Asylum Seekers In Australia Research Articles

Understanding oral health help-seeking among Middle Eastern refugees and asylum seekers in Australia: An exploratory study.

Andersen's behavioural model of healthcare utilization is one of the most commonly used frameworks for help-seeking across a broad range of health areas, including oral health. The Model has been used in a wide range of previous studies to explore and understand oral health service use among both general populations and ethnic minorities. However, no research has explored its utility in understanding refugees' and asylum seekers' oral health help-seeking. As such, this study aimed to improve understanding of Middle Eastern refugees' and asylum seekers' oral health help-seeking and to determine the utility of Andersen's Model in this context. Interviews were conducted with 26 participants: 20 refugees and asylum seekers, and six oral health practitioners. Results were analysed using thematic analysis. The results indicated that systemic barriers were of particular concern for refugees and asylum seekers in relation to oral healthcare access. Other components supported previous research concerning the domains of the Model, with additions in relation to acculturation and previous experiences of dental care either in home or resettlement contexts. Overall, this study highlights the need for a tailored approach to understanding oral health help-seeking for refugees and asylum seekers, who have particular dental care needs. Resettlement policies should consider system-level barriers to accessing dental services when considering access to health services more generally for refugees and asylum seekers.

Life Writing When the World is Burning: The Year in Australia

Life Writing When the World is BurningThe Year in Australia Kylie Cardell (bio) It is no surprise that in Australia this year a great deal of life writing has continued to emerge in conjunction with pressing social and political issues. The ongoing national crises of refugee and asylum seeker policy, gendered abuse, and racial discrimination continue to surface in both political and literary arenas, while unprecedented bushfires have decimated the country, bringing climate change back onto the public agenda with new fury. The right of individuals to live with dignity, in safety, and free from fear—and the ongoing challenges to these rights suffered in public and domestic domains—is a connecting thread across the year's life writing and a theme the genre is uniquely equipped to amplify. Writing Asylum In Australia, one of the most volatile issues for representation has been, for a number of years now, in relation to the experiences and lives of refugees who arrive (or attempt to arrive) in Australia by boat. In 2013, the Kurdish journalist and artist Behrouz Boochani was one of sixty asylum seekers intercepted by Australian authorities on a boat that had left from Indonesia. Between 2013 and 2017, Boochani was forcibly detained at the Australian-run Manus Island immigration detention center in Papua New Guinea (PNG), a facility that closed suddenly (and violently) in 2017 causing displacement and statelessness for hundreds of "unprocessed" detainees. In detainment and exile, Boochani has produced a remarkable body of testimony, including a documentary film and a series of diary-essays for mainstream news media. Boochani's memoir No Friend but the Mountains (2018), written from the Manus camp on a cell phone and delivered over WhatsApp to collaborators in Australia, was awarded in 2019 the Victorian Prize for Literature, Australia's richest literary prize (Wahlquist). Boochani was not permitted to attend the ceremony, a gala event held in Melbourne. When testimony turns to memoir, it takes the form of a prestigious literary product. No longer a [End Page 1] digital stream of text and images but a hardcover, prize-winning book, the account claims coveted territory in the Australian literary sphere—but the author is yet to set foot on the Australian mainland. In No Friend, Boochani testifies in lyrical, shocking detail to the lack of safety and the ongoingness of daily struggle that characterize life in the detention facility—this is "prison literature" and strategic activism, poetry and diary, memoir and novel. His story does work his body cannot; it circulates in the Australian public sphere, raising awareness, encouraging activism, and speaking on behalf of refugees. What the memoir might achieve in terms of legal rights for asylum seekers in Australia remains to be seen, but it is hopeful that No Friend has won such a significant prize this year. Writing Domestic Abuse In her memoir Fake: A Startling True Story of Love in a World of Liars, Cheats, Narcissists, Fantasists and Phonies (2019), Stephanie Wood uses life writing to work through an individual experience to achieve both emotional catharsis and visibility for widespread issues of gendered emotional abuse. Stephanie is a successful journalist writing for some of the country's top mainstream media publications when she meets a man named Joe through an online dating service. Newly forty, childless, and a long-term romantic who has nurtured a dream of "the one," Stephanie is also at an emotional nadir. The tension in Wood's story is built on disbelief: the reader can't believe Stephanie is falling for the increasingly implausible stories that Joe is crafting—he explains away a nonexistent house, denies a very much existing wife and children—and Stephanie doesn't believe in herself. Her inner monologue is relentless; she is too needy, too anxious, too untrusting, too possessive. By the time Stephanie manages to end the relationship, she has spiraled into a deep depression. Her recovery involves rediscovering her journalistic power: she teams up with a female colleague, she tracks land records and bankruptcy deeds, and she interviews the "other woman," an ex-partner who Joe was dating at the same time. She consults psychoanalysts about whether or not Joe's behavior might qualify as psychopathic...

