Press Release

Lack of people certified in libraries to provide technological assistance to people with disabilities

The data comes from a study carried out by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.

According to the report of the study on inclusive services and technological assistance in libraries in Puerto Rico by the Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico, 83% of the participating libraries do not have people certified in technological assistance to people with disabilities. Similarly, almost 40% of libraries indicated that they do not have computers or electronic equipment required to comply with a technological assistance program for people with disabilities.

The main objective of Law No. 63 of 2011 is to establish the Inclusive Library Services System for Technological Assistance in all libraries in Puerto Rico. In the same way, this law orders the government to “collect annual statistical data on Inclusive Library Services for Technological Assistance”. Since its approval, the government has not been able to fully comply with this mandate. It is for this reason that the Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico, in collaboration with the Technological Assistance Program of the University of Puerto Rico (PRATP), designed a collection system and a set of data so that the Government of Puerto Rico has the capacity to collect, analyze and disseminate data on the implementation of this law.

The data presented correspond to the calendar year 2019 and includes a sample of the libraries of the University of Puerto Rico system, private universities, higher education institutions and municipalities. This is the first report that Puerto Rico has made on statistics related to the implementation of Law No. 63 of 2011

“As a society we must and must guarantee all people access to education and information, and people with disabilities cannot be discriminated against. This study allows us, in addition to complying with the law, to determine where we should make the necessary adjustments to meet the access to information needs of people with disabilities,” said Dr. Orville M. Disdier, lead author of the study and acting executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.

Here are some of the study's most salient findings:

• A total of 36 libraries completed the questionnaire, the largest of them from private universities (39%).
• 36% of participating libraries do not have a plan to implement Act No. 63.
• Most (83%) of participating libraries reported that they do not have people certified in technological assistance.
• Only 8% of participating libraries indicated that the administration has plans to provide training on the use of technological assistance programs and equipment.
• Nearly 40% of participating libraries indicated that they do not have computers or electronic equipment required to comply with a technological assistance program for people with disabilities.
• Although 67% of participating libraries claimed that their library meets the requirements established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regarding the accessibility of physical spaces for people with disabilities, all indicated that they do not have official certification for these purposes.
• Among the reasons that participating libraries established for not complying with Act No. 63 of 2011 are: Lack of financial resources, lack of guidance, lack of support from the administration and lack of human resources.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity tasked with coordinating the government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and accessible quickly and universally. To access this report or to learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Contacts:

Idia M. Martinez, R-28

787-603-3200

Lourdes Burgos, R-27

787-562-2932

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551 homicides and 210 suicides were reported in Puerto Rico in 2020

551 homicides and 210 suicides were reported in Puerto Rico in 2020

As presented in the most recent Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico Violent Death Notification System (PRVDRS) established at the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, presented data from the Puerto Rico Violent Deaths Report for the year 2020. The report reports that in 2020, there were 729 incidents of violent deaths, with a total of 790 fatalities. Of the total number of violent deaths, 551 were homicides and 210 were suicides. According to the PRVDRS, violent deaths occur primarily through homicide or suicide.

In 2020, 69.8% of victims of violent deaths were reported in single or multiple homicide incidents and 26.6% were suicide incidents. Four homicide-suicide incidents were reported, resulting in eight fatalities. In addition, four violent deaths attributed to legal intervention (0.5%) and 19 violent deaths with undetermined intent (2.4%) were documented during this period.

In 2020, approximately nine out of 10 victims of violent deaths (89.0%) were men. The crude homicide rate was 24.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, 45.2 in men and 4.9 in women. The primary mechanism of the homicides was firearms. Approximately, nine out of 10 homicides (88.9%) involved a firearm. 89.6% of these deaths occurred in men and 83.7% in women. The proportion of homicides of women with firearms in 2020 is the highest since 2000. Homicide rates by sex in age groups between 15 and 39 years reflect that in these age groups, 72.7% of all homicides occur in men and 61.2% in women. The most common criminal circumstances of homicides in Puerto Rico are related to illegal drug trafficking and organized crime.

In 2020, 68 fatal victims of family violence were reported. Most of these cases were related to violence in an intimate partner or former partner environment (17 cases, 25.0%) and 31 additional victims related to intimate partners or third parties involved in an intimate partner conflict (45.6%). In turn, violence between family members (20 cases, 29.4%), occurred mainly during an argument (50.0%). The majority of victims of intimate partner violence were women (76.5%) who were fatally assaulted by their former partner or former male spouse (61.5%) or current partner or spouse (38.5%). In addition, three of the women victims of intimate partner violence were homicide-suicide incidents (23.1%).

As for suicides in Puerto Rico, the report highlights that the frequency is lower than that of homicides. However, as in homicides, suicides are more frequent in men (84.8%). In 2020, the crude suicide rate was 6.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, 11.4 in men (one of 124 men) and 1.9 in women (one of 765 women). The risk of suicide in men was six times greater than the risk of suicide in women. Most suicides occurred by hanging, strangulation, or suffocation (64.3%), followed by firearms (16.7%).

Mariluz Bezares, manager of statistical projects at the Institute of Statistics and co-principal investigator of the PRVDRS, explained that the collection of this type of data could involve fieldwork that takes more than two years from the time the incident occurs until the collection and review of the data is completed. “This system is a reliable, complete and unique reference source that helps describe the context of violent deaths in the victim-aggressor relationship and the magnitude, trend and characteristics of violent deaths in Puerto Rico,” said Dr. Diego Zavala, epidemiologist and co-principal investigator of the PRVDRS.

For the executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, these statistics are one of the main tools to combat the phenomenon of violence in Puerto Rico. “These data, among others, serve as a basis for establishing effective measures for the prevention of violence in Puerto Rico, from multiple social, demographic and economic approaches. Our commitment at the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is to continue strengthening this statistical and epidemiological system to continue improving the quality of this type of data,” said Dr. Disdier.

The PRVDRS is an epidemiological surveillance system affiliated with the Institute of Statistics and designed to obtain a complete and standardized census of violent deaths in Puerto Rico. The PRVDRS began its participation in the National Violent Death Notification System (National Violent Death Reporting System, NVDRS) in September 2016 through a collaborative agreement granted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity tasked with coordinating the government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and accessible quickly and universally. The Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico during 2020, like previous reports, is available at: Prvdrs. To learn more about the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, you can access the website at www.estadisticas.pr.gov and on social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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U.S. Census Bureau releases the most recent data on business activity using the 2013 County Business Patterns