and observations — as well as consolidation and further
work into the sexual health issues of the Indian deaf community, particularly in the
area of sexual abuse and HIV/AIDS.
Shilpa Patil
C Y Gopinath
rehabit@vsnl.com

4. Deaf children are among India’s most vulnerable to sexual abuse —
and yet their vulnerability is the least acknowledged.
M urari, a 10-year-old boy living in
Bombay, suffered from the
Waardenburg Syndrome, a condition
institute authorities gave up, unable to
understand the girl’s signs and ges-
tures. She had developed some commu-
marked by profound deafness and some nication system of her own.
3
mental retardation. For some months,
he had been making steady and visible
progress with Nilam Patel, a teacher of
deaf youth. Under her individual
I n a slum near in north Bombay, 30-
year-old Niki, deaf since birth, died of
AIDS in December 1998. His wife Mona,
tuition, his attention span and commu- also deaf, had died in March, also of Murari’s parents left on
nication skills had improved consider- AIDS. Their child, born HIV positive, vacation; the boy was
ably. He had picked up a vocabulary of had died at age one month, soon after driven by a chauffeur to
his daily classes. Today
nearly 7,000 Hindi words. Christmas, 1997. Niki’s sister Mamta
Nilam believes that, in
One day, Murari’s parents left on was his caregiver during his last days.
his parents’ absence, the
vacation; the boy was driven by a chauf- She was the one who struggled to pro- boy was sexually
feur to his daily classes. Today Nilam tect his identity and dignity in the slum abused by the chauffeur.
believes that in his parents’ absence, where they lived. Even finding a nurse
the boy was sexually abused by the willing to administers a glucose drip to
chauffeur. She began to notice certain strengthen him for a hospital visit
disturbing changes in his behaviour. proved a near impossibility. Finally, an
His concentration deteriorated. He’d aunt reluctantly did the job. At the hos-
keep glancing over his shoulder, as pital, a ward boy offered to ‘extermi-
though someone else were in the room. nate’ Niki for a mere Rs 50. Through all
A battery of neuro-physiological tests, the indignity, Mamta says, “Niki simply
After a hospital check-
including Magnetic Resonance Imaging refused to believe that there was any
up confirmed sexual
and CATSCAN, showed nothing physi- such things as AIDS right up to the time assault, the grandmother
cally wrong with him. he died of it.” filed a police complaint.
Meanwhile, his performance went These three stories highlight impor- The problem, of course,
from bad to worse: Murari began to for- tant aspects of the sexual predicament was that only Aparna
get the vocabulary he’d learned. At of the deaf child in India. They are could describe the
home, he displayed extremely violent among the Indian children most vul- incident and provide any
behaviour. Soon, he had regressed nerable to sexual abuse — and yet their clues about the rapist —
totally, and forgotten almost everything vulnerability is the least acknowledged. and she was deaf.
he’d learnt. Disheartened, his parents They are one of this country’s most dis-
removed him to a deaf school. jointed communities, divided by lan-
When Nilam shared her suspicions guage, isolated by their lack of shared
about the chauffeur with the boy’s par- identity, and left rudderless through the
ents, they dismissed the idea as absence of a national level lobby that
unthinkable. could represent their interests. And
finally, in this age of HIV/AIDS and
At the hospital, a ward
T he second story is from a news item
in India in June 1998. It reported
the rape of Aparna, a 7–year-old deaf
infection through uninformed contact,
the deaf are deeply endangered by their
ignorance and low levels of awareness,
boy offered to
‘exterminate’ Niki for a
girl, by a neighbour. Aparna is an aban- and also by their friendly, affection- mere Rs50. Through all
doned child of divorced parents, and seeking temperaments that makes the indignity, Mamta
says, “Niki simply
stays with her grandmother. After a them prone to high-risk behaviour with
refused to believe that
hospital check-up confirmed sexual little forethought or attention to the
there was any such
assault, the grandmother filed a police consequences. Already marginalised by things as AIDS right up
complaint. The problem, of course, was their deafness, they are doubly discrim- to the time he died of it.”
that only Aparna could describe the inated against when they become
incident and provide any clues about infected by HIV, the AIDS virus.
the rapist — and she was deaf. Who talks about sexual and repro-
Aparna was taken to a national insti- ductive health matters to deaf Indians
tute for the hearing handicapped. The in a language they can understand?
police hoped that they, using signs to How much do they know about matters
speak with Aparna, could help them that affect their well being and survival,
nail the rapist. But after a few days, the of behaviour that would place them-