Resistance to the dehumanisation of asylum seekers in Australia’s mediated public sphere: an audience perspective

Media narratives that dehumanise asylum seekers have tremendous power to shape and reinforce public support for policies that jeopardise the well-being of some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Research suggests that such dehumanisation is exacerbated by the limited opportunities these groups have to contribute to media coverage about their experiences. In response, scholars have advocated for more inclusion of asylum seekers’ voices in news coverage; however, little is known about how Australian media audiences are engaging with this issue. This article discusses research utilising Critical Discourse Analysis alongside a cultural studies Audience Reception framework to examine the perspectives of 24 Western Australians concerning news discourses about asylum seekers. Resistance to dehumanising constructions was a recurring theme, with many participants arguing for greater inclusion of asylum seekers voices’ in news depictions of their plight. These findings suggest that some audiences are challenging and resisting dehumanising discourses about asylum seekers and in some cases, demonstrating awareness of Australian media’s evident exclusion of their voices. Examined through Judith Butler’s social ethics lens, we consider these findings in the light of positions that advocate for the provision of voice as a means to a more ethical and inclusive Australian media.

Experiences of homelessness by people seeking asylum in Australia: A review of published and “grey” literature

AbstractThis review examines the current published and “grey” literature relating to the experiences of homelessness by people seeking asylum within Australia. While many people seeking asylum have experienced homelessness during their flight, inadequate and unaffordable housing are a feature of the settlement experience for a large number of new arrivals to Australia, putting at risk their successful settlement. This study aims to explore the factors influencing access to stable housing. A systematic review of the academic literature and a search of the grey literature identified 11 articles and 20 documents related to homelessness and people seeking asylum in Australia. The academic literature included a variety of methods and approaches to the investigation of the experience of homelessness in Australia. The grey literature was more practice based, including evaluation and research reports, submissions, and newsletters. Findings suggest that experiences of homelessness are multifaceted and have a range of influences, including policy, financial stress, lack of access to education and employment, and a lack of affordable and suitable housing. Any solutions to address homelessness need to be similarly diverse. Discrimination from real estate agents and employers was also identified as a barrier to housing for many people seeking asylum, an issue that will need to be addressed at a systematic level. The lack of research published in the academic literature means that although there may be some programmes or solutions operating in the community, as demonstrated in the grey literature, this information is not being shared beyond organisation websites or subscriber lists, resulting in a lack of coherency or sharing of solutions. This review highlights the need for further attention to the factors influencing homelessness in asylum seekers, the experience of homelessness, and how these can be addressed by government and non‐government led strategies and policy development.

The People’s Inquiry into Detention: Social work activism for asylum seeker rights

In 2008, findings from the People’s Inquiry into Detention were published as Human Rights Overboard: Seeking Asylum in Australia. The People’s Inquiry, led by social work academics in Australia, exposed injustices within Australia’s privatised detention network for asylum seekers and interrogated policies and practices that ensued since mandatory immigration detention was introduced by legislation in 1992. With reference to the global context, the article presents a snapshot of policies and practices revealed by the People’s Inquiry that were considered antithetical to human rights and discusses this extensive undertaking within a broader context of asylum seeker social movements and professional advocacy endeavours that continue as harsh policies escalate. The article speaks to the resilience of the asylum seeker movement, often against the odds, a movement that includes responsive and tenacious professional groups.

