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Queer asylum seekers and refugees (QASaR) are more likely to have poor mental health compared to non-QASaR. This paper examines key priority areas for refugee services to improve mental health outcomes of QASaR in Australia. The key priority areas were identified through a modified Delphi method (DM), comprised of two stages: a scoping review of literature and three rounds of consensus building process. In the second stage, twenty-one participants were involved, including QASaR, health/social care professionals, and people in policy/funding-related roles. Drawing on Farmer's understanding of structural violence, our consensus suggests QASaR's poor mental health is primarily produced by the asylum system, further exacerbated by the lack of safe queer-inclusive refugee services, and can be improved by supporting QASaR-led organizations. Greater investments in QASaR-led organizations and initiatives are needed to improve cultural safety of refugee services and achieve systemic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the tactical changes made by the asylum seeker community in Hong Kong in negotiating local refugee assistance policies and practices. The analysis presented in this paper is grounded in my ethnographic fieldwork with an asylum seeker-led organization and supplemented by archival study and informal interviews. In recent years, the asylum seeker community has adopted a pragmatic approach to advocacy, increasingly asking the local community for support in providing humanitarian aid rather than calling for changes to the assistance system, a tactic that this group used in the past. I argue that these tactical changes cannot be separated from the social and political contexts of Hong Kong. The presence of stimulating events, particularly those involving local and global refugee and migrant communities, the space available for voicing dissent, and the level of institutional responsiveness, all affect how the asylum seeker community in Hong Kong participates in policy discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the issue of trust, or mistrust, specifically in relation to single adult asylum seekers and asylum seeker families compulsorily dispersed across England. It draws upon doctoral research on the social exclusion of asylum seekers as a result of dispersal and their separation from mainstream welfare provision due to the creation of the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) following the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Trust is an ambiguous term and four forms of trust are delineated to assist conceptualizing the experience of forced migration: social, political, institutional and restorative trust. This paper provides an overview of the aims and each phase of the implementation of dispersal. It is argued that the dispersal system leaves little room for political or institutional trust to be restored and hinders the restoration of social trust. It is suggested that this lack of space for the restoration of trust has negative implications for the longer term resettlement process of asylum seekers who obtain refugee status. It is also suggested that trust is an essential component of UK government policies promoting social or community cohesion, community engagement and initiatives to combat trafficking, forced marriage and `honour' based violence and that mistrust of asylum seekers as a group directly contradicts such policies and initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critiques of humanitarianism have highlighted its conceptual ambiguity and its usefulness in justifying the exclusion, rather than inclusion, of refugees and asylum seekers. This facility for co-option can be traced to the tension between the opposing considerations of 'costs to self' versus 'duty to others' in liberal definitions of humanitarianism, and to the liberal binaries of reason versus emotion, moderation versus excess, and pragmatism versus idealism. Using discourse analysis, this paper explores how these binaries framed Australian political debates over asylum seeking, providing persuasive discursive resources for limiting humanitarian responsibilities for asylum seekers. The analysis demonstrates that the consideration of 'costs to self' is so flexible that these costs can be presented in such a way as to deny any humanitarian responsibility whatsoever. However, this paper also suggests that asylum seeker advocates' arguments may be strengthened by drawing upon these same frameworks of reason, moderation and practicality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of asylum requests in the Netherlands in 2015 was relatively high but comparable to 20 years ago. This article compares the social, political and cultural factors in mental health professionals' ethical dilemmas and reflections in both periods. The data consists of papers from an expert meeting in 1995 on Medical Ethical Standards in Mental Health Care for Refugees, and interviews and focus groups with health professionals on ethical dilemmas in mental health care for asylum seekers in 2015. Using a discursive approach to analyse the data, we found that, in 1995, as well as in 2015, the deliberations of mental health professionals reveal medical, social, cultural and judicial paradigms. In 2015, political factors tend to weigh more heavily than in 1995. We conclude that, in both periods, mental health professionals experience conflicts of values but the context of care for asylum seekers changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is an emerging body of research on children seeking asylum, the UK-based studies have to date been largely conducted in England. This paper presents the findings of qualitative research on the experiences of children seeking asylum in Wales, a nation within the UK whose National Assembly has devolved responsibility for social welfare and educational services. The research involved interviews and focus groups with children, relevant professionals and a small number of parents. The findings described in this paper relate to some aspects of the children's daily lives, their hopes and fears and their attitudes towards being dispersed to a strange and unknown country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Christmas Island is the site where Australia’s mandatory immigration detention policies are implemented. Protests by Christmas Islanders against the Australian government’s treatment of asylum seekers have surfaced since boatpeople began arriving in 1992 and reached a pinnacle during the Tampa affair. Based on interviews conducted in 2009 with island residents and archival material, the paper explores Christmas Islanders’ responses before and during the Tampa affair through the notion of hospitality that was disrupted when a state of emergency removed control of both ethical responsibility and island sovereignty. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Due to the Syrian civil war, millions of Syrians have fled the country since 2011. Several issues have inhibited their successful resettlement, but few studies have examined the development of the healthcare needs of Syrian forced migrants in Europe. This study examined Syrian forced migrants' healthcare needs in Switzerland, and whether migration type and family functioning affect their mental health. Our sample included 108 individuals from 14 families from the usual asylum process and 19 from the Swiss Resettlement Program (SRP). Each family member was surveyed thrice in 1 year. Several participants reported symptoms of major depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, their general mental health was similar to that of the Western populations. Swiss Resettlement Program participants reported higher overall mental health scores than non-SRP participants, while the two groups showed different progression over time. Children and fathers reported similar levels of mental health, whereas mothers' mental health scores worsened over time. Family functioning was important for mental health in both groups. Overall, considering the structural and family contexts is important when studying forced migrants' mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, human rights activists have documented the increase in refugee claims related to sexual orientation and gender identity. Refugee claims processes have been found to result in negative psychological consequences for claimants in general; however, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals have the added burden of ‘proving’ that they are members of a sexual or gender minority group. Despite this unique requirement, research on the psychological impact of the refugee claim for LGBT individuals is scarce. To investigate the issue, this grounded theory study explored the perspectives of 22 providers of services to LGBT forced migrants (attorneys, mental health providers and advocates), supplemented by interviews with seven LGBT forced migrants. The findings suggest that early disclosure of sexual violence, compressed timelines for filing a refugee claim and coming out before they are ready contribute to mental health crises and identity confusion for LGBT claimants. The discussion concludes with recommendations for policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consistent securitization of migration in Europe of the past decades has been consequential: one of its most visible aspects is currently displayed in the regulation of asylum in Europe. By constructing migrants as a physical and ontological threat, by redrawing borders as barriers against otherness, by reaffirming the identity-maintenance aspects of citizenship, the securitization of migration and the lumping of asylums together with migration in all key European Union regulatory moves has enabled the rationalization of protection from asylum seekers. This article takes up a national study of the policy narratives and practices around one of the understudied recent asylum hotspots in the European Union: the Bulgarian-Turkish border, forming part of the external European Union border. The analysis emphasizes how the re-bordering dynamics identified in Bulgaria (as a European Union member state) is embedded within similar narratives and practices at all levels of European Union asylum politics. It argues that these (re-)bordering narratives and practices undermine the notion of protection, weaken the Europeanization of asylum and threaten the legitimacy of political communities in the European Union. These consequences need to be taken into account when studying the struggle between human rights and democracy in the regulation of asylum, as well as when discussing the strategic direction of European Union migration governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study investigated the refugee journey of 17 males who arrived in Australia as unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors between 2009 and 2013, and were granted protection visas. The article focuses on the four conceptual challenges of refugee journeys, as identified recently by BenEzer and Zetter: temporal characteristics; drivers and destinations; the process/content of the journey; and the characteristics of the wayfarers. The findings indicate that their mental journey has not yet ended and transcends the physical departure- arrival voyage. Although the primary drivers for the refugee journey were protection reasons, their desire to find a 'better life' free from violence and exclusion also played an important role. The irregular character of the journey made it highly unpredictable, exposed these minors to extreme levels of vulnerability and the need to remain invisible, prompted short-lived friendships with other asylum seekers, and created a pervasive feeling of mistrust towards smugglers and other people they met along the way. The study has highlighted the need for interventions to protect unaccompanied minors during their refugee journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine the severity and risk factors of culture shock in Darfuri asylum seekers living in Israel. A sample of 340 asylum seekers was measured on socio-demographic