AIC Accessibility Statement

Document AIC-DOC-08 · Accessibility Statement
Version 1.0 · Adopted 15 June 2026 · In force from 15 June 2026 · Next scheduled review June 2027
Owner: Editor-in-Chief · Contact: accessibility@caribbeanaijournal.org

An open-access journal that is unreadable to a blind researcher is not open access. This statement covers caribbeanaijournal.org and everything published on it.

1. The Standard We Hold To

The site is built to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA. We believe it currently meets that standard, with the known exceptions listed in section 3. We say "believe" rather than "comply" deliberately: this is a self-assessment, we have not commissioned a formal third-party audit, and a page can meet every automated check while still being difficult to use.

2. What Is In Place

Area	What we have done
Keyboard	Every control, link, form field and navigation dropdown is reachable and operable by keyboard alone. Dropdown menus open on focus as well as hover, so they do not depend on a mouse or a hover-capable device.
Focus visibility	A three-pixel gold outline on every focused element, with an offset so it is visible against any background. Focus is never suppressed.
Skip link	A "Skip to main content" link is the first focusable element on every page, letting keyboard and screen reader users pass the navigation.
Landmarks and headings	Semantic `header`, `nav`, `main`, `aside` and `footer` elements, with one `h1` per page and a heading hierarchy that does not skip levels.
Forms	Every field has a visible label bound by `for` and `id`. Hints are joined to their field with `aria-describedby` so a screen reader reads them. Required fields are marked both visually and in the accessible name.
Colour contrast	Body text, headings and interface text meet or exceed the 4.5:1 ratio required at AA, and large text meets 3:1. Colour is never the only carrier of meaning.
Tables	Scoped `th` headers with row and column scope, and horizontal scrolling confined to the table rather than the page.
Images	Decorative header photographs are CSS backgrounds and are correctly invisible to assistive technology. Content images carry alternative text.
Reflow and zoom	Usable down to 320 pixels and up to 400 percent zoom without horizontal scrolling or loss of content. Text is sized in relative units and responds to browser text-size settings.
Motion	The site honours `prefers-reduced-motion`, disabling smooth scrolling and transitions for anyone whose system asks for it. There is no autoplay, no carousel, and nothing that moves on its own.
Anchor navigation	Jumping to a section moves keyboard focus as well as the viewport, so the jump is not sighted-only.
Language and titles	A declared page language and a unique, descriptive title on every page.
No dark patterns	No time limits, no modals, no cookie banner, no pop-ups, no interstitials, no pre-ticked boxes, and no autoplaying media.
Print	A print stylesheet that drops navigation and decoration so a page prints cleanly, which matters where bandwidth is expensive and paper is not.
Low bandwidth	A static site with no framework, no tracking scripts and no analytics. It loads on a slow connection, which is itself an accessibility property in this region.

3. Known Gaps

Listing these is more useful than claiming there are none.

Published PDFs. Author-supplied PDFs are not yet guaranteed to be tagged for screen readers. From the inaugural edition every published article is provided in accessible HTML alongside the PDF, and the author guidelines ask for structured headings and real alternative text on figures. Where an existing PDF is inaccessible to you, ask and we will produce an accessible version.
Figures inside articles. Alternative text quality depends on what authors supply. Editors check it during production, and a figure whose description is "Figure 1" is sent back.
Mathematical notation. Rendered as images in some author-supplied files rather than as MathML, which reads poorly. We are moving to MathML for published HTML.
Header photographs are loaded from a third-party image service. If that service is blocked or slow, the decorative background does not appear; no content is lost, and every page remains fully readable.
No formal external audit has been commissioned. We intend to arrange one after the inaugural edition, and we will publish the findings here including the unflattering ones.

4. Tell Us When Something Does Not Work

This is the part of the statement that matters most. If any part of this site or anything we have published is difficult or impossible for you to use, write to accessibility@caribbeanaijournal.org.

We acknowledge within 3 business days.
We respond substantively within 10 business days, with a fix or a date for one.
We will supply any published article in an alternative format you need — accessible HTML, plain text, large print, or a structured document — free of charge and without asking you to justify the request.
Tell us what you were trying to do, the page, and the assistive technology and browser you use, if you know them. Any detail helps; none is required.

5. Accessibility in Submission and Review

The process has to be usable too, not only the output.

Every submission form is fully keyboard operable and screen reader compatible.
Any submission deadline can be extended where a disability makes the standard timeline unreasonable. Ask, and the answer is yes.
Adjustments are available for reviewers and for the section head review exercise: extra time, an alternative format, or a different way of submitting a report.
If a web form is not usable for you, submit by email to submissions@caribbeanaijournal.org. A submission arriving this way is treated identically to one arriving through the form.
No adjustment request is recorded against your submission or influences an editorial decision in any way.

6. Review of This Statement

Reviewed annually and whenever the site changes materially. Changes are recorded in the document register.

Document control. AIC-DOC-08, version 1.0. Adopted 15 June 2026. In force 15 June 2026. Next review June 2027. Assessment method: self-evaluation against WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Supersedes: none, this is the first issue.