The role of critical social work education in improving ethical practice with refugees and asylum seekers

ABSTRACTThis paper uses critical reflection as its primary methodology to research one Master of Social Work student’s former practice experiences as an Australian immigration officer. The paper contextualizes the study by offering a critical analysis of hegemonic constructions of asylum seekers in Australia, which are reflected in Australian law and policy, as well as potentially influencing social work practice. Critical reflection on one of the author’s practice provides a rich case study that reveals the tensions of government-employed social workers in restrictive environments, and the espoused social justice values of the profession. The findings hold implications for both social work education and practice, suggesting that critical social work education, and in particular, the use of critical analysis and reflection, can improve ethical practice with refugees and asylum seekers.

A Qualitative Exploration of the Tertiary Education Experiences of Refugee and Asylum Seekers in Australia

The world currently has the highest documented level of displaced people in recorded history. This includes a large number of individuals who are spending their youth as asylum seekers or refugees, which often impedes their access to and engagement with educational pursuits. Given that education has been shown to be a fundamental factor to facilitative resettlement and acculturation for newly-arrived refugee families and individuals, continued research attempting to understand the barriers to accessing education is warranted. This study qualitatively examines the educational experiences (with a focus on access to education) of 10 refugee and asylum-seeking students in Australian tertiary education using thematic analysis on semi-structured interview data. Six themes were identified from the interviews as barriers to or facilitators in accessing education. These are: relationships, emotional well-being, logistics, knowledge, instability, and financial hardship. The findings from this study add to a limited empirical knowledge base on this topic, and improve our understanding of the experiences of accessing education for students with refugee backgrounds. This is discussed in relation to its implications for institutes and policy makers.

Drowning In Neoliberal Lies: State Responses Towards People Seeking Asylum

AbstractThis article argues that further enhancement of critical social work education and practice is needed to counter politicised and restrictive policies towards people seeking asylum in advanced globalised market economies. This means social workers giving more emphasis and prominence to the role of neoliberalism rather than solely focusing on the adverse moral and mental health impacts of state responses. Drawing on current debates and practices within critical social work and seven years’ experience in the Australian refugee sector, this article will demonstrate the punitive and deterrent configurations adopted by states like Australia to respond to people seeking asylum. The article then highlights the importance of social workers critically analysing historicised discourses which normalise such people as ‘dangerous’, ‘illegitimate’, ‘othered’ and a ‘burden’. Further interrogation of the social and cultural logic(s) of neoliberalism which serve to justify the former discourses will also be included. Finally, reflections on a range of strategies and solutions will be presented for critical social work educators and practitioners to resist and subvert neoliberalism and to secure better outcomes for people seeking asylum in Australia and elsewhere.

Friend or Foe: An Analysis of the Contribution National Identity Hegemony Plays in the Acceptance of Asylum Seekers in Australia, Spain and Catalonia

Friend or Foe: An Analysis of the Contribution National Identity Hegemony Plays in the Acceptance of Asylum Seekers in Australia, Spain and Catalonia

‘Humanitarian borderwork’: Identifying tensions between humanitarianism and securitization for government contracted NGOs working with adult and unaccompanied minor asylum seekers in Australia

This article challenges the common assumption that non-government organizations (NGOs) are ‘natural allies’ to asylum seekers in transforming borders from below by examining theories of humanitarianism within the context of securitization. Our article examines the theoretical and policy implications of the ‘humanitarian borderwork’ of NGOs, defined as practices that contain a security logic that construct, shift and erase internal and external borders. Our case study explores the involvement of government contracted NGOs in the delivery of services to adult and unaccompanied minor asylum seekers on the community detention and release programme in Australia. Documentary analysis of policy and contractual arrangements informing the establishment of community detention and release is supplemented by key informant interviews with government officials and service providers. We analyse the contradictory tensions that exist between humanitarian objectives that seek to ‘transform borders from below’ and governmental security imperatives that tend to co-opt agencies and limit their ability to achieve humanitarian aims. Based on the case study presented, we illustrate how the ‘humanitarian borderwork’ of NGOs can shape the translation of government power and contribute to the government agenda of border securitization.

