Female Asylum Seekers Research Articles

Dance/Movement therapy and resilience building with female asylum seekers and refugees

This phenomenological study aims to better understand the applicability of Dance/Movement therapy for traumatised women asylum seekers and refugees. It explores if and how bodily engagement could support an existing resilience based treatment model employed at a centre for transcultural psychiatry i

Violencia de género y vulnerabilidad: Estrategias locales para reclamar los derechos de la mujer en México

Este texto aborda las estrategias de protección de las mujeres en riesgo de sufrir violencia, realizadas por órganos y organizaciones de derechos humanos en México. Se centra en las diferentes formas de violencia y vulnerabilidad interseccionales y acumulativas contra las mujeres y las niñas, incluso de tipo económico e institucional. Se explora cómo tales mecanismos, basados en la comprensión nacional y local del derecho internacional de los derechos humanos, pueden abordar mejor las vulnerabilidades estructurales sufridas por las mujeres frente a diferentes categorías de riesgo, como las solicitantes de asilo, las migrantes indocumentadas y las refugiadas.

Needs of a Silent Minority: Mexican Transgender Asylum Seekers.

Mexican male to female transgender asylum seekers in the United States suffer from serious health issues that can be attributed to stressors related to their transgender, ethnic minority, and socioeconomic status. This study explored these stressors, the resulting health issues, and the needs of this particularly vulnerable population. Asylum seekers' (n = 45) sworn declarations and psychological evaluations were examined by a multidisciplinary research team using a systematic document review process. The review identified stressors that occurred both in Mexico and the United States: verbal, physical, and sexual assaults; unstable environments; fear for safety/security; hiding undocumented status; and economic insecurity. The health issues that resulted in part from these stressors include posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, sleep issues, isolation, avoidance, drug/alcohol use, and suicidal tendencies. Despite suffering from multiple health issues, asylum seekers rarely sought health or social services. Health promotion practitioners can play an important role in serving this silent minority by (1) expanding community-based research focused on the intersection of transgender, ethnic minority, and socioeconomic status; (2) using trusted community members to connect this population to necessary resources; (3) providing communication training/resource development for health care providers; and (4) creating a network of service organizations that understand the needs of transgender asylum seekers.

Demographic characteristics of survivors of torture presenting for treatment to a national centre for survivors of torture in Ireland (2001-2012).

The asylum process has received a lot of recent media attention but little has been said about the psychological needs of those seeking or granted asylum. Many asylum seekers have experienced trauma and torture, which is associated with substantial psychiatric and psychological morbidity. The Spiritan Asylum Services Initiative (Spirasi) is Ireland's national treatment centre for survivors of torture. The aim of this study was to examine the demographic profile of those attending Spirasi and to consider potential clinical implications of this. We retrospectively analysed demographic data relating to the 2590 individuals who attended Spirasi over a 12-year period (2001-2012 inclusive). The majority of attenders were asylum seekers (88%), male (71%) and from African countries. The mean age was 31.9 years. The rate of new referrals, as a percentage of Ireland's asylum-seeking population, has stabilised at ~6% since 2008. Women are underrepresented among those who attend. The number of new referrals to Spirasi is lower than expected given international estimates of torture prevalence and the impact this has on mental health. Clinicians working with populations of asylum seekers and refugees should sensitively enquire about such events and be aware of the available services. Female refugees and asylum seekers are underrepresented, especially from Asian and Middle Eastern regions. Psychiatric, psychological and general practice services need to respond flexibly to evolving patterns of migration and address potential barriers to access, especially among female refugees and asylum seekers.