5. There were 6.5 million deaf Indians in 1991. This is probably the world’s
largest deaf community, but a small fraction of India’s population.
selves and their loved ones at risk? Being deaf in India
What sort of curriculum could address The most intimidating thing about
the needs of the deaf using a methodol- being deaf in India is probably India
4 ogy they could access? These were our itself. The population is numbingly
questions. Our objective was to evolve a large — 98 million people and growing.
non-verbal sexual health curriculum The country is divided into 32 states
for deaf Indian youth. and six union territories, each with its
Our research into the awareness lev- own government — and culture
els of the deaf alone took the better part As if this were not bad enough, each
of 24 months, and was beset with diffi- state has a distinct language with its
culties. It is not easy to apply estab- own script — and unique culture, histo-
lished research methods to a communi- ry, traditions and sense of identity. It is
ty whose first obstacle is their unique sometimes said that an Indian is an
mode of communicating and under- Indian only when he is out of India. The
standing. Our study was conducted in national language, spoken over most of
collaboration with six groups of the north India, is Hindi. In addition, there
deaf in New Delhi, Mumbai and are 42 languages spoken by over 1 mil-
Chennai (see Annexure 3). While they lion people, as well as 325 documented
took part in workshops consisting of dialects. Most school-going Indians
games, role plays and theatre exercises, learn English, and it functions as a sort
we observed, and learnt much from of second language.
their reactions. The last Indian survey of handicaps
In important areas of
Separately, we convened focus was conducted in the 47th round of the
sexual health, the deaf
groups of the deaf and explored their National Sample Survey in 1991 (see
person’s knowledge has
large gaps. You can sexual experiences, beliefs and prac- Annexure 1). It covered all Indian states
understand it from the tices by playing the Figureheads Game, and union territories, and encompassed
silences, the empty which we devised specially for Project 4,373 villages and towns, representing
sections of Signpost. Meanwhile, we conducted 39,271 rural families and 17,489 urban
questionnaires, the flood Key Informant interviews with nearly families. From this survey, there were
of child-like questions 30 people, both deaf and hearing, who estimated to be 2,573,000 rural deaf
and wonderment that could share their insights from years of and 669,000 urban deaf in 1991. In addi-
comes once they realise living or working with the deaf in India tion, there are an estimated 3,333,899
that they may ask (see Annexure 4). children between 0 and 4 years of age
whatever they want —
The findings of that research have with possible hearing disability. This
and receive answers.
led to this report. This is also the place gives 6.5 million deaf Indians in 1991.
to say that in important areas of sexual Although this is probably the world’s
health, the deaf person’s knowledge largest deaf community, it is a small
has large gaps. You can understand it decimal fraction of India’s population.
from the silences, the empty sections of Rural India has more deaf persons
questionnaires, the flood of child-like than urban, for males as well as
questions and wonderment that comes females. Between the two sexes the
once they realise that they may ask prevalence of hearing impairment is
whatever they want — and receive higher in males (498 per 100,000) than
answers. Our attempts to enumerate in females (435 per 100,000) in rural
ignorance or misconceptions, or to sta- India. In urban India it is higher in
tistically tabulate it have yielded only females (355 per 100,000) than males
meagre additions to the understanding (325 per 100,000).
we received from our games, interac- Now consider the dilemma of
tions and discussions with the deaf. Shahnaz, a deaf girl born into this
We now suspect that we are looking chaotic country. Studying in the Oral
at the tip of a frighteningly large ice- School for Deaf Children, in Calcutta,
berg. Had it been some other country, Shahnaz comes from a large, low-
with not so many people, or a different income family, and has six siblings.
kind of deaf community, sharing a lan- Though at her home, the spoken lan-
guage or a sense of identity, the prob- guage is Hindi, people around her in
lem might have been less daunting. Calcutta speak Bengali and English as

6. 193,607 deaf Indians might already be HIV positive. This may
be the world’s largest infected deaf population
well. Which of the three should she be eases, particularly HIV and AIDS.
taught to lip-read? How many deaf Indians are we talk-
There are two oral schools for the ing about? Project Signpost did some
deaf in Calcutta, one teaching Bengali simple arithmetic — the National AIDS
5
and the other English. Shahnaz was Control Organisation’s 1997 estimate is
enrolled in the latter — her parents that 22.10 Indians per 1,000 surveyed
thought English would better her pros- are HIV positive. Although this is a
pects. As a result, today, Shahnaz can small fraction of India’s population, in
lip-read and understand English well absolute terms it represents a frighten-
enough. However, because the lan- ingly large number. India is widely
guage at home is Hindi, which she can- regarded as being at the hub of the
not lip-read, school has effectively iso- Asian AIDS epidemic.
lated her from her family. Ironically, the Evidence from earlier studies sug-
only place where she feels at home is gests that a handicapped person’s sexu-
school. Here she has friends with whom al experience is not likely to be signifi-
she can discuss just about anything she cantly different from others — that is,
pleases. he or she will not be sexually less, or
The National Sample
There is one catch — no matter more, active. We therefore assumed
Survey Organisation
which school she attends, Shahnaz will the same seropositivity rate for India’s classified a person as
be strongly discouraged from using deaf as for hearing. According to this, having hearing disability
sign language. No surprises here — 193,607 deaf Indians might already be if “he/she could not hear
there is anyway no standardised Indian HIV positive. at all or could only hear
Sign Language that she could have This may not only be the largest HIV loud sounds or could
been taught. Of course, whether the positive deaf population in the world only hear shouted words
teacher approves or not, deaf students but also the one least likely to receive or could hear only when
develop their own local dialect of ges- life support resources, information, the speaker was sitting
tures and signs with a working vocabu- education, and communication. in front of them, or
lary, so that they can communicate with
would usually ask to
repeat the words
each other. Characteristics of spoken, or would like to
Imagine what might happen if
Shahnaz were to visit some other part
the Indian deaf see the face of the
speaker.”
of India, say, Kerala in the extreme 1.1 Population size Deafness was not
south. To start with, she probably would included in the Indian censuses till the
not meet any deaf people there except National Sample Survey Organisation’s
by chance, because the deaf in India are 36th round in 1981, the International
not very well organised. There is no Year of Disabled Persons. India’s sprawl
Indian association of the deaf that truly and vast population necessitates a large
represents the interests of all Indian census-taking task force. Typical diffi-
deaf people. Should Shahnaz meet a culties related to ways of training the
deaf Keralite, she would be able to census-takers, who are predominantly
make only a limited, superficial contact. non-medical, to accurately identify deaf
Shahnaz represents a minority of people. The second count was carried
Indian deaf people who are fortunate out in the 47th round of the National
enough to attend school. Most deaf Sample Survey in 1991. In both surveys,
Indians, living in rural rather than a person was classified as having hear-
urban India, will not have that privi- ing disability if “he/she could not hear
lege. They will probably not attend at all or could only hear loud sounds or
school. Those that do may be in hearing could only hear shouted words or could
schools, with teachers who are at their hear only when the speaker was sitting
wits’ end about how to deal with a deaf in front of them, or would usually ask to
child. Many deaf children will grow up repeat the words spoken, or would like
without ever forming a deep friendship to see the face of the speaker”.
with another deaf person. 1.2 Low literacy The education of
The same factors that isolate the the deaf in India falls under the
Indian deaf also make them a group at Ministry of Social Justice and
high risk for sexually transmitted dis- Empowerment, not Education. In other