factors, living difficulties, exposure to enroute trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), perceived discrimination and the Culture Shock Questionnaire (CSQ). Higher levels of culture shock were observed in females, males with PTSD and those from rural origin who experienced traumatic events en route. In addition, culture shock scores were higher for asylum seekers who, despite receiving legal aid, were denied a temporary refugee status. Greater perceived discrimination and higher frequency of experiencing lack of food made unique and meaningful contributions to culture shock. Care programmes should target sub-groups at risk, including females and those who suffer from PTSD, and focus on improving living conditions and posttraumatic stress reactions to war experiences in order to facilitate adjustment of asylum seekers to the new society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For several months in 2013 and 2014, a group of failed Afghan asylum seekers in Brussels became a constant focus of Belgian media and public attention. Through a combination of factors, they succeeded in highlighting the precarious situation of their group in a manner that garnered unprecedented levels of public support, although they ultimately failed to deliver their primary political goal--a moratorium on deportations to Afghanistan. This article analyses the specific combination of factors underlying the short-lived success of this social protest movement and the group dynamics that propelled it to national prominence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union's ambition to create a harmonized reception system for asylum seekers differs from the realities on the ground. We address how differences in national reception conditions stimulate the secondary migration that challenges the creation of an effective common migration regulation in Europe. We base our analysis on the Dublin Regulation (DR) and the secondary movement of Eritrean asylum seekers from Italy to Norway. The empirical material consists of qualitative interviews with civil servants, NGO representatives, and Eritrean migrants in Milan and Rome, and Norwegian civil servants. Recently developed models of migration destination selection were used to analyse the interaction between individual aspirations and structural constraints. We found that the Eritrean informants remained highly motivated to apply in a second country but were to some extent held back by the DR. Supranational regulations were challenged by the migrants' actions and by national differences in reception and welfare standards. Both the migrants' aspirations to move on and the challenges to a harmonized regional regulation of migration increased during times of economic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article illustrates how South Korea is gradually transforming its policies and practices directed toward a growing population of refugees, humanitarian status holders and asylum seekers. Given many deeply rooted dynamics at the intersection of law and society, South Korea has experienced a difficult trajectory, with a high rejection rate, minimal social welfare provisions and elements of discrimination that have caused alienation and distrust among asylum seekers and refugees regarding their host country. However, rising pressure from civil society has prompted legal and administrative reforms set to place the country on a different path more closely aligned with international human rights norms. The government is also beginning to shift its approach away from an overwhelming emphasis on securitization by working out the challenges of helping the country’s refugees chart their respective courses toward membership and participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the concept of mistrust amongst refugee populations by drawing on qualitative interviews with unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors living in the Republic of Ireland. The forced migration literature frequently makes reference to the difficulties that asylum seekers and refugees have in creating trusting relationships. However, little is known about the reasons for these difficulties, particularly reasons articulated by asylum seekers themselves. This article addresses this gap in the literature by exploring the reasons why these young people found it difficult to trust. The findings suggest five specific causes of the young people’s mistrust: past experiences; being accustomed to mistrust; being mistrusted by others; not knowing people well; and concerns about truth-telling. The findings suggest that the reasons for mistrust are embedded within the social contexts from which asylum seekers have come and that they are exacerbated by the social contexts in which they are now living. These reasons are discussed in relation to the literature. Implications for professionals and service providers are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines mobile phone use among migrants in the Naples region to consider how this mediated technology enables them to mitigate or resolve uncertainties of everyday working life in relation with others. In particular, I am interested in precarity, which has been understood as both an analytical concept and an emergent subjective form of identification for citizens in Europe to express anxiety about work conditions and social alienation. Precarity emerges from the reconfigurations of political economies in neoliberal regimes that force flexible and temporary labour contracts, in contrast to the ‘certainties’ of welfare state labour markets and social arrangements. ICTs recently introduced in European states, such as biometric analysis tools and computer software and networks used to harmonize border entry across EU member states, can create an impediment to legal status and increase the surveillance and exclusion of others, but at the same time ICTs are vital to a forced migrant’s sense of security and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2000, Australia has provided significant levels of funding and resources to