By Ni\u00e9mah Davids – UCT News<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A research study led by the University of Cape Town\u2019s (UCT) Including Disability in Education in Africa (IDEA), which explored how blind and visually impaired South Africans experienced casting their ballot during the 2024 general elections, has revealed there\u2019s much work to be done to adequately accommodate their special needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The study, titled \u201cEnhancing voter participation for people who are blind or partially sighted in South Africa\u201d, was conducted by IDEA in partnership with BlindSA \u2013 a non-profit organisation committed to equipping blind people with the skills they need to fully and independently participate in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benedict Leteane, a research assistant at IDEA, said the study\u2019s main goal was to understand how blind and visually impaired South Africans experienced the voting process. And based on their feedback, to establish whether they were adequately accommodated \u2013 as promised \u2013 at voting stations throughout the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis was a very valuable research study and gives us insight into how blind and visually impaired South Africans really experienced the election process, where the gaps are and what can and should be done to improve their overall experience of this fundamental democratic process,\u201d Leteane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A \u2018significant\u2019 disconnect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To reach their conclusions, he said, researchers interviewed a group of diverse South Africans (from different racial groups) who live in both rural and urban areas across the country. The goal was to get a first-hand account of their experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Disappointingly, the study revealed a significant disconnect between what government policy says about supporting blind and visually impaired South Africans on election day, how they implement these policies and the lived experience on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile we know that government has introduced policies to ensure reasonable accommodation for blind and visually impaired people, individuals\u2019 experiences on the day suggest that these measures were not always effectively implemented. Everyone experienced varied levels of exclusion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the challenges they faced, Leteane explained, even included a lack of braille ballot papers at voting stations. But it was election officials\u2019 behaviours, their lack of assistance and compassion that led to voters\u2019 feelings of exclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Based on these feelings of discontent and to circumvent hassles on election day in the future, Leteane said one recurring theme that emerged among research participants was the need to transition towards an electronic voting system \u2013 one that remains free and fair and can suit all South Africans, including persons with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis shift has the potential to be revolutionary for the country and for accessibility. But I remain sceptical about its feasibility here. South Africa remains in the very early stages of discussing and addressing digital accessibility, and opting for an electronic voting system raises concerns about whether it would be truly inclusive for blind and visually impaired voters, as well as millions of others who struggle to access the internet and who don\u2019t have smart devices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Progress is not enough<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Leteane said participants acknowledged that progress has been made with creating awareness on blind and visually impaired South Africans\u2019 needs at polling stations and the importance of accommodating them adequately using various awareness campaigns. But effectively implementing these campaigns is where the Independent Electoral Commission fell short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese campaigns demonstrated a commitment to inclusion. However, participants\u2019 personal experiences revealed that exclusion persisted in practice. And that is what we need to address now to ensure a better understanding, and a streamlined experience come the next election,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all, inclusivity cannot be achieved merely through policy implementation and awareness campaigns alone. Instead, he recommended that South Africans adopt a conscious mind shift with the way they approach and engage with persons with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNegative perceptions and biases remain one of the biggest barriers for true inclusion. This research study provides crucial insights into the actual state of accessibility for blind and visually impaired people and should be central to discussions on inclusion,\u201d Leteane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, I hope that this study contributes towards expanding much-needed awareness on the importance of disability inclusion and promotes concrete actions towards improving accessibility for blind and visually impaired voters in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Ni\u00e9mah Davids – UCT News A research study led by the University of Cape Town\u2019s (UCT) Including Disability in Education in Africa (IDEA), which explored how blind and visually impaired South Africans experienced casting their ballot during the 2024 general elections, has revealed there\u2019s much work to be done to adequately accommodate their special […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,35],"tags":[39,41,594,584],"class_list":["post-7514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-focus","category-in-the-news","tag-disability","tag-disability-connect","tag-idea","tag-uct"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}