Making Justice Accessible

Access to justice is a core value and a driver of ODR. “everyone regardless of disability, poverty, distance” will be able to fully participate.

Equa, the dispute resolution centre, is committed to ensuring accessibility for all individuals seeking its services. The centre prioritizes inclusivity and provides various accessibility features to accommodate diverse needs. Equa's facilities are designed to be accessible, with wheelchair ramps, elevators, and other necessary accommodations.

In addition, Equa's website incorporates accessibility features to ensure that it can be easily navigated and accessed by users with disabilities. The website includes alt text for images, which allows screen readers to describe visual content. It also employs clear and concise language, making the information easily understandable for all users. Equa's website design follows accessibility guidelines, including proper heading structure, keyboard navigation support, and contrasting color schemes for improved readability.

Equa's commitment to accessibility extends beyond physical facilities and website design. The centre strives to provide accommodations and support to individuals with specific accessibility requirements. By fostering an inclusive environment and offering accessible services, Equa ensures that everyone can effectively engage in the dispute resolution process and have equal access to justice.

Key accessibility features

Navigating using headings

The site has been set up to use HTML headings where appropriate. The main site heading starts at level 1 and the main content starts at level 2. This provides an easy way for screen reader users to skip to the main content by pressing the shortcut key for headings. For example, JAWS screen reader users can press H or Shift + H to move to the next heading, 2 or Shift + 2 to move to the next level two heading and Insert + F6 to display a list of all headings on the page.

Navigating tables

In some places in the site, particularly where forms are presented, we have used tables for general layout. We also use tables for displaying out rows and columns of information also called data tables.

We have tried to ensure that the content will always read in a logical order. In some data tables it may be hard to understand the meaning of each item in which case you can use the table navigation keys in your screen reader to deliver the relevant headers for each item in the table. JAWS screen reader users can use the Ctrl + Alt + arrow keys to move around a table and JAWS screen reader will read out the headers for each cell. You can also press Ctrl + Alt + NumPad 5 to read the headers for the current cell.

Data tables have a summary that you can hear in your screen reader to help you understand their meaning without having to read the whole table. We’ve also ensured that you can easily find data tables using table navigation keys. JAWS screen reader users can press T or Shift + T to move between tables and have the summary read out.