7. Deaf persons’ ignorance about issues that affect
their health is chronic and lifelong, because their alienation
from the hearing world is chronic and lifelong.
words, the education of the deaf is edge and awareness, especially in
regarded more as a welfare activity issues that affect their well-being and
with an element of benevolence and survival, even though their superficial
6 charity attached to it. Not surprisingly, it information levels may vary. Their
is poorly funded, and administered ignorance is chronic and lifelong,
leniently, so that inadequate resources because their alienation from the hear-
are inefficiently deployed. ing world is chronic and lifelong.
There are 478 schools for the deaf,
with a capacity of approximately 33,000 1.4 No developed, universally accept-
students. This excludes the vast major- ed sign language The Indian deaf per-
ity of India’s estimated 1,443,431 deaf son faces unique communication prob-
children and youth between ages 5 and lems caused by two factors: the absence
14 years. A certain number of them of a formal, nationally accepted Indian
attend hearing schools, but these tend Sign Language; and India’s own diver-
to belong to better off, urban, middle sity of 42 major languages and 325
and upper class families. It is reason- dialects. Deaf schools, which will dis-
able to assume a preponderant low seminate lip-reading and oral skills
level of literacy among India’s deaf, either in English or in the dominant
specially youth. regional language, restrict the child’s
expression to that specific language.
1.3 Poor access to information For lip-reading to be successful socially,
Communicating to society around in an environment where two to three
A deaf person of 16 will them, and receiving communication languages may be concurrently pres-
not have significantly from society both constitute formidable ent, requires enunciation on the part of
different reactions or hurdles for the Indian deaf person. The the speakers and alertness on the part
knowledge than a deaf absence of an Indian Sign Language of the deaf person, to discern which
person of 40. Unlike a also poses unique difficulties when language is being used. This combina-
hearing individual, evolving a curriculum on sexual health tion of factors constitutes a nearly insu-
whose knowledge and
and HIV/AIDS, an area that has several perable barrier.
personality develop
throughout life, a deaf abstract concepts such as risk and vul- Although there have been several
individual represents a nerability, technical terms like virus attempts to compile an Indian Sign
tragic stasis, which is and immunodeficiency — as well as Language, the efforts have not yet led to
the result of communi- controversial moral issues. a single language of nationally codified
cation starvation. In general, though, it is possible to and accepted signs with a sufficiently
say that a rural deaf Indian from a low- large vocabulary to be useful. Instead,
income household will probably face there seem to be ‘dialects’ of gestures,
proportionately greater difficulties in which reflect local peculiarities of cul-
communication than one in an urban ture and experience. When two deaf
setting coming from a middle-income people from different states of India
or high-income household. These dif- meet, there will usually be a short peri-
ferences in the communication envi- od of negotiation to establish a mutual
ronment are, however, negligible. In lexicon. After that, communication is
absolute terms, it means a deaf person relatively smooth, as long as abstract
of 16 will not have significantly differ- concepts and technical subjects are not
ent reactions or knowledge than a deaf broached.
person of 40. Unlike a hearing individ- On top of this, deaf schools generally
ual, whose knowledge and personality discourage signing, pushing instead for
develop throughout life, a deaf individ- oral expression. The result is a half-
ual represents a tragic stasis which is formed communication skill, and a
the result of communication starvation. great degree of alienation.
When conducting Knowledge/Att-
itude/Belief/Practice (KABP) studies on 1.5 Absence of sex education
sexual health issues, this anomaly ren- Currently, Indian materials on sexual
ders demographic divisions largely health are not only poorly designed, but
meaningless. The Indian deaf, by and created with literate, hearing people in
large, uniformly lack depth of knowl- mind. They require a degree of verbal

8. By the time the deaf child enters adolescence, her parents’ ability to
communicate with her is much reduced, specially about sexual health.
literacy, as well as comfort with graph- vast majority of Indian deaf persons are
ic conventions such as perspective and not members of even such clubs.
magnification. This excludes the great Project Signpost points to the bleak pos-
majority of deaf Indians. sibility of tens of thousands of deaf
7
In general, deaf schools do not Indians who may never form a mean-
extend beyond 7th grade. Sex education ingful friendship with another deaf
is not a part of the curriculum at this Indian through their lives.
level. When deaf children are integrat- This fragmentation or lack of identi-
ed into ‘hearing’ schools which may ty has led to an embarrassing alienation
have sex education as part of the cur- of the Indian deaf community from the
riculum, the deaf child cannot compre- international deaf community. The
hend the information because of its Indian deaf have not been represented
largely verbal representation. at the World Deaf Congresses, conduct-
By the time the deaf child enters ado- ed every four years. For example, at the
lescence, her parents’ ability to com- last World Deaf Congress held in
municate with her is substantially Brisbane in 1999, all the Indian dele-
reduced, specially in areas that abound gates were hearing. They included a
with abstractions such as sexual health. Member of Parliament, who had
At schools, many teachers are ill at ease announced himself as Chairperson of
dealing with sexuality as a subject, and the Delhi group called the All India
discussions tend to be limited and Federation of the Deaf. He treated the At the World Deaf
inhibited even with hearing students, conference as a junket for himself and Congress in Brisbane in
let alone deaf. his wife, and made only a brief token 1999, all the Indian
There also do not exist the commu- appearance on the morning of the first delegates were hearing.
nication methodologies that might day of the conference. The second del- They included a Member
enable a hearing researcher to work egate was the head of the Malwa Deaf of Parliament, who
empathetically with a deaf group to Association, a committed hearing per- claimed to be the
explore their dilemmas, questions and son who dedicated his life to working
Chairperson of the All
India Federation of the
anxieties. Traditional research tech- with the deaf when he lost his deaf
Deaf. He made a brief
niques tend to be linear, verbal and older brother in a train accident. The token appearance on the
structured, and usually alienate most third person was C Y Gopinath, who morning of the first day
deaf Indians. As tools to explore a deaf had been invited to present a paper on of the conference and
person’s intimate and personal sexual the Figureheads game used by Project then disappeared with
knowledge and experience, they are Signpost. his wife in tow,
not of much help. presumably for a
1.7 Low level of social and interper- vacation.
1.6 Lack of national identity The sonal skills Within the families into
Indian deaf suffer from a lack of nation- which they are born, deaf persons
al identity. Neither is there a genuinely never seem to evolve either at the same
representative national body — such as pace as their hearing siblings and
the Indian blind have in the National friends, or to the same level. Their par-
Association of the Blind — nor are there ents’ time, energy and money is drained
activists, either deaf or hearing, capa- away by the complex and subtle needs
ble, informed and influential enough to of bringing up a deaf child, a labour for
lobby on deaf issues in the corridors of which most parents are not naturally
power. Urban centres usually have equipped. In addition, community
associations and clubs of the deaf, and resources do not exist that can prepare
those deaf people who gain member- parents with advice and resources that
ship in these build up a loose sense of could help them in their tasks.
community with other deaf persons. The result for the deaf child is a
Those who attend deaf schools also childhood in which parents overcom-
build up a local sense of identity based pensate by being lenient and tolerant
on education shared with other deaf once they get over the shock of having
people (though this may not be true of a handicapped child — and then, with
deaf children sent to hearing schools). the first tantrums and assertions of ado-
However, it is more likely that the lescence, turning over-strict and

