Legal and ethical implications of medically enforced feeding of detained asylum seekers on hunger strike.

The need for a rights-based public health approach to Australian asylum seeker health

Public health professionals have a responsibility to protect and promote the right to health amongst populations, especially vulnerable and disenfranchised groups, such as people seeking asylum and whose health care is frequently compromised. As at 31 March 2016, there was a total of 3707 people (including 384 children) in immigration detention facilities or community detention in Australia, wi...

Detention of asylum seekers: assault on health, human rights, and social development.

The end of World War II ushered in a new era of international commitment to provide humane protection to all people fleeing persecution. This decade, however, has witnessed a steady erosion of that ethos, the most disturbing change being the tendency to confine asylum seekers in detention centres in countries of the West. Many of these people have suffered torture and other abuses, raising part...

Safe in our hands?: a study of suicide and self-harm in asylum seekers.

This study examined the incidence of suicide and self-harm in asylum seekers in the UK, both those in detention and in the community. The investigation revealed that data recording is seriously flawed or sometimes non-existent. However, the scanty data those were available from Immigration Removal Centres, coroners' records and Prison Ombudsman's reports showed high levels of self-harm and suic...

Multiculturalism and Compassion: Responding to Mental Health Needs Among Refugees and Asylum Seekers; Comment on “A Crisis of Humanitarianism: Refugees at the Gates of Europe”

As Fotaki (2019) argues, the current political climate in Europe is threatening principles of humanitarianism, particularly among refugees and asylum seekers. This commentary builds on that argument, with a spotlight on mental health and culturally relevant service design. By addressing some of the barriers faced by refugees and asylum seekers in accessing mental health...

Detained asylum seekers may be being re-traumatised.