Ruling on guide dog access hailed
Home Affairs admonished for denying access
THE KwaZulu-Natal Blind and Deaf Society has welcomed a recent judgment, the first of its kind, that dealt with denial of access to a guide dog. It found that a government department had been wrong in preventing a guide dog from entering its premises.
The Western Cape Equality Court handed down the judgment which found that the Mossel Bay Home Affairs office had unfairly discriminated against Amanda Bester by denying access to her guide dog Reo.
The society said in a statement that the attitude of the Department of Homes Affairs in the Western Cape in not allowing Bester to enter the building with Reo was not only immoral, but disgusting.
They learned “with great joy” of the Equality Court decision.
“It is dreadful that in this modern day and age, government departments do not ensure that people with disabilities are catered for adequately to serve their needs,” the society said.
The society said incidents of this kind left one feeling “disappointed and excluded” by government.
Although there have not been any reported cases of this nature in KZN, the organisation appealed to people not to discriminate against blind people and their guide dogs.
The SA Guide-Dogs Association for the Blind (GDA) said it had brought the court action in both the public interest and the interests of all people who were disabled and who had chosen to use a guide dog, service dog or autism support dog.
In its judgment, the Equality Court held that Bester’s choice to have a guide dog assist her in her everyday living as a visually impaired person and to assist with her disability “is a choice worthy of protection and that cannot be removed by another person except for a justifiable cause”.
The judge commented that the department failed to appreciate not only the loss of independence Bester suffered as a result of the denial of having Reo accompany her, but also failed to appreciate the impact the denial of access and their conduct had on her and the embarrassment and humiliation suffered by her.
The court found that the denial of access to Bester and Reo was unfair discrimination on the grounds of Bester’s disability. The department was ordered to take steps to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities, which steps must include the placing of visible signs at all its entrances that guide and service dogs are allowed. It was further ordered to report back under oath to the court within 120 days of the steps it has taken and intends to take to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities.
In addition to these orders, the court ordered the Minister of Home Affairs and the department to tender a written apology to Bester for the manner in which she and Reo were treated.