A cross-sectional survey on gender-based violence and mental health among female urban refugees and asylum seekers in Kampala, Uganda

ObjectiveTo assess gender-based violence and mental health outcomes among a population of female urban refugees and asylum seekers. MethodsIn a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study conducted in 2010 in Kampala, Uganda, a study team interviewed a stratified random sample of female refugees and asylum seekers aged 15–59years from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia. Questionnaires were used to collect information about recent and lifetime exposure to sexual and physical violence, and symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ResultsAmong the 500 women selected, 117 (23.4%) completed interviews. The weighted lifetime prevalences of experiencing any (physical and/or sexual) violence, physical violence, and sexual violence were 77.5% (95% CI 66.6–88.4), 76.2% (95% CI 65.2–87.2), and 63.3% (95% CI 51.2–75.4), respectively. Lifetime history of physical violence was associated with PTSD symptoms (P<0.001), as was lifetime history of sexual violence (P=0.014). Overall, 112 women had symptoms of depression (weighted prevalence 92.0; 95% CI 83.9–100) and 83 had PTSD symptoms (weighted prevalence 71.1; 95% CI 59.9–82.4). ConclusionPrevalences of violence, depression, and PTSD symptoms among female urban refugees in Kampala are high. Additional services and increased availability of psychosocial programs for refugees are needed.

The experiences and perceptions of family planning of female Chinese asylum seekers living in the UK

IntroductionChinese family planning policy is unique. There is limited sex education and the state is highly influential. This has resulted in extremely wide coverage of contraception with long-acting methods being...

Reason to disbelieve: evaluating the rape claims of women seeking asylum in the UK

AbstractAsylum applicants in the UK must show, to a ‘reasonable degree of likelihood’, a well-founded fear of persecution, on the basis of race, religion, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, in the event of return ‘home’. This requirement presents myriad challenges both to claimants and decision-makers. Based on findings from a three-year national study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, this paper explores those challenges as they relate to women seeking asylum in the UK whose applications include an allegation of rape. The study explored the extent to which difficulties relating to disclosure and credibility, which are well documented in the context of women's sexual assault allegations in the criminal justice system, might be replicated and compounded for female asylum-seekers whose applications include a claim of rape. Findings suggest that the structural and practical obstacles faced in establishing credibility, and the existence of scepticism about rape claims and asylum-seeking more generally, mean that decision-making can often be experienced as arbitrary, unjust, uninformed or contradictory, making it difficult for women asylum applicants who allege rape to find refuge in the UK.

日本における難民女性のリプロダクティブヘルスの現状

目 的 日本に在住する難民女性への支援の向上を目指し，難民女性のリプロダクティブヘルスの現状や課題を明らかにすることである。対象と方法 日本に在住する難民，難民認定申請者で，成人女性，出産可能年齢（15～49歳）7名とした。研究協力者の母語に堪能な通訳者を介し，半構成的インタビュー法で面接を行い，質的記述的研究方法により分析を行った。結 果 難民女性は【困難な状況が複合化している存在】であり，【行き（生き）場がない，ここしかない】という社会的，心理的状況であった。そのため【孤独】を感じ，【信仰だけが与える安寧】に依存しながら生活していた。リプロダクティブヘルスの実状としては，難民女性は出身国の情勢や経済的な理由から，そもそも【もともと無いリプロダクティブヘルス・ライツ】といった状況にあった。来日後は【寂しさが誘起する安易な性行動】から知り合ったばかりの人との性行為に至り，結果【シングルマザー】となっている女性が多かった。生活が困窮していても【信仰を基盤とした妊娠継続の意思決定】をし，【心の拠りどころは子ども】となって，強い孤独感の中で喜びを感じていた。しかし，妊娠期を健康的に過ごすための経済基盤の脆弱性や，医療者とのコミュニケーションの難しさから，【母児の困難な健康維持】という状況にあった。難民女性のリプロダクティブヘルス・ライツを向上させるために，まずは【偏見なくひとりひとりと向き合う】，【それぞれの持つ背景を知る】ことが不可欠であり，健康状態が深刻化していても【帰国を勧めない】こと，また【確実な情報提供】をすることも重要であった。結 論 難民女性は，ひとりという孤独感と難民への関心が薄い社会での疎外感から，壮絶な寂しさの中にいた。心理，経済，教育など複数の課題が混在し，自国においても日本においても難民女性のリプロダクティブヘルス・ライツは脆弱であった。ケアの方略は，まずは医療者が難民女性を理解する努力をすることであり，対象の背景を知ろうとする姿勢を持つ重要性が示唆された。