9. Seven females who spoke about childhood sexual abuse, named the
offenders are father, uncle, brother, servant and chauffeur.
authoritarian. The deaf child is baffled tices, and dealing with illness. In a
and hurt. Why has everything changed questionnaire-based survey of the deaf
so suddenly? In this difficult environ- that we conducted, deaf men and
8 ment, the deaf child grows up with an women under 30 believed that it was all
ambivalence towards hearing people, right to have sex with one’s brother, sis-
torn between constantly needing their ter, uncle, domestic servant, and chauf-
support in even the most mundane of feur. Seven females who spoke about
daily matters and resenting their con- childhood sexual abuse, named the
trol and power over them. offenders are father, uncle, brother,
A deaf Indian grows up with severe servant and chauffeur.
lacunae in his or her ability to interact
socially. The concept of concentric cir- 1.10 Insufficient employment oppor-
cles of relationships, from inner family tunities Low education, low levels of
to relatives to friends to colleagues is vocational skills, and poor presentation
difficult for a deaf person. Within the skills sharply reduce the employment
family, the child may instinctively sense options of a deaf person in India. The
parental and sibling bonds, but has dif- disability quota mandated by the
ficulty in distinguishing between rela- Ministry of Social Justice and Empow-
tives and non-family outsiders, perceiv- erment results in a certain number of
ing them more as “frequent visitors” or deaf people being ‘dumped’ into non-
The concept of “infrequent visitors”. important jobs where their ability to
concentric circles of ‘interfere’ with organisational working
relationships, from inner 1.8 Alienation from hearing people A is nearly zero. Needless to say, none of
family to relatives to deaf person continuously feels misun- these leads to a future where choice,
friends to colleagues derstood by the hearing people she or dignity of labour, feelings of self-worth,
seems difficult for a deaf he depends on, and believes that deep self-respect and confidence get a
person. Within the down, only a deaf person can really chance to develop. From the point of
family, the child may keep the best interests of the deaf in view of sexual health, there are often
instinctively sense
mind. From ‘hearies’, a deaf person situations where sex is equated with
parental and sibling
bonds, but has difficulty suspects charity, patronisation, poor employment, and commercial sex seen
in distinguishing understanding, and worst of all, as a viable vocation, especially in a
between relatives and exploitativeness. This feeling is borne home where the deaf man is out of job,
non-family outsiders, out by the immediate family which and his deaf wife is unskilled in any
perceiving them more as struggles to behave consistently with other vocation.
“frequent visitors” or their deaf child, and in the process vac-
“infrequent visitors”. illates between intense caring and Barriers to exploring
helpless unconcern.
deaf sexual experience
1.9 Vulnerability to abuse Deaf Indians and vulnerability
become greatly vulnerable to exploita-
tion and abuse both within their fami- 2.1 Poor level of abstraction skills;
lies and in society, chiefly because of concepts such as risk and vulnerabil-
severe shortcomings in their ability to ity do not exist. Low levels of educa-
interact socially and interpersonally. tion, social skills, information, aware-
According to our research, many of ness and communication rob India’s
them have a tenuous understanding of deaf of the conceptual frameworks
the concept of family and blood rela- needed to understand, discuss, explore
tionships. and analyse certain issues of sexual
In later life, this can lead to difficul- health. Typically, it is very difficult to
ties in understanding and dealing with approach issues of risk-taking behav-
some of the more complex and subtle iour, vulnerability, privacy, rights and
aspects of a relationship, such as trust, violations, because of the absence of
mutual respect, faith and fidelity. such a conceptual framework.
Particularly in sexual areas of relation-
ships, this can lead to difficulty in con- 2.2 All available material is designed
fronting issues, negotiating safe prac- for hearing populations. There is vir-

10. Low levels of education and communication rob India’s deaf of the
conceptual frameworks needed to discuss and explore sexual health.
tually no information and awareness issues relating to education, communi-
raising material that has been prepared cation and therapy, including audiology
with the needs of non-verbal, non-hear- and hearing aids. There are no studies
ing populations in mind. As a result, of the sociology and psychology of deaf-
9
available information is incomplete, ness, nor data on attitude formation,
patchy, difficult to assimilate and not perceptions, belief systems and sources
very likely to be effective in bringing of guidance, or risk behaviour. In this
about behaviour change. Since the deaf sense, researchers of deaf sexuality in
person’s main mode of information India have a formidable task, as they
gathering is visual rather than verbal, have to start from fundamental levels,
there is scope for serious misunder- and necessarily include information
standings caused by free and unintend- dissemination as part of the exploration
ed re-interpretation of a visual without process itself. For instance, the attitude
reference to the accompanying words. towards risk-taking cannot be explored
until the concept of risk within the
2.3 No studies on extent of HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS epidemic has first been
or sexual abuse within the deaf com- explained.
munity. The deaf community has been Virtually no information
largely omitted from the agendas of and awareness raising
material has been
national planners, even more so than,
prepared with the needs
for example, the visually impaired who
of non-verbal, non-
have a strong National Association of hearing populations in
the Blind. The few existing studies of mind. As a result, what
the deaf community tend to focus on information is available
is incomplete, patchy,
difficult to assimilate
and not very likely to be
effective in bringing
about behaviour change.

11. Objectives
Project Signpost’s main objectives were marriage partners, preference
to gain a better understanding of: between deaf and hearing spouse,
problems related to child rearing, rela-
10 • The deaf person’s life, both within tionship of deaf parents to a hearing
hearing families and deaf families; child, marital breakup.
• The problems faced by deaf persons • Implications of difficulty in commu-
living in a hearing world nication.
• The socialization pattern of a deaf Based on these questions, 10 areas of
person from childhood through enquiry were drawn up. These were:
adulthood. 1. Family background
2. Growing up
• The deaf person’s patterns of relating 3. Pre-marital relationships
in close interpersonal relationships. 4. Marriage
5. Contraception
• Deaf females’ vulnerability to sexual 6. Homosexuality
abuse. 7. Sexual abuse
8. Masturbation
• The deaf person’s awareness and 9. STDs
understanding of sexual abuse. 10. HIV/AIDS
Some of these, such as Family
• Support systems available for the Background, were dealt with better in the
deaf person. questionnaire, while others, such as
Sexual Abuse, were easier to address dur-
• Significance of peer group for a deaf ing Focus Group Discussions. This report
person. represents the combined findings from all
the research methods used in the project.
• Knowledge, attitude, beliefs and
practice of deaf persons vis-à-vis the Approach and
human body and reproduction.
methodology
• Knowledge, attitude, beliefs and Gathering data on the project’s areas of
practice of deaf persons vis-à-vis interest was done by negotiating two-
sexual activity. year commitments with established
groups and associations of the deaf in
• Knowledge, attitude, beliefs and three major Indian cities, namely
practice of deaf persons vis-à-vis Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. Six such
sexual preferences. core groups were identified: the
Bombay Foundation of Deaf Women,
• Deaf persons’ awareness of sexually the Shruti School for the Deaf, the
transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. Sheltered Workshop for Adult Deaf
Women, the St Louis College for the
• Pre-marital sexual relationships. Deaf, and the Delhi Deaf Friendship
Club, and the Delhi Foundation of Deaf
• Influence of parental attitude in the Women. Commitments from each of
development of a deaf child. them were necessary to ensure that the
participating group remained constant
• Dynamics of deaf-hearing relation- through the duration of the study. A
ships. workshop plan was formulated.
Detailed profiles of each group are
• Knowledge, attitude, beliefs and included in Annexure 3.
practice of deaf persons about Data collection used three methods:
contraception. 1. Focus Group Discussions
2. In-depth interviews with Key
• Marriage issues: problems in finding Informants

12. 3. Questionnaire a questionnaire to collect data from the
Brief descriptions of each of these deaf, in view of the low levels of gener-
are furnished below. al literacy and verbal aptitude of the
deaf. However, the method was finally
11
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS included in order to tap a few more jots
(FGD): The 6 core groups participated of information from those deaf who
in a series of about 6 workshops each, might be able to respond to the format.
between November 1997 and February Questionnaire forms were in multiple-
1999. Each workshop lasted three to choice format in English, Hindi and
four days and consisted of sessions Marathi. Language was kept deliber-
approximately 4 to 6 hours long. In the ately simple, and even grammatical
sessions, various innovative and the- structure was bent to match deaf sign-
atre-based techniques were used to ing grammar in some questions. Forms
explore the 10 identified areas of study were distributed to deaf schools and
based on the project’s objectives. associations from Mumbai, Chennai,
Typically, the project’s facilitator Delhi and Calcutta.
would have identified the main areas of Our experience with questionnaires
discussion prior to each workshop, and as a way of learning about the deaf indi-
would accordingly record the proceed- cates that it is possible, and that too
ings of each session, by taking detailed with limited reliability, only when
notes. Transactions between partici- group leaders or hearing interpreters
pants would usually be conveyed by the are present to explain each question to Communications skills
interpreter and go-between. After each the deaf group. and literacy are
workshop, the notes would be reviewed Below is an analysis of the participat- measured on a
and a detailed content report and analy- ing core groups’ demographic profile scale of 0 to 9, with
sis done. and the depth of coverage from the pro- 0 representing the
lowest level.
ject’s needs point of view.
IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS: These The table on this page provides a
were conducted with Key Informants, rationale for conducting the focus
both deaf as well as hearing people groups and IEC trials in three cities.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
working with the deaf, and covered the Points which emerge are: 1—3 Lower-lower to
10 identified areas for exploration. A set 1. The group that is most commu- Upper lower
of guideline questions was prepared for nicative and enthusiastically involved 4—6 Lower middle to
the interviews; all the interviews were in the project (DDFC, Delhi) is predom- Upper middle
tape-recorded and transcribed. inantly urban. They include married 7—9 Lower upper to
QUESTIONNAIRE: The original and unmarried persons but do not rep- Upper upper
project plan had not included the use of resent the underprivileged sections of
MUMBAI NEW DELHI CHENNAI
GROUP BFDW Shruti MPTC DDFC St Louis Sheltered
School College Workshop
Communication (0-9) 4 4 4 9 6 6
Literacy (0-9) 4 7 5 8 7 6
Married Yes No No No No No
Unmarried No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Demonstrated Yes No No Yes No Yes
Vulnerability
Economic Level 4–6 7–9 1–3 7–9 4–6 1–3