encourage Indonesia to use immigration detention to deter asylum seekers from making the onward journey to Australia. In this way Australia has effectively extended its domestic policy of immigration detention beyond its own national borders. The provision of Australian funding for detention in Indonesia has resulted in an increased propensity of Indonesian officials to detain. This article examines the outcomes and implications of this transfer of immigration detention policy for asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia. It draws on interviews conducted with individuals who have spent time in Indonesia’s immigration detention centres, and Indonesian immigration officials, to assess the conditions of the detention centres. The particular arrangement between Australia and Indonesia, however, fails adequately to protect the human rights of immigration detainees. Ultimately, the detention of asylum seekers in Indonesia serves as one more barrier to finding effective protection in the Asia-Pacific region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite considerable efforts to harmonize reception conditions for asylum seekers in the European Union, the adoption of Directive 2003/9/EC reflects domestic interests, producing substantially different standards at the national level. By drawing upon the Austrian case, this article examines the politics and policies of reception that have emerged in the context of the adoption, transposition and implementation of the Directive. Based on analysis of policy documents, house rules and expert interviews, it will be demonstrated to what extent and why outcomes differ widely even at the sub-state level. The prevailing variations are ascribed to, first, wide margins of administrative discretion and, second, conflicting interests between regional and federal governments, regarding financial and executive competences but also over the mere presence of asylum seekers. Thus, the concept of ‘minimum standards’ translates into minimum welfare and restricted enjoyment of personal freedom but not into measures supportive of a dignified life for asylum seekers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to difficult pre-migratory experiences, the migration process also results in challenging socio-economic conditions for most refugee claimants. This study reports on in-depth interviews conducted with refugee claimant children and their parents at a paediatric hospital in Montreal, Canada. A dyadic analysis of their responses reveals that children and adult refugee claimants encounter disparate migratory experiences and live the relocation process differently. Most children, particularly younger ones, undergo the separation from their home countries more easily and experience fewer barriers to social network rebuilding. This results in an easier adaptation to their host society. Nevertheless, they remain at risk because of the difficulties experienced by their parents. Implications for policy and services are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2000, the UK Home Office has implemented a policy of dispersal whereby asylum seekers are housed on a no choice basis in locations around the country. Although the aim of dispersal is to determine local and national movements of asylum seekers, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the role played by dispersal in onward migration flows. Indeed, the majority of literature on UK dispersal has focused upon critiquing the policy for being driven by void housing and concentrating vulnerable populations in deprived, inner city neighbourhoods. Dislocated from existing social networks, asylum seekers have experienced prejudice, racial harassment and isolation. The aim of this article is to sketch out the current state of knowledge on onward migration in the context of UK dispersal policy. Based upon quantitative data analysis and case study material, the complexity of onward migration flows is examined. This includes identifying the geography of onward migration flows as well as the diversity of individuals engaged in movement around the UK, both during the asylum process and after being granted or refused refugee status. Along with relevant literature on past dispersal schemes in the UK, quantitative data is employed to highlight gaps in knowledge as well as discussing ways forward for future data collection and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of the role faith-based organizations (FBOs) play in the politics of asylum in Australia. I suggest that an ethics of hospitality provides a useful way for theorizing the activities of Australian FBOs and their relationship with the Australian government. FBOs have used concepts and practices consistent with faith-based hospitality to challenge public discourses, provide services to asylum seekers that ameliorate the harsh effects of government immigration policies and eventually contribute to changes in those policies. Further, the faith-based hospitality that underpins the work of FBOs in the asylum sector has played a significant role in the substantial shifts in Australian government asylum policy in recent times, in particular the decision to expand the government's community detention programme. These changes provide unique opportunities for FBOs, yet come with significant risks and challenges regarding their ongoing engagement in asylum politics and the small but significant progress that has been made towards a more humane and compassionate asylum policy in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article analyses the legal aid scheme for asylum seekers in Italy. In particular, it discusses the actual availability of high-quality legal representation in the context of asylum procedures and, in as much as they affect the right to claim asylum, expulsions and rejections at the border. This work identifies the following major problems: gaps in the applicable laws, difficulties in accessing lawyers for asylum seekers in detention, lack of legal aid for claimants rejected at the border and during the first stage of the asylum procedure, and inