The Structural Inequalities, Anti-Oppressive and Anti-Discriminatory Approaches Associated with the Marginalization of Asylum Seekers in Australian Historical Context: An Overview

Niket Paudel

doi:10.47405/aswj.v5i4.154

Abstract

Asylum seekers still endure a lot of oppression and alienation, with many erroneous assumptions about them circulating not only in Australia but throughout the world. Asylum seekers are deemed illegal due to the lack of their legitimate visas and are overlooked. The anti-oppressive theory seeks to oppose the underlying institutional and structural challenges in society and power to maintain power balance among minorities. The approach is focused on social justice. Social justice is attained by improving not only the quality of life but also the wellbeing of micro, macro, and mezzo levels with this approach. The fundamental value of diversity is also maintained. The abuse of power among the members of the society with regards to asylum seekers strengthens the notion of oppression; hence the approach strives for the power redistribution by not only defying the structures but also by advocating for the rights of the oppressed. The oppression can arise because of the traditional functioning ways of the systems or individuals’ bigotry. Asylum seekers in Australia are marginalized by the structure through their stern policies and by individual’s bigotry through their hate and sense of threat.

Highlights

Overview of the Structural Inequalities that deter Social Inclusion: Australian history with people seeking asylum has been worrying and troubling with the enactment of constricting measures for daunting the arrival of asylum seekers (Philips, 2015). It was not until 1992 where Australia enacted the obligatory detaining policy of asylum seekers who entered via boat without a legally binding visa (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2004)
The government did not put an end to violence and inhumaneness. 1996-2007 witnessed Australia’s policy chastising and penalizing the asylum seekers who entered Australia via boat (Phillips and Spinks, Boat arrivals in Australia since 1976 2013)
In 2013, the policy was tightened and became progressively more penal after the Coalition government gained power; ‘Operation Sovereign Borders’, a militarized operation was implemented (Gauja et al, 2018). This operation involved Australia maritime workforces prohibiting and turning back asylum seekers who made the journey via boats where authorities from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Malaysia worked collaboratively with Australia during this operation (Medhora & Doherty, 2015)

Summary

Introduction

Overview of the Structural Inequalities that deter Social Inclusion: Australian history with people seeking asylum has been worrying and troubling with the enactment of constricting measures for daunting the arrival of asylum seekers (Philips, 2015). It was not until 1992 where Australia enacted the obligatory detaining policy of asylum seekers who entered via boat without a legally binding visa (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2004). The establishment of Temporary Protection Visas (TPV) for individuals who were refugees and who could acquire Australia’s refugee protection measures happened under the Coalition government too.

Results

Conclusion