13. The differences in knowledge and emotional maturity between a
deaf adolescent and a deaf adult would be nearly negligible
the deaf community. hood. In effect, what seems like a het-
2. The most communicative group erogeneous choice of research audi-
that has a reasonable rural representa- ences in terms of demographics, litera-
12 tion is Chennai’s St Louis College for cy and income level is actually remark-
the Deaf. However, this group is exclu- ably homogenous in terms of knowl-
sively male. edge levels, attitudes and vulnerability.
3. Chennai has the project’s only ado- • This approach also enabled us to
lescent, male, unmarried group (St cover as wide a canvas of the deaf com-
Louis College). They all have complet- munity as possible. Being marginalised
ed their schooling, are attending col- and un-understood, the deaf are not the
lege and come from low to middle subject of many studies. In drawing too
income families. tight a circle around our research audi-
4. The best insights into the predica- ence, and presuming that other studies
ments of rural women comes Chennai’s later would add to the understanding of
Sheltered Workshop. However, they deaf sexuality, we might not only have
represent very low literacy and com- been naïve, but also would have
munication skills. ensured that our output, the curriculum
5. The only other group with on sexuality, would have limited appli-
females, as well as higher literacy and cability.
communication skills is the Shruti
School for the Deaf in Mumbai. Participants of the
However, this consists exclusively of
urban adolescents.
Questionnaire Survey
6. Mumbai’s BFDW and Delhi’s The age range was 14 years onwards.
DFDW are the project’s only married Various deaf schools and association from
females group, representing both unde- Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Calcutta
veloped communication skills, and also participated in this study. We had give out
low literacy and middle income levels. 600 questionnaire and around 183 were
Thus, the three cities represent a filled and returned.
spectrum of deaf response that will
inform the project’s IEC trials. Not rep- AGE WISE DISTRIBUTION
resented anywhere are married cou- Age Freq Percent
ples, who demonstrate conflicting
14-20 85 47.0
interpersonal dynamics that make
them unsuitable for sustained joint par- 21-30 70 38.7
ticipation as couples in our research. 31-40 18 9.9
Note: An interim evaluation of the
41-50 2 1.1
project raised the question of why such
a diverse mixture of groups, represent- 50+ 6 3.3
ing age ranges from adolescent to mid-
dle-aged, was necessary, and why the SEX WISE DISTRIBUTION
project did not instead concentrate on Sex Freq Percent
one demographic profile, such as deaf
youth or women. There are two reasons Male 109 60.6
for our approach: Female 71 39.4
• Based on our pre-start-up discus-
sions with those who have worked with
the deaf, we had reason to believe that DISTRIBUTION OF SAMPLE BY AREA
the differences in knowledge and emo-
tional maturity between a deaf adoles- City Freq Percent
cent and a deaf adult would be nearly
Mumbai 96 53.9
negligible, unlike what one would
expect between a hearing adolescent Chennai 39 21.9
and a hearing adult. This is traced to Delhi 31 17.4
the striking absence of significant
Calcutta 10 5.5
inputs between adolescence and adult-

14. DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLE BY EDUCATION DISTRIBUTION OF SAMPLE
Most deaf people appear to receive educa- ACCORDING TO TYPE OF FAMILY
tion only at the school level. Though a great There was a more or less equal representa-
part of the sample (44.8%) of the sample tion of both the joint and the nuclear type of
was school going, another 40% of the non families in the sample population. 13
school going population reported educa-
tion up to school level. Freq Percent
Educ Freq Percent Joint family 81 46.3
School 152 83.1 Nuclear family 94 53.7
College 24 13.1
DISTRIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE BY
Voc. Training 7 3.8 ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE FAMILY
More than half of the sample came from the
STYLE OF COMMUNICATION lower economic strata with the income of
A combination of oral language as well as the family being under 5000.
signs is the method used by most families
to communicate with their deaf children. Income Freq Percent
However 10 deaf people also reported that <2000 18 14.3
their families did not communicate with
2—5000 49 38.9
them at all.
5—10,000 32 25.4
Deaf Person
>10,000 24 19.0
Style Freq Percent
Don t know 3 2.4
Oral 39 22.3
Signing 22 12.6
Both 114 65.1
Limitations of the study
One of the sharpest limitations of the
Deaf Person’s Family study is that it could only access deaf
Style Freq Percent people who were organised in some
way (that is, through school, college,
Oral 34 20.4
association or club). This excludes the
Signing 18 10.6 majority of Indian deaf, who are rural,
Both 105 62.9 possess low communication skills, and
have little or no access to either infor-
Did not 10 6.9
communicate mation or even to other deaf people.
Moreover, on the parameter of vulner-
ability, these harder-to-reach audi-
DISTRIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE ences are more vulnerable. However,
BY MARITAL STATUS
reaching remote and rural deaf youth
was beyond the scope of this fellow-
Freq Percent ship’s purview and resources.
Single 144 79.1 On a broader level, deaf adolescents,
Married 35 19.2 youth, children and adults, are all
equally vulnerable, though in different
Divorced 3 1.6 ways [e.g. a child may be more vulner-
able to being sexually abused, while an
adult may be sexually exploited at work
or at home). To that extent, the project
has sought as wide a coverage of differ-
ent deaf populations as possible, to
maximise the insights.

15. Groups of the deaf in Chennai that did not have a good interpreter found
it nearly impossible to fill out the sexual health questionnaire.
Questionnaires As the questionnaires could not be
Most questionnaires were filled with translated into Tamil, certain Chennai
the help of institutional moderators, groups that did not have a good inter-
14 such as teachers, deaf group leaders preter found it nearly impossible to fill
and so on. Only in very few cases was them.
the project team directly involved in In Delhi, a group had to abandon the
getting the questionnaire filled up. The questionnaire when one of the respon-
reasons for this were chiefly that the dent’s parents took strong exception to
questionnaire survey was outside the the questionnaire.
scope of the sanctioned project, and
was something we had added on to
increase breadth of coverage. Thus our Key Informants
budget did not permit us to personally There is skewness in information col-
facilitate each institution that agreed to lected through the Key Informants
fill out the questionnaire. This, howev- Interview method both in terms of deaf
er, reduced our control over the versus hearing and also in terms of the
process. In many cases, only a small areas of information.
number of forms would be returned The project had hoped to have an
filled, and we would have to include equal number of deaf and hearing Key
them without any deeper insight into Informants. However, only 7 deaf per-
In certain cases, the the quality of the information received sons could be located who had an
principals or teachers or the manner in which questions had overview of the deaf community, suffi-
of the deaf schools been administered to the deaf children. cient insight into their lives, and the
became barriers to the In certain cases, the principals or willingness and the time (6 to 7 hours)
successful gathering of teachers of the deaf schools became to share their thoughts.
information, because barriers to the successful gathering of The hearing Key Informants identi-
they found the project information, because they found the fied by the project were chiefly teach-
questionnaire to be questionnaire “shocking” or “inappro- ers, whose insights related primarily to
“shocking” or
priate”. In this, they reflected the over- childhood experiences and education of
“inappropriate”. In this,
they reflected the protective attitude towards the deaf that deaf persons. They could shed very lim-
overprotective attitude is common all over India, and which ited light on issues of sexual health,
towards the deaf that is increases their ignorance and vulnera- risk, abuse and exploitation of the deaf.
common all over India, bility. The project could not locate anybody
and which increases In certain schools, the schoolteach- who had worked on marital or repro-
their ignorance and ers filled up the forms themselves, and ductive health issues of the deaf. This
vulnerability. we must assume that their own biases was expected as this is an area that
would have been reflected in those receives scant attention not just in
forms. India, but even in other parts of the
Whenever interpreters helped the world.
group to understand the questions, as One or two Key Informants with long
with the Delhi Deaf friendship Club or standing experience with the deaf
the Chennai Deaf Friendship Club, refused to share information with the
there is a likelihood that the inter- project as they felt that sexuality was
preters’ biases might have coloured the not the most important issue concern-
deaf person’s responses. ing the deaf in India.
In low literacy groups, such as the
women of the Sheltered Workshop in
Chennai, the project team conducted a
special session to help the deaf women
fill out the questionnaire. However, it
proved extremely difficult to explain
certain concepts to the group, and the
entire process was so slow and exhaust-
ing to the group, that eventually the
forms had to be gathered in an incom-
plete or dissatisfactory state.

