Viittomakielibarometri 2024 – tutkimushanke

The Sign Language Barometer 2024 citizen survey asked Finnish and Finland-Swedish sign language users how their linguistic rights have been realized. The first such survey was conducted in 2020.

There are 3,000 people in Finland who use sign language or signed speech and are entitled to statutory interpreting services. Of these, about 100 use Finland Swedish sign language. The barometer survey was specifically targeted at 623 adults who have reported Finnish or Finland Swedish sign language as their native language in the population information system.

In about 70% of situations where sign language is used, the authority or public service official does not act in accordance with the law, and the customer has to order an interpreter on behalf of the authority. The availability of interpreters who use Finland Swedish sign language is even poorer. Callback services, on the other hand, constitute an insurmountable barrier for all deaf people in accessing various services and care measures.

Almost all (96%) of the respondents to the barometer consider linguistic rights to be important or very important. When it comes to discrimination issues, people are turning to various authorities and officials more actively than before: the number of contacts has doubled compared to the previous barometer survey.

Ministry of Justice’s task of monitoring the implementation of linguistic rights. The Ministry will take the results into account when preparing the government’s report on the application of language legislation to be submitted to Parliament this year.

The aim of this project, commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and implemented by the University of Applied Sciences, is to collect the views and experiences of Finnish and Finland-Swedish sign language users through a barometer survey, in accordance with the Ministry of Justice’s information needs description (VN/30419/2023), to collect views and experiential knowledge from Finnish and Finland-Swedish sign language users through a barometer survey on the linguistic situation in our country, the linguistic atmosphere, and the implementation of linguistic rights and services in their own language. The information will be used as background material for the government report on the application of language legislation to be published in 2025 and for the evaluation of the Sign Language Act, which will have been in force for 10 years at that time.