Lost in Translation

A recent federal grant bestowed upon New York City police officers a new kind of cell phone – one with access to a 24 hour translation service. The move was made to help non-English speaking victims of domestic violence overcome the language barriers that so often keep them from reporting. By pressing a button, police are now able to reach translators in 150 languages, allowing victims to make immediate and articulate complaints against their assailant.
The need for translators in these cases is large. According to the New York City Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, “challenges faced by immigrant victims of domestic violence are especially relevant in New York City where 36% of the population is foreign born, and over 120 different languages and dialects are spoken. Immigrant women may be less likely to report abuse than non-immigrant women due to language barriers, cultural differences and a fear of deportation if they are not legally documented to live in the U.S.”
An article in yesterday’s Times reported on the success of this service in allowing non-English speaking victims to communicate with police, and in helping police speak with possible witnesses. The article did not, however, mention any potentially harmful aspects of this arrangement.
To begin with, many translators lack experience in dealing with crime victims. This becomes especially harmful when victims rely solely on translators’ advice for information about rights and actions. Translators may omit words or ideas that they do not think are important, just to convey the “gist” of a conversation. There are myriad confidentiality issues; translators are not legally bound to the same standards as medical and police personnel.
As Lynn Hecht Schafran, a Vice President of Legal Momentum, has written, a victim may feel inhibited about speaking freely to a male interpreter, who may be an authority figure in her culture. Interpreters may lack training on sensitive issues, especially in cases involving domestic violence, rape and emotional trauma. They may purposely undermine women charging men from their own communities with domestic violence or sexual assault because they either dismiss the seriousness of the offense or do not want the community’s dirty linen aired in public
The INS Gender Guidelines recommend that women with gender-based claims be interviewed by female officers, and if possible, have female interpreters because “some applicants may have inhibitions about disclosing past experiences to an interviewer of the opposite sex.” This is obviously hard to achieve in the understaffed and low-resourced NYPD, but isn’t it crucial?
Finally, based on cost, these cell phones are a short term solution to a much larger problem. Why aren’t there more people on staff in the department with these skills? In a city as diverse as New York, why do we have to outsource this job at $2.00/minute?
Translation services can be enormously helpful to non-English speaking DV victims, and I’m happy that this issue is finally getting some attention. As long as we keep our eyes on the potentially harmful aspects, and keep searching for a broader solution, we’ll keep making progress.