16. Findings
through much agonising about the
1. FAMILY LIFE future of the deaf child. Parents from
lower socio-economic backgrounds
tend to give top priority to family sur-
15
1.1 The reaction of the family vival even at the expense of the deaf
to the deaf child child. From a very early age children
are expected to share in the financial
Family Life
P arents are generally unprepared for
the appearance of a deaf child, and
are shaken to their foundations when
burden of the family. Such parents usu-
ally do not have the resources or time
to deal with the special needs of the
such a child is born (Kashyap, 1998). deaf child. For them, ignoring the
Not only is every member of the family child’s problem emerges as an uncon-
affected but each one’s reaction will in scious coping strategy.
turn have its effect on each of the oth- Parents from middle class families
ers, including the deaf child. This will tend to view children as a support sys-
finally affect family inter-relationships, tem for the parents during the later
the family’s expectations from the deaf years of their life. A deaf child born in
child, her sense of self and self-respect, such a set up is more likely to remain a
and numerous practical aspects of the lifelong responsibility than an old-age
family’s daily life. support, and accepting this reality is a
The parents’ first response to the shock to the parents. Though they
“major crisis” that a deaf birth precipi- might want the best for their deaf child, The mother was unable
tates is usually a reactive period of their limited resources are often inade- to accept the child.
mourning, by the end of which most of quate to attend to his special needs. Though she put efforts
them evolve coping strategies. Parents’ In upper class families, much more into providing the child
reactions range from denial of the emphasis is placed on the social with training, she
child’s problem to the rejection of the acceptability of the child. Eager to physically and mentally
child itself, to a round of doctor-shop- ensure that the child integrates well abused the child.
ping and faith-healing in the hope of a into the mainstream of society, these Today the child is
grown up. He has
miracle. Due to such unrealistic activi- parents sometimes ignore the handi-
limited education, no
ties, important developmental years of cap, and instead funnel resources into
skills in communication
the deaf child’s life are sometimes teaching the child to ‘speak’, be ‘oral’, and no confidence. He
squandered. be ‘normal’ and so on. They may be is unable to find a job.
To compound the difficulties, the overprotective or, on the other
diagnosis is not accompanied by sup- extreme, totally reject the child. Many Educationist, Mumbai
port and guidance to the parents on such children grow up well supplied
how to deal with the child’s disability. with whatever money can buy but
Thus most parents are left to work out starved of emotional support and car-
their own responses to the child. ing. Ironically, parental neglect and
Generally, the family’s strategy for lack of love contributes to their inabili-
coping with a deaf child is greatly influ- ty to get the most out of education and
enced by their socio-economic back- other resources they are provided with.
ground. The deaf child will usually A word here about the effect of a
make greater demands on the family’s deaf birth on the relationship between
financial resources by way of medical the parents. The presence of a deaf
care, prosthetic aids and appliances, child does not necessarily create
special educational services, transport disharmony in a stable marriage, but
costs, and so on. The ability to pay for may precipitate conflict between mari-
these facilities would depend upon the tal partners whose personalities and
economic and employment status of interactions have already predisposed
the family and its number of children. them to conflicts (Kashyap 1991). A
The deaf child may also adversely survey in Wales by the Welsh National
affect the parents’ earning ability School of Medicine found that the
because of the extra time they must divorce rates among couples with a
devote to his or her special needs. handicapped child were 10 times
The parents of a deaf child go greater than the national average.

