Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

SADA is the St. Ann Disability Association Benevolent Society, a Jamaica-based association supporting disability rights, advocacy, accessibility, equal opportunity, community participation and the well-being of persons with disabilities. This policy applies to information processed through this website and SADA’s associated online enquiries, activities and communications.

SADA determines how personal information submitted to us for our association activities is used. We aim to comply with the applicable requirements of Jamaica’s Data Protection Act, 2020.

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you interact with SADA, we may receive:

• Contact and identification details: your name, telephone number, email address, mailing address and preferred means of communication.
• Membership, programme and advocacy information: enquiries, requests for assistance, event registrations, volunteer or partnership information, and the details needed to respond or provide services.
• Accessibility preferences: communication formats, reasonable accommodation requests, and related information you choose to provide.
• Sensitive information: disability-related, health-related or other sensitive details only where necessary and lawfully obtained.
• Media and contributions: photographs, video or audio recordings, testimonials, comments, documents and stories you choose to share or authorise for publication.
• Website information: information included in forms or messages, account details if accounts are enabled, and limited technical information such as browser data, IP addresses or security logs generated by the website and hosting systems.

We ask you to provide only the details necessary for your enquiry or participation. Please do not submit medical records, diagnoses or other sensitive documents unless SADA has specifically explained why they are needed and how they will be protected.

3. How and why we use information

We use personal information for clearly identified, legitimate association activities, which may include responding to enquiries, coordinating membership or volunteering, providing accessibility assistance, organising events and programmes, supporting disability-rights advocacy, managing consented media, maintaining website security, keeping appropriate administrative records, and meeting legal obligations.

We process personal information only where an applicable lawful condition permits it, including valid consent where required. Giving consent to an optional photograph, testimonial, newsletter or other promotional activity is not a condition of receiving unrelated SADA assistance. You may withdraw consent for processing based on consent, subject to any lawful limitation.

4. Special care for disability and sensitive information

Information about a person’s disability, health, assistance needs or circumstances may be particularly private. We will treat such information with enhanced care, collect the minimum necessary, use an appropriate lawful condition for sensitive data, restrict access to authorised persons who need it for their work, and avoid unnecessary disclosure.

SADA will not treat a person’s disability as permission to disclose their information. A person with a disability retains the right to make decisions about their own personal information. Assistance from a family member, carer or representative does not automatically grant that person access; SADA may request suitable authorisation.

We do not sell personal information or use information about disabilities to discriminate against individuals.

5. Photographs, videos, outings and personal stories

SADA may document meetings, community outings, disability-awareness events and other activities through images, video, audio and written stories. Before publicly identifying an individual in such material, especially where it may disclose disability or health details, we will seek appropriate permission or rely on another applicable lawful basis. Participation in an event does not by itself mean consent to promotional publication.

If you wish to raise a concern about material featuring you or someone you lawfully represent, contact SADA through an authorised communication channel. We will review requests to remove or amend content and take appropriate action. Information already copied or shared by unrelated third parties may be outside our control.

6. When we share information and how we protect it

We may share the minimum necessary information with authorised SADA personnel and trusted service providers who help operate the website, host data, deliver email, administer programmes or provide other legitimate services. We may also disclose information when required or permitted by law or when you specifically authorise a disclosure.

We use reasonable administrative, technical and organisational safeguards appropriate to the information involved, including access restrictions and protections for website and communication systems. No online service can guarantee absolute security. If a personal-data incident occurs, we will assess and respond to it in accordance with applicable legal obligations.

Where a provider processes information outside Jamaica, SADA will assess the applicable data-transfer requirements and appropriate safeguards.

7. How long we keep information and your right to request deletion

Our general approach: We may retain personal information for as long as it remains reasonably necessary for your ongoing relationship with SADA, to respond to your enquiry, administer programmes or membership, maintain authorised records, or fulfil another legitimate and lawful purpose. You may request deletion at any time through any legitimate, authorised SADA communication channel, including our website Contact page, an officially published SADA email address, telephone contact or written correspondence.

We do not keep information indefinitely merely because no deletion request has been received. We review information and delete or anonymise it when its purpose has ended and no other lawful reason for retention remains. For example, we review completed enquiries after follow-up is finished; event and programme information when the activity and necessary reporting have concluded; and membership or supporter details when the relationship ends. Technical logs and backups are removed according to operational security and backup cycles, subject to legitimate investigations or preservation requirements.

Upon receiving a deletion request, we will acknowledge and assess it, take reasonable steps to verify that the requester is the individual concerned or is appropriately authorised, and delete or anonymise information that SADA is no longer entitled or required to hold. Some records may have to be retained to meet legal, financial, audit, safeguarding or dispute-resolution obligations. If an exception applies, we will explain it where lawful and limit further use of the information. Copies in routine backups may remain temporarily until the backup is overwritten or securely retired, and we will protect them in the meantime.

A deletion request can also cover personal information previously submitted through the website’s contact forms or retained in SADA’s authorised communication and message systems. We will respond within the periods required by applicable law.

8. Your privacy rights

Subject to applicable law and any relevant exceptions, you may ask SADA to:

• tell you what personal information we hold about you and why it is used;
• provide access to your personal information;
• correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• delete information where you have a right to erasure;
• restrict or object to certain uses of your information;
• record and respect withdrawal of consent where processing relies on consent; and
• consider other rights available to you under applicable data-protection law.

To protect you, we may need to verify identity or representative authority before acting on a request. We will not ask for more identifying information than reasonably needed for that purpose.

9. Accessible requests and communications

SADA is committed to making privacy information and requests accessible to persons with disabilities. You may use the communication method that works best for you, including a website message, an officially published email, telephone communication, or written correspondence through an authorised SADA channel.

You may ask us for assistance understanding this policy, for an alternative accessible format, or for reasonable communication accommodations. We will seek to respond in a respectful, private and accessible way. We will not refuse a valid privacy request solely because a person cannot use a particular online form.

10. Cookies, website services and external links

Our WordPress website and hosting services may use essential cookies or similar technologies for website operation, login sessions, preferences and security. If optional analytics, embedded videos, social-media features or other non-essential tools are enabled, they may collect technical usage information under their own terms. Where required, we will provide appropriate notice and a choice about non-essential technologies.

Links to other websites are provided for convenience. Their privacy practices are independent of SADA’s policy. We encourage visitors to review the notices of external services before submitting personal information.

11. Children, caregivers and authorised representatives

When an activity involves children, SADA will take particular care to obtain appropriate permissions and safeguard their personal information in accordance with applicable law. We may verify that a parent, guardian or other representative has authority to make a request on another person’s behalf. Disability alone does not remove an adult’s right to control their own information.

12. Updates, contact and complaints

We may update this policy when our website, services, practices or legal obligations change. The effective date near the top of this page will be updated when material changes are made.

For privacy enquiries, corrections, access requests or deletion requests: contact SADA through the Contact page on this website, or through any other legitimate communication channel officially authorised or published by SADA. Please state that your message is a privacy request, describe your concern, and provide a safe means for us to reply. Please do not include additional sensitive information unless requested securely.

If you believe your rights have not been respected, you may raise your concern with the Office of the Information Commissioner, Jamaica, the national authority responsible for personal-data protection.

SADA’s commitment: Disability rights include privacy rights. We will endeavour to handle every person’s information with fairness, confidentiality, respect and accountability.