Making Films Accessible to the Disabled Can Serve Everyone

Why in News?

• Recently, Sarah Sunny made history by becoming the first deaf advocate to use Indian Sign Language (ISL) to argue a case in the Supreme Court.
• Soon after, Rahul Bajaj, a blind advocate, made the case for media accessibility in cinema halls, in the Delhi High Court.
• Under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, Rahul Bajaj is battling against the entertainment ecosystem to make reasonable accommodations.

Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016

• The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 came into force in December 2016 to give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(UNCRPD).
• The Right to Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD Act 2016) has categorised a person with disability into three parts:
  • Person with benchmark disability;
  • Person with disability;
  • People with disabilities having high support needs.
  • In the RPWD Act 2016, there has been an increase in the type of disabled, which has been increased from 7 types to 21 types and the Central Government has the power to add more to the list.
• The RPWD Act 2016 has increased the quantum of reservation for people suffering from disabilities from 3% to 4% in government jobs and from 3% to 5% in higher education institutes.
• Every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education.
• A separate National and State Fund be created to provide financial support to the persons with disabilities.

Challenges Faced by the Disabled in Absence of Media Accessibility

• Difficulty for Disabled People to Access Digital Content
  • Many websites, apps, and online resources are not designed with accessibility in mind, making it difficult for people with disabilities to access them.
  • This includes barriers to using assistive technologies like screen readers, magnifiers, or voice recognition software, which makes it hard for people with visual, auditory, or motor disabilities to access the digital content.
• Language Barriers
  • There is a significant language barrier in India, with a vast population speaking different regional languages.
  • Many digital resources are available only in English or Hindi, making it difficult for people who speak other languages to access them.
• Lack of Assistive Technologies
  • Many people with disabilities in India do not have access to the necessary assistive technologies to access digital content. 
  • The cost of these devices is often prohibitive, and there is also a lack of awareness about their availability and benefits.

Why the Entertainment Industry Finds Media Accessibility a Difficult Task

• Only for a Small Minority: The entertainment industry says that media accessibility is only for the benefit of a small minority of hearing and visually impaired viewers but detracts from the experience of the overwhelming majority.
• Complicated and Costly: Secondly, they argue that making films accessible on all the devices and platforms where content is consumed is complicated and costly.

Why Arguments of the Entertainment Industry Are Flawed

• Arguments Are Against Existing Global Evidence
  • Saying that media accessibility only serves DHH and visually impaired people is wrong.
  • There is compelling global evidence that media accessibility features are useful for all, including the hearing and the sighted, however in different ways.
  • The Billion Readers (BIRD) initiative has shown that features like Same Language Subtitles or Captions (SLS/SLC) will advance the reading literacy and language skills of a billion TV viewers.
  • Hearing viewers often use SLS in noisy environments, most homes, for improved media access.
• The Industry Seems Unaware of the Demand for SLS
  • Surveys in rural government schools in several states have found that almost all children, parents and teachers prefer and want entertainment content with SLS.
  • The industry may not have fully grasped the demand for SLS on video-based entertainment among India’s majority low-income viewers.
  • Children, youth, and adults instantly see its value for enhancing their own reading, language skills and education.
• Not As Complicated, or Costly as the Industry Claims
  • Achieving media accessibility across the entertainment system is not as complicated, or costly as the industry claims, if they adopt a systems approach.
  • The entertainment industry encompasses the creation, distribution, and consumption of content in more than 23 Indian languages.
  • The core idea in a systems perspective is that accessibility features should become an integral part of all content. For instance, video includes separate files for the visuals and the audio.
  • Surveys have suggested the inclusion of accessibility features as separate files in the Digital Content Package (DCP).
  • This is most cost-effectively achieved across platforms, channels, and devices.

Advantages of Media Accessibility

• The prime advantage of media accessibility to content is that any stakeholder can turn the accessibility features on or off at practically no cost.
• For Deaf
  • Audiences who are deaf or hard of hearing can benefit from captioning and descriptive text.
  • They may be able to follow the dialogue by reading the captions, as well as reading key auditory events (e.g., “a door is slammed shut”) that are included as part of the captions.
• Individuals with Low Vision, Blindness and/or Visual Disability
  • People with low vision or blindness will have none or limited access to visual information and thus benefit from audio descriptions of visual elements.
  • For those with colour blindness, described video can help highlight key details that may otherwise be missed by the user because the image was colour coded or symbolized in colour on the screen.
• Physical Disabilities
  • Students with varying types of physical disabilities may have difficulty controlling accessible media (e.g., opening a video file, playing, and pausing the video), even if the media itself is accessible in other ways, when viewed.
  • Media players that can be controlled in various ways (e.g., the play/pause key selected using the keyboard or via switch access) make the control of media more accessible.

Way Forward

• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Should Set Standards
  • MIB has oversight over all entertainment content, therefore, it would simply need to set guidelines and standards for content creation.
  • For instance, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) can require SLS/SLC and Audio-Description (AD) files to be deposited with CBFC, after a film has been certified.
  • For the life of the film thereafter, the accessibility features can readily be turned on/off by any distribution channel, consumer, or device.
  • India’s disability rights groups are asking for four accessibility features to be included as separate files in any digital film package: SLC (SLS implied), AD, translated English captions/subtitles and ISL video interpretation for picture-in-picture display.
  • Media accessibility becomes a default and choice in any content distribution and consumption scenario.
  • The first two accessibility features are critical. If MIB and CBFC simply require that SLS/SLC and AD files are deposited for every film, it will nudge the entire entertainment system to honour media accessibility.
• Cinema Halls Can Schedule Special Shows
  • Cinema halls can schedule and announce special shows with SLS/SLC or AD.
  • The deaf and blind then have the option of enjoying an immersive theatre experience.

Conclusion

• According to WHO among those older than 60 years, over 25 per cent are affected by disabling hearing loss.
• Accessible media has numerous benefits for a wide range of individuals. Right now, and in the future, all 1.4 billion Indians will benefit from media accessibility.

Q1) What is multimedia accessibility?

Multimedia accessibility can be explained as the delivery of the information, intent and content presented in videos and audio immaterial of a user's disability. The core areas of multimedia accessibility are – text transcripts, audio descriptions and synchronised captions.

Q2) What is the state of Digital Accessibility Rights in India?

India signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2007. To ensure compliance with the UNCRPD, India enacted the (Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016) to replace the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. The RPWDA adopts the same definition of universal design as in the UNCRPD and places obligations on the appropriate government to ensure universal design for everyday electronic goods and equipment and consumer goods.

Source: The Indian Express