The Department of Justice, Interior and Public Administration will eliminate all the architectural and sensory barriers of the consolidated judicial buildings of the Valencian Community thanks to a plan that has a budget allocation of 2,1 million euros and that will be implemented throughout the next four years.
This was announced by Gabriela Bravo in the framework of the Justice and Disability Forum that was held this Wednesday in Valencia. The Forum is a consultative observatory that brings together representatives of associations, legal operators and the Administration with the aim of favoring the access of people with disabilities and their families to Justice under equal conditions and guaranteeing their legal protection.
The Sub-Directorate of Infrastructures of the Conselleria has analyzed the accessibility index of 57 judicial buildings, of which 18 correspond to the province of Alicante, 7 to the province of Castellón and 32 buildings to the province of Valencia. The study has revealed that the most recurrent deficiency is the signaling of the different units, although dysfunctions have also been detected in entrances, parking spaces, toilets, mechanisms and interior doors.
To correct all these dysfunctions, an investment of 2.039.398,78 euros has been planned, of which 743.344,76 will be allocated to buildings in the province of Alicante, including that of Dénia. This action will be carried out over the next four years in two phases. The Dénia Court is included in the first phase of action that will last until 2023.
On the other hand, the councilor recalled that the Ministry of Justice is currently running two Accessible Justice pilot projects such as the figure of the facilitator to help people with functional, sensory or cognitive diversity to deal with the courts in matters that affect them and the Easy Reading of Sentences for the same group in judicial decisions that affect them.
In this sense, this initiative has already adapted five sentences: two in the Castelló courts and another three in those of Dénia, Villena and Paterna, respectively.
Bravo also explained that the Crime Victims Assistance Offices have specific protocols for people with functional diversity and recalled that, in the last three years, they have assisted 1.644 victims with disabilities, of which nine out of ten were women.
Finally, the councilor has insisted that the new Regulation of Free Legal Assistance -which is in the processing phase- provides for the creation of a Legal Guidance Service (SOJ) of functional diversity that will provide support to this group in a specific way.
That's very good. But what is truly important is that procedures are streamlined, that times are reasonable and that they do not last forever. This is the most important thing for me.