Transgressing borders with participatory video technologies: Reflections on creative knowledge production with asylum seekers in Australia

Abstract In this article we ask: how might the significant turn towards creative modes of knowledge production bring together researchers, participants and audiences to disrupt bordering technologies that dehumanise asylum seekers? We focus on videos taken by asylum seekers in Darwin who express their everyday experiences of encountering and transgressing borders. As researchers, we use experimental editing techniques to make these transgressions visible in a society with a white majority culture. We argue, however, that these video techniques often work to privilege our creative agency as researchers, even though the aim is to illuminate different temporalities and visualities of the global refugee crisis. This article problematises this agency and attends to ethical dilemmas by revisiting the juxtapositions, montages, fades, distortions and vortexes we use to centre asylum seeker lives. These visual techniques are an attempt to respond to xenophobic nationalism and racially discriminatory immigration policies through forms of digital activism that transgress standard ‘borders’ of representation and the self/other borders of public debates. In our demand for social and cultural justice, we are inspired by work that uses the affordances of digital technologies to dismantle the rigidity of sovereign borders.

The Asylum Seeker Integrated Healthcare Pathway: a collaborative approach to improving access to primary health care in South Eastern Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

It is important to address the health needs of asylum seekers within the early stages of their arrival in Australia, as this impacts all aspects of their resettlement. However, asylum seekers face a range of barriers to accessing timely and appropriate health care in the community. In 2012, the increasing number of asylum seekers in Australia placed additional demand on health and social services in high-settlement regions. Health providers experienced a substantial increase in Medicare ineligible clients and avoidable presentations to Emergency Departments, and the health needs of new asylum seeker arrivals were not being fully addressed. In response, South Eastern Melbourne Medicare Local, Monash Health, the Australian Red Cross and local settlement support agencies collaborated to develop an integrated healthcare pathway in South Eastern Melbourne to facilitate healthcare access for asylum seekers released from detention. From September 2012 to December 2014, a total of 951 asylum seekers transitioned through the pathway. Seventy-eight percent required primary healthcare assistance, and were provided with a service appointment within 3 weeks of their arrival in Melbourne. This initiative has demonstrated the value of partnership and collaboration when responding to emergent asylum seeker health needs.

From state-centric to transversal borders: Resisting the ‘structurally embedded border’ in Australia

In this article, I present new research that extends our understanding of the ‘structurally embedded border’ by identifying acts of resistance to restrictive federal policies perpetrated by providers of health and education services for asylum seekers in Australia. Situating the analysis within the theorization of borders, rather than the politics of resistance, reveals that opportunities for resistance are inherent within borders themselves, and arise from their performative and contested nature. Efforts to ‘fill gaps’ in service provision undermine federal policies aimed at attrition; while avoiding incorporation into networks of information exchange thwarts the expansion of the federal surveillance apparatus. While the transformative impact of these efforts appears to be dwarfed by the massive in/exclusionary powers of the federal state, these multiple acts of resistance create transversal borders of their own that in small, often temporary, and yet significant, ways begin to redraw the boundaries of inclusion from within.

Protecting Vulnerable Refugees: Procedural Fairness in the Australian Fast Track Regime

Refugee Status Determination is a powerful example of the way in which vulnerability and the law interact. This article examines this interaction by analysing a case study: the special protection visa application procedure in place for certain asylum seekers in Australia (the ‘Fast Track Assessment’ process) and the implications of this for procedural fairness. We conclude that the current legislative framework for the Fast Track Assessment process operates to exacerbate the circumstances of vulnerability of asylum seekers. Efficiency measures are an important way of avoiding delays in decision-making. However it also increases the propensity of such measures to lead to serious legal errors. Considering the serious consequences of an improperly made decision in this context, we argue that high standards of procedural fairness and an oral hearing are required. The article also demonstrates that a central purpose of due process should be to mitigate (rather than exacerbate) circumstances of vulnerability or marginalisation.

Social inclusion, and the power of being ‘seen’ and ‘heard’ in 2018

Whose experiences, lives and values do we have most access to, and whose voices end up being heard or privileged? What does ‘visibility’ really mean in a world with a 24-hour media cycle, the opening up and democratisation of participatory models fuelled by social media, and increasing opportunities for direct representation which bypass traditional gatekeepers of information dissemination? From the protest at this year’s World Cup final carried out by Russian feminist musicians and activist group Pussy Riot, to the Black Lives Matter movement, and the increasing popular resistance to the detention of asylum seekers in Australia, we see increasing examples of the lived experiences of those kept ‘out of view’.

Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Towards Asylum Seekers in Australia: Demographic and Ideological Correlates

ObjectiveAttitudes toward asylum seekers that have been reported in Australia are negative and pervasive. To date, this body of literature has explored only measured explicit responses. This article is the first to explore their implicit counterpart.MethodTwo cross‐sectional studies measured explicit and implicit attitudes towards asylum seekers. The first study used a community sample (N = 183, Mage = 24.98-years, 115 females), and the second used a sample of students (N = 106, Mage = 22.75-years, 87 female). The sample in Study 2 also responded to scales measuring levels of ideological orientations toward social dominance orientation (SDO), right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA), and principle of social justice.ResultsIn Study 1, an exploration of demographic variables revealed that gender predicted explicit attitudes, but gender and religious affiliation predicted implicit attitudes. In Study 2, an exploration of ideological variables revealed that higher levels of SDO and RWA predict negative explicit attitudes, and macrojustice principles predict positive explicit attitudes, but only SDO predicts (negative) implicit attitudes.ConclusionsThe evidence presented reveals some discrepancies between factors that predict explicit and implicit attitudes toward this socially vulnerable group, and the findings are interpreted as evidence for a dual‐construct model of attitudes toward asylum seekers.

Australian asylum discourses permeating therapeutic work with asylum seekers: A thematic analysis of specialist practitioners’ experiences

The current research analyses interviews that were conducted with nine specialist practitioners who worked with asylum seekers in Australia. It investigates the aspects in which the Australian asylum legislative framework impacts on therapeutic work with asylum seekers. Epistemologically, the research is grounded in a social constructionist theoretical foundation that is interested in unravelling how discourses and language construct psychological reality. The interviews were analysed by following thematic analysis. The findings of the study reveal that participants recognise that the political discourses on asylum are forcefully dominant and rigid and generate detrimental effects on asylum seekers’ mental health. Likewise, they demonstrate that political discourses inform the therapeutic relationship between practitioner and client in a negative fashion and often produce an experience of professional impotence for practitioners who work with this population.

Detention of Child Asylum Seekers in the Pursuit of State Interests: A Comparison of the Australian and EU Approaches

ABSTRACTThe widespread use of detention of asylum seekers as a form of controlling borders and migration is an acknowledged reality that carries a particular significance in cases where children are involved. Many studies provide evidence on the detrimental impact of detention, especially when this measure affects particularly vulnerable persons. This article is an inquiry into the detention of child asylum seekers in Australia and the European Union (EU). The right to liberty in the asylum context and the protection needs of children are addressed from a legal and policy perspective. The two examined situations display significant differences, yet many commonalities can also be traced in the increasingly restrictive approach to migration favoured by many states. This paper builds on existing arguments and evidence by demonstrating how detention of asylum seeking children has become a matter of policy rather than a measure of last resort, with children not seen first as children, but as detainable foreign subjects. Hence, this analysis questions the logic behind the capacity of states to detain children due to their migration status and identifies relevant protection gaps within the Australian and EU spheres.

Factors That Inhibit and Facilitate Wellbeing and Effectiveness in Counsellors Working With Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Australia

This study aimed to identify the factors that counsellors working with refugees and asylum seekers in Australia consider influence their wellbeing and effectiveness. Nine employees in counsellor roles were interviewed. Thematic analysis indicated that government policies and practices were the greatest challenge. Factors facilitating effectiveness and wellbeing included having clear values, being able to see results for the client, receiving organisational support, working in a positive organisational culture, and having the support of family and friends. Factors inhibiting wellbeing included personal pressure to exert change, counsellor experience, feeling alienated from the community, lack of supervision, unclear organisational guidelines, and organisational values not being upheld. Along with the reported negative impact, positive psychological transformation was also reported. Through reflection on their clients’ strengths and resilience, participants reported feeling inspired, with increased effectiveness and wellbeing rather than vicarious trauma. This research contributes to the discussion about the psychologically harmful effects of government refugee and asylum seeker policy on counsellors and their clients.

#LetThemStay: Visual representations of protests and community mobilization for asylum seekers in Australia

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