17. When a family does not resolve its initial reaction to its deaf child, it will
continue to exert a retarding influence on that child’s ability to adapt.
1.2 The deaf person as self, stirs up anxiety, consternation and
a member of the family alarm in his parents. The relationship
16 D uring the early years, a deaf per-
son may be unaware of his or her
handicap, and may enjoy instead the
between a hearing family and a deaf
adolescent is often characterized by
abrupt and limited verbal communica-
attention, warmth and tolerant atmos- tion that makes it difficult to discuss
phere around him. This is to the deaf complex feelings in their subtlety and
Family Life
child’s detriment as she does not get nuances. It may not be possible for a
the corrective or disciplinary influ- family to make the special effort it
ences that other children get. To an takes to encourage real communica-
extent the parents overcompensate by tion, and this gives rise to experiences
being over-tolerant of the deaf child. of rejection for a deaf person.
However, as the deaf child grows up Over time, the deaf child may with-
and, like other children, seeks identity, draw from his family, concluding that
autonomy and assertiveness, the par- there is no future in seeking their
ents’ permissiveness lessens sharply closeness and support. He will con-
and is replaced with discipline and a clude that they are there to tend to his
My driver used to drop sudden expectation of age-appropriate needs, but that he or she should never
me and pick me up from behavior. hope for emotional closeness. Thus,
school everyday. I used When this happens with a deaf child, over the years from infancy to adoles-
to sit on the front seat he is confused by the inexplicable cence, a deaf child’s relationship with
with him. One day while changes in behavior of those around the family moves from one with too
returning from the him. He feels rejected, less important. much love and tolerance to one where
school he touched my These feelings, complicated by the communication is sparse, and there is
breast. I thought it had
basic difficulty in communication, a feeling of distance, rejection and
happened by mistake.
He began touching me result in the deaf child withdrawing alienation.
more and more while more and more into himself or herself.
coming back from What did he do wrong? Why are they so 1.3 The deaf child’s relationship
school everyday. I was upset with her? In later years, a deaf with family members
too scared of him and
was afraid that my
parents would say that I
person’s main childhood memories
may be of these restrictions, rather
than the earlier happy period of toler-
T he deaf child is deeply affected,
and for life, when she or he is
deprived of close interactions and
was making up stories. I ance and warmth. exchanges within the near family. Such
am 55 years old and till Deaf people are perceived by their family interactions are the chief
today never told this to families as a significant burden (Oscar source, and a rich source, of conceptu-
anybody.
P. Cohen, 1978). Between the trauma al information that helps a child under-
Personal sharing, experienced by parents with a handi- stand behaviour, moods, bonds and
Mumbai capped child and the limitations boundaries. For instance, the hearing
imposed on the child by the sensory child learns to connect various words
loss, deaf children and their families and tones of voice to body postures and
are at risk from infancy through adult- stances, and thus slowly acquires an
hood. When a family does not success- understanding of how body language
fully overcome and resolve its initial signals various moods, such as anger,
reaction to having a deaf child, it will disapproval, tension, conflict, or happi-
continue to exert a retarding influence ness. This is an aspect of learning that
on that child’s ability to adapt. a deaf child misses out on because of
When a hearing child enters adoles- his handicap. Similarly, parents help a
cence, the possibility of tensions in the child comprehend the meaning of
family usually increases as he or she blood relationships, near relatives, dis-
struggles to establish a new and inde- tant ones, acquaintances, strangers
pendent identity within the family and friends through a combination of
structure. The strain is intensified for a spoken words and body language. This
deaf child, who will experience greater is an entire area of natural learning
difficulty in establishing a personal that is missing from a deaf child’s life.
position within the family structure. Again, a deaf child cannot pick up the
The adolescent, just by being him- undertones of conflicts unless they are

18. An ambivalence, or love-hate relationship, colours and
dominates all deaf-hearing relationships.
visually demonstrated. problems. Nonetheless, they realise
As might be expected, this has far- that they themselves would trust a
reaching implications on the deaf per- hearing person over a deaf person dur-
son’s vulnerability in relationships and ing a real problem. This ambivalence,
17
intimate encounters. Also, it limits the or love-hate relationship, colours and
deaf person’s understanding of shades dominates all deaf-hearing relation-
of difference between the immediate ships.
Family Life
family and the extended family consist- Analysis of focus group sessions in a
ing of uncles, nephews, aunts, nieces Mumbai School group indicated that
and so on. On top of all this, a deaf boys were comfortable with their
child will tend to have fewer significant father when they displayed more of a
interactions with people outside the supportive than an authoritarian
immediate family. As a result, till approach.
around late adolescence many deaf
people seem unable to differentiate 1.4 Sibling Relationships
I was 12 years old when
between friends and relatives. Their
conclusions about who is who are often
based on the frequency of appearance
S iblings serve an important family
function. In general, they are less
emotionally tied to each other than to
this happened. One day
as I was late for school
because my father was
and interaction. their parents (Albert T. Murphy, 1979). very busy, so he sent
There is more communication Siblings serve as confidants or behav- another man to drop me
between the mother and the child than ior modifying critics for one another. at school. This man
between the father and the child They test new roles, complement, frequently came to our
(Kashyap 1983). This is substantiated observe and evaluate one another in house so I knew him. He
by our questionnaire data findings: 141 ways that can contribute to social dropped me in my
deaf people report a closer relationship growth and maturity. They learn to classroom. After he left
with their mother, and 97 (69%) of share each other and share resources. my teacher asked me
them said that they would rather seek They can protect each other, and serve who he was. I said I
help from her in a problem situation. as a buffer between each other and the
don’t know. In the
evening my father came
However deaf children in residential parents or the outside world. They can
to fetch me. My teacher
schools did not show a similar reliance. make life simple or more complex, asked my father who
Out of the 40 cases, only 55% said that more comfortable or more difficult. was the man who had
they would rely on their mother for The kind of acceptance a deaf child come to drop me. My
help while 27.5% said that they would gets from his parents determines the father laughed and told
rely on their father for help. The rest kind of relationship he will have with my teacher that he was
indicated that they would rely only on his siblings. When the deaf child is his brother, my Kaka.
their brother, their sister, or both younger than the hearing sibling there Later at home my father
brother and sister. seem to be better chances of a good sat and explained to me
However, this level of trust and relationship as the hearing sibling various relations and
reliance is linked to whether the parent takes on the role of protector.
how to address them.
is deaf or not. Of 4 deaf children with The gender of the hearing sibling is
Deaf activist, Mumbai
deaf fathers only one said that he an important component of the atti-
would rely on him for help in a prob- tudes towards the deaf person
lem situation, while out of 4 cases who (Cleveland & Miller, 1977). Older male
had deaf mothers none would rely on hearing siblings will show lack of
their mothers for help in a problem sit- information, perhaps because of lesser
uation. Though our sample is too small involvement with the deaf sibling.
for significance it does seem that deaf Female hearing siblings have a closer
children do not rely on their deaf par- relationship with the deaf child not
ents as sources of help in a problem sit- only in the early years but continuing
uation. into adulthood, perhaps because they
As far as hearing people go, the deaf are probably given parent surrogate
people tend to believe that deep and roles and thereby learn more about
irreconcilable differences exist their deaf brother or sister. Our ques-
between them, and that the hearing tionnaire data shows that the younger
person will always have an imperfect age group (14-20 years) enjoys closer
understanding of the deaf person’s relationships with brothers and sisters,