The medical profession must advocate for a humane response to asylum seekers
The debate around the best response to the global issue of asylum seekers and displaced persons (see glossary in the Box) continues to arouse strong feelings in Australia. Annually, there are about 80 000 resettlement places available around the world, and Australia currently accepts 13 500 refugees under humanitarian resettlement programs. In our region, thousands of assessed refugees wait in Indonesia and Malaysia for resettlement places. Half of asylum seekers are women and children, many of whom have experienced violence, abuse and sexual assault.1
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- 1. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR global trends 2011. Geneva: UNHCR, 2012. http://www.unhcr.org/4fd6f87f9.html (accessed Oct 2012).
- 2. Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Immigration detention statistics summary 30 September 2012. http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-australias-borders/detention/_pdf/immigration-detention-statistics-20120930.pdf (accessed Nov 2012).
- 3. Newman LK, Steel Z. The child asylum seeker: psychological and developmental impact of immigration detention. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am 2008; 17: 665-683.
- 4. Steel Z, Momartin S, Bateman C, et al. Psychiatric status of asylum seeker families held for a protracted period in a remote detention centre in Australia. Aust N Z J Public Health 2004; 28: 527-536.
- 5. Green JP, Eagar K. The health of people in Australian immigration detention centres. Med J Aust 2010; 192: 65-70. <MJA full text>
- 6. Steel Z, Mares S, Newman L, et al. The politics of asylum and immigration detention: advocacy, ethics, and the professional role of the therapist. In: Wilson JP, Drozdek B, editors. Broken spirits: the treatment of traumatized asylum seekers, refugees, and war and torture victims. New York: Brunner-Routledge, 2004: 659-688.
- 7. Steel Z, Bateman Steel CR, Silove D. Civilian populations affected by conflict and displacement. In: Dudley M, Silove D, Gale F, editors. Mental health and human rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012: 387-414.
- 8. Newman LK, Dudley M, Steel Z. Asylum, detention, and mental health in Australia. Refugee Survey Quarterly 2008; 27: 110-127.
I am a past Chair of the Detention Health Advisory Group.