Whilst Jamaica has seen a reduction in infant and child mortality, mortality rates of Deaf people (people who are deaf and use sign language) and deaf people (people who are hard of hearing) (D/deaf) are high, evidencing that maternal health and neonatal care remains poor.

Although there are no officially-published figures – nobody has sought to collect this data – Deafkidz International’s random hearing checks of newborns, infants and children in both urban and rural areas suggests that 2 in 10 experience some form of D/deafness, from slight to profound. D/deafness is a much-neglected disability, yet the burden is enormous, having devastating consequences for the safeguarding, wellbeing, quality of life and economic independence of D/deaf children and young people. 

Deafkidz International’s Signing Safe Futures programme uses martial arts, boxing and dance activities to engage D/deaf girls and young women across Jamaica to address the challenge of gender-based violence. The programme ensures that they are able to self-advocate, self-represent and stay safe from gender-based violence in all its forms – verbal, physical, sexual, emotional, etc.