Producing victim identities: female genital mutilation and the politics of asylum claims in the United Kingdom

Drawing on research with Gambian female asylum seekers in London, who are claiming asylum on the basis of the threat of forced female genital mutilation, this article examines their narratives of self-production in the asylum claims process. Refuting representations of asylum seekers as victims of such a process we argue that they must be seen as partly complicit in the production of a victim identity, as they assume the identity of victim to verify and strengthen their narratives. By focusing on the production of victim identities, we seek to problematise Western liberal notions of agency. We argue that recognition of a claim entails the representation of the claimant as victim of a ‘backward’ practice and patriarchal society, thereby feeding into Western feminist accounts of oppressed ‘third world’ women. It is within these ‘historically specific relations of subordination’ that female asylum seekers exercise their agency.

De-ethnicized victims: Mediatized advocacy for asylum seekers

This article analyzes the framing of asylum seekers in the context of mediatized sanctuary policy and pro-asylum activism in Finland. In 2007, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, together with secular activist groups, successfully campaigned against the deportation of three female asylum seekers. In a textual analysis of the three categories of mediated communication, three approaches to framing analysis are used: the social movement approach, the coverage studies approach, and the framing effects approach (Scheufele and Scheufele, 2010: 111–112). In addition to a constructivist and qualitative line of frame analysis, framing of asylum seekers is studied in the light of Luc Boltanski’s (1999) concept of the communitarian figure. The article examines how framings in and around journalism construct such representative figures (‘others’), who qualify for ‘our’ support. The article concludes that the engagement of the Church raised the issue of asylum seekers to the journalistic agenda; however, socially and politically challenging debate did not fully develop. News coverage used practices of cultural proximity and presented particular asylum seekers as suitable victims, un-marking their difference through de-ethnicizing and de-muslimizing them.

'Hearing the Right Gaps': Enabling and Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence within the UK Asylum Process

The barriers that prevent or delay female victims of sexual assault from disclosing to criminal justice authorities, and the obstacles that often disincline professional and lay decision-makers from finding such narratives credible have been well documented. This article explores the extent to which such difficulties may be replicated, and compounded, in the case of female asylum-seekers; it will examine the complex ways in which the structure and processes, as well as the heavily politicized context, of asylum decision-making may contribute towards a silencing of sexual assault narratives. The article will explore the ways in which the intersection of race, ethnicity, gender, culture, religion, language and nationality present distinct challenges to women asylum applicants for whom an alleged rape is a part of their claim, and reflect on some of the difficulties which this presents in terms of assessing the credibility of sexual assault allegations, and of the overall asylum claim.

‘Hearing the Right Gaps’

The barriers that prevent or delay female victims of sexual assault from disclosing to criminal justice authorities, and the obstacles that often disincline professional and lay decision-makers from finding such narratives credible, have been well documented. This article explores the extent to which such difficulties may be replicated, and compounded, in the case of female asylum-seekers; it will examine the complex ways in which the structure and processes, as well as the heavily politicised context, of asylum decision-making may contribute towards a silencing of sexual assault narratives. The article will explore the ways in which the intersection of race, ethnicity, gender, culture, religion, language and nationality present distinct challenges to women asylum applicants for whom an alleged rape is a part of their claim, and reflect on some of the difficulties this presents in terms of assessing the credibility of sexual assault allegations, and of the overall asylum claim.

