The NGO Public Movement “Social Unity” continues to act in the interests of people with hearing impairments. We respond to appeals from the audience with hearing impairments by studying and monitoring problematic situations, sending letters to the heads of government departments to make changes at the legislative level as soon as possible.
Today, there is systemic discrimination against people with hearing impairments in the service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, which requires measures to eliminate it in the near future.
In 2024-2025, the NGO Public Movement “Social Unity” was contacted by Ukrainians with impaired hearing who faced the inability to pass the theory exam to obtain a driver's license after 3-4 attempts, and we are also aware of a case of 19 attempts. The reason for this is the lack of translation of the questions and answer options of the exam paper into Ukrainian sign language.
Regulatory and legal shortcomings
The organization identified systemic problems in the current legislation, in particular, discriminatory provisions of the current Instruction:
- Prohibition of the presence of unauthorized persons during the exam (including SL interpreters, except for the vital need for this in the presence of a hearing disability and a document confirming this).
- Limiting the time of the theoretical exam without taking into account the needs of people with hearing disabilities.
- Lack of alternative ways to present information.
An example of discrimination
Let us highlight the situation that occurred during the theoretical exam at the MIA TSC 1248 in Kryvyi Rih. Examinees whose only acceptable language of communication is sign language were denied the right to be accompanied by a sign language interpreter during the exam, so they were not able to understand the questions and answers in their native Ukrainian sign language.
Thus, sign language Ukrainians who were trained with a sign language interpreter were not provided with proper conditions during the theoretical exam at the service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
Thus, the categorical refusal to provide sign language interpretation services leads to the fact that a person with a hearing loss from birth is unable to understand the content of the exam tickets on an equal basis with people who do not have hearing impairments.
The essence of discrimination
The key problems are that:
- People with complete hearing loss, who have lost it since birth, have Ukrainian sign language as their first natural language. For them, the perception of large amounts of textual information is difficult or even impossible due to the specifics of sign language, which has a different lexical system and grammar from written language.
- Instead of creating the proper conditions, representatives of the MIA TSC suggested that sign language Ukrainians "memorize the visual appearance of questions and correct answers without trying to read and understand the content" - which completely contradicts the essence of the theoretical exam and is direct discrimination.
Our actions as a public organization
The first stage: Appeal to the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (April 2024).
We sent an official letter to the Head of the Main Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Mykola Rudyk, in which we:
- She described in detail the cases of discrimination.
- Analyzed the legal basis for providing sign language services.
- Developed specific proposals for amendments to regulations.
- Offered cooperation in solving the problem.
The second stage: Participation in public discussion (May 2025).
When the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine published a draft order on amendments to the instructions for conducting exams, our organization actively participated in the public discussion, providing detailed proposals on:
- Allowing the presence of a sign language interpreter during exams.
- Increasing the exam time from 20 to 30 minutes to provide translation.
- Create alternative formats for presenting information.
- Opportunities to file complaints in Ukrainian sign language.
International experience and trust in the organization
Established in 2015, the NGO "Public Movement "Social Unity" has extensive experience in protecting the rights of people with disabilities. We have justified the trust of the audience throughout the time and up to now, which is confirmed by the following:
- Positive experience of cooperation with Kharkiv city authorities recognized at the UN level.
- Partnership with central authorities (MFA, MOH, MIA, SES, etc.).
- Creation of web widgets for communication with sign language interpreters on the websites of government agencies.
- Cooperation with socially responsible businesses.
The paradox of public policy
Our organization actively supports any positive developments in addressing issues of information accessibility for people with hearing impairments at the state level. And we see real changes.
The information vacuum in which people with complete hearing loss used to live is narrowing every year. However, there is still a lot to be done and corrected, and we urge the authorities to do it together.
On the one hand, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine actively reports on:
- Implementation of the Driving Schools for People with Disabilities project.
- Training of 40 trainers and examiners in inclusive communication skills.
- Implementation of barrier-free measures within the framework of the National Strategy.
On the other hand, in practice, Ukrainians who speak in a foreign language continue to face systemic barriers and refusals to provide basic translation services.
Legal grounds for changes
According to the Law of Ukraine "On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language":
- Ukrainian sign language is an officially recognized language of the sign language community.
- Everyone is guaranteed the right to use Ukrainian sign language freely.
- Nothing in this provision shall be construed to limit the scope of its use.
Proposed solutions.
The organization proposed two main ways to ensure accessibility of exams:
- Involvement of a sign language interpreter directly during the exam to ensure information accessibility for a person with a hearing impairment.
- Creating videos with pre-translated questions and answer options in Ukrainian sign language with quick access on the screen.
The reaction of the authorities
At the time of publication, the organization is awaiting an official response from the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine regarding the consideration of the submitted proposals and concrete steps to eliminate the identified discrimination.
This situation demonstrates a broader problem: the partial implementation of barrier-free measures creates only the illusion of solving the problem, while actually deepening discrimination against vulnerable groups.
The right to drive is not a privilege, but a basic right to mobility and independence. For people with hearing disabilities, it is of particular importance, as it is often the only way to ensure their participation in public life, avoiding many communication barriers
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