Working with Interpreters Laura Wilson Refugee Council /

What will we cover today? o Why is this an important topic? o Who we are supporting o Interpreters o Service Providers o Service Users o Alternatives o Do and Do Not’s 2

Why is this an Important Topic? o Victoria Climbie died on the 25 th February “Victoria’s life could have been saved if she had had an interpreter.” o Child H- Two year old child died in June 2013; “…dismissal of child protection concerns on the grounds of misunderstandings due to language barriers.” o Child A- Two month old Lithuanian girl died in Sept 2013 of severe non-accidental head injury. o Child H- Three year old Somali boy murdered by his Father in Dec o All of these deaths could have been avoided if an appropriate interpreter had been present. 3

Supporting Refugees and Asylum Seekers 4

Good Practice: Interpreters o Impartiality o Confidentiality o Disclosure of any conflict of interests o Intervene o But it is your job as a service provider to ask the right questions, brief and de-brief the interpreter! o How are we doing as service providers… 5

6 They do their best No direct translation and no alternative is offered… Language is not simplified… Service User often leaves confused and I feel responsible What do Interpreters say? I am praised for the work I do Not enough time for clarification I am not qualified to give the kind of advice I am giving… I feel like I am helping

Service Providers o Statutory bodies have a legal obligation to: -Provide language services -Promote equal access to services -Eliminate racial discrimination. o Statutory bodies must ensure that language services are efficient and effective: -Allow enough time for interviews/ appointments -Brief and de-brief Interpreters -Work with professional, trained Interpreters 7

8 What do Service Providers say? There is not enough time for appointments Most do not understand Google Translate Some Languages are unavailable Bring a friend or family member with you… If you keep booking interpreters THEY will never learn English!!!!! Pressure

Perspectives from Service Users 9 It went really well and the Interpreter helped me and explained things clearly. Sometimes no Interpreter is booked and my husband comes in with me. I am illiterate and couldn’t understand Google translate. It spoke in a different dialect. I waited for two hours for an interpreter to come and this was not the first time. I don’t feel my time is respected… I was told there was no interpreters and I should bring a friend. It was too personal so I tried to explain in English but couldn’t understand them. The Interpreter did not speak good English and we were both confused!

Requests from Service Users… o Give us enough time to explain (we know you don’t have time!) o Explain things a couple of different ways to clarify understanding o Don’t ask our family members to interpret for us 10

Google Translate o Hosts 91 different languages o There are around 6500 different languages and dialects spoken worldwide o 2000 in Africa alone! o Some parts of the developing world; literacy rates are below 30% o Swahili example o Example: let’s talk FGM… 11

Do’s and Do Not’s o DO NOT ask a child/family member/ other service users to interpret. o DO identify the language, dialect and country of origin prior to booking the interpreter- avoids wasting time and resources o DO consider the age/ gender of the interpret and judge whether this is appropriate o DO Ask Questions before the appointment o DO Brief and De-brief o DO reflect 12

Thank you very much for listening! 13