Addressing the ‘Citizenship Assumption’ in Critical Pedagogy: Exploring the Case of Rejected Female Sub-Saharan African Asylum Seekers in Malta

The degree to which an individual can or cannot confront domination is determined by his or her place within the social relations of production, the hegemony of ideological beliefs, including patriarchy and other cultural constructions, and institutional rules, regulations, and practices. These interactions are also shaped by the ways in which members of specific social groups understand, perceive, and act in, through, and on, their reality. This article considers the Maltese context, and the case of sub-Saharan African (SSA) female asylum seekers whose request for asylum has been rejected. The article aims to provoke a critical re-evaluation of the adult education and critical pedagogy literature, and calls for an epistemological shift in the way we theorise the non-citizen within the nation state. The article argues that the ‘rejected’ status limits the possibilities to speak unto power and to mobilise for transformative change. It concludes that a ‘statist’ hegemony is ubiquitous within critical pedagogy literature, wherein ‘citizenship’ is assumed.

Suicide death and hospital-treated suicidal behaviour in asylum seekers in the Netherlands: a national registry-based study.

BackgroundSeveral suicide and suicidal behaviour risk factors are highly prevalent in asylum seekers, but there is little insight into the suicide death rate and the suicidal behaviour incidence in this population. The main objective of this study is to assess the burden of suicide and hospital-treated non-fatal suicidal behaviour in asylum seekers in the Netherlands and to identify factors that could guide prevention.MethodsWe obtained data on cases of suicide and suicidal behaviour from all asylum seeker reception centres in the Netherlands (period 2002-2007, age 15+). The suicide death rates in this population and in subgroups by sex, age and region of origin were compared with the rate in the Dutch population; the rates of hospital-treated suicidal behaviour were compared with that in the population of The Hague using indirect age group standardization.ResultsThe study included 35 suicide deaths and 290 cases of hospital-treated suicidal behaviour. The suicide death rate and the incidence of hospital-treated suicidal behaviour differed between subgroups by sex and region of origin. For male asylum seekers, the suicide death rate was higher than that of the Dutch population (N = 32; RR = 2.0, 95%CI 1.37-2.83). No difference was found between suicide mortality in female asylum seekers and in the female general population of the Netherlands (N = 3; RR = 0.73; 95%CI 0.15-2.07). The incidence of hospital-treated suicidal behaviour was high in comparison with the population of The Hague for males and females from Europe and the Middle East/South West Asia, and low for males and females from Africa. Health professionals knew about mental health problems prior to the suicidal behaviour for 80% of the hospital-treated suicidal behaviour cases in asylum seekers.ConclusionsIn this study the suicide death rate was higher in male asylum seekers than in males in the reference population. The incidence of hospital-treated suicidal behaviour was higher in several subgroups of asylum seekers than that in the reference population. We conclude that measures to prevent suicide and suicidal behaviour among asylum seekers in the Netherlands are indicated.

Reproductive health care for asylum-seeking women - a challenge for health professionals.

BackgroundDealing with pregnancy, childbirth and the care of newborn babies is a challenge for female asylum seekers and their health care providers. The aim of our study was to identify reproductive health issues in a population of women seeking asylum in Switzerland, and to examine the care they received. The women were insured through a special Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO) and were attending the Women's Clinic of the University Hospital in Basel. We also investigated how the health professionals involved perceived the experience of providing health care for these patients.MethodsA mixed methods approach combined the analysis of quantitative descriptive data and qualitative data obtained from semi-structured interviews with health care providers and from patients' files. We analysed the records of 80 asylum-seeking patients attending the Women's Clinic insured through an HMO. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 care providers from different professional groups. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively. Qualitative data analysis was guided by Grounded Theory.ResultsThe principal health problems among the asylum seekers were a high rate of induced abortions (2.5 times higher than in the local population), due to inadequate contraception, and psychosocial stress due to the experience of forced migration and their current difficult life situation. The language barriers were identified as a major difficulty for health professionals in providing care. Health care providers also faced major emotional challenges when taking care of asylum seekers. Additional problems for physicians were that they were often required to act in an official capacity on behalf of the authorities in charge of the asylum process, and they also had to make decisions about controlling expenditure to fulfil the requirements of the HMO. They felt that these decisions sometimes conflicted with their duty towards the patient.ConclusionHealth policies for asylum seekers need to be designed to assure access to adequate contraception, and to provide psychological care for this vulnerable group of patients. Care for asylum seekers may be emotionally very challenging for health professionals.

Protecting Women Asylum Seekers and Refugees: From International Norms to National Protection?

AbstractLittle attention is paid in most national asylum policies and legislation to the specific position of female asylum seekers, and to gendered aspects of refugee and asylum situations. Further, even in those countries that have adopted asylum legislation to specifically address the question of women asylum seekers and victims of gender specific persecution, problems still remain in the implementation of these policies and in the full recognition of persecutions specific to women. Whilst the issue of protection of women victims of this type of violence have been put on the international agenda, at least to some extent, through directives on the defence of women’s human rights and on the protection of female refugees and asylum seekers, the international norms which have thus been created have been implemented unevenly and unequally in different national contexts. This article seeks to analyse the extent to which national asylum legislation and policies have integrated a concern with the protection of women victims of gender specific forms of persecution, and how effective this implementation has been. The article will engage critically with existing accounts of global norm creation to examine the uneven diffusion and implementation of norms on the protection of female refugees, pointing to the importance of discursive opportunity structures open to actors in mobilising around these issues at local and national levels. It will also argue that even where policies and legislation dealing specifically with women refugees and asylum seekers do exist, they may not actually address some of the important insecurities facing these women because of an approach that does not fully comprehend and act upon gendered structures and relations of power.

Induced abortions and teenage births among asylum seekers in The Netherlands: analysis of national surveillance data

Background:Asylum seekers are assumed to be a vulnerable group with respect to sexual and reproductive health. The objective of this study was to quantify induced abortion and teenage birth indicators...

Exploring maternity care for asylum seekers and refugees

The aim of this study was to explore and synthesize the experience of maternity care by female asylum seekers and refugees. The approach was a longitudinal exploratory multiple case study that used a series of interviews, photographs taken by the women, field notes and observational methods to contextualize data obtained during 2002 and 2003. Data was collected in the women's home and a hospital trust. Four women agreed to participate, three women were asylum seekers and one woman was a refugee. Three key themes were generated: the perception of ‘self’ understanding in practice, and the influence of social policy. The women perceived ‘self’ as a response to social interaction. At times, ‘taken for granted’ communication in practice created a barrier to understanding for the women. Social policy related to seeking asylum, dispersement, housing and health directly affecting the lives and subsequent maternity experiences of the women. The theory of symbolic interactionism and transformational educational theory was applied to the findings, highlighting that self-awareness is of paramount importance in care delivery. The strength and resilience of migrating women is acknowledged and should be used as a starting point to develop partnerships in care and to build the woman's self-esteem during their maternity experiences.

Women’s Right to Asylum: Protecting the Rights of Female Asylum Seekers in Europe?

Criticisms have been made against international laws and conventions on asylum and refugees, arguing that these have been based on a male model of definition, which have ignored women’s persecutions. This article will argue that recent developments in European asylum policy have the potential to deepen this discrimination and to further reduce the rights of female asylum seekers. Although there have been some positive developments in jurisprudence that have recognised that gender-specific persecution may be the basis for granting asylum, these advances remain relatively sporadic and are undermined by the operation of random and discretionary exercises of power by bureaucrats and decision makers in many cases. Further, although new developments in asylum policy are in theory “gender neutral,” differences in the material circumstances of men and women who arrive to seek asylum may mean in effect that the implications of these policies are deeply gendered.

Violent deliberate self-harm amongst adolescent refugees

Investigation of frequency and characteristics of violent deliberate self-harm (DSH) amongst adolescents. Study was retrospective, over 3-year period, based on records of attendees at child and adolescent mental health clinics in North West London. Nine adolescents showed violent self-harm out of 982 DSH cases (frequency 0.92%). The nine cases included five female asylum seekers, who experienced war related events, were significantly more likely to have affective disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared with the four males (none asylum seekers), who were significantly more likely to have conduct and substance misuse disorders.