About NKJT
Swedish Women’s Shelter and Support in Sign Language, NKJT, is a non-profit association that is religiously and politically unaffiliated. The association arose during (or as a result of) the #metoo movement in 2017 and #slådövörattill. The call had a great impact on our target group of deaf, hard-of-hearing and deaf-blind women, non-binary and young girls aged 15 and up.
The appeal #slådövörattill received attention in the media on December 3, 2017. Included in the appeal were three demands that we consider to be fundamental for a functioning society:
- Functional sign language support throughout the country.
- In the work to produce knowledge and in the development to improve and protect the vulnerable, our target groups must be included.
- The culture of silence within the deaf community must be broken.
The time after the appeal
The appeal showed that there was a great need for a women’s shelter and a support center where the target group can receive support and help in Swedish sign language. Many of those who told had lived for many years in the belief that they were alone in their experiences. Many were stuck in an ongoing difficult situation with double vulnerability. They were both exposed to the violence itself, but due to a lack of communication, they were also exposed in the contacts with social institutions. Shortly after the appeal, the association’s work began, first as a loosely composed network and then as an organization to start the Swedish Women’s Shelter and Support in Sign Language.
With the target group’s own experiences as a basis, we demand that basic community efforts to get support and help to break free from violence in all its forms and to get help to process what has happened or is happening should be offered in Swedish sign language, tactile sign language and international signs . Our vision is a world free of violence for women who speak sign language. We believe that our struggle takes us some way towards that vision.
In 2021, the association received a state grant from the National Board of Health and Welfare and Swedish Gender Equality Agency to develop and define what needs exist for the target group.
NKJT VODD in International Sign
International Week of the Deaf People 2022 takes place between 19-25 September. And to meet the great international interest in our organisation. Thereforce, Swedish Women’s Shelter and Support in Sign Language, NKJT publishes a new VODD in International Sign (IS) with English subtitles. Speech/audio is unfortunately not available in the VODD, but if you want to read the VODD in text form, we have a word file with text here:
The report “A kafkaesque process”
In November 2021, Swedish Women’s Shelter and Support in Sign Language, NKJT publishes a report:
“A kafkaesque process – a survey of how Swedish authorities treat victims of violence who are Deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind women and young girls as well as non-binary persons.“
Mia Modig, Executive manager mia.modig@nationellkvinnojour.se
Felicia Ferreira, curator felicia@nationellkvinnojour.se
Click the link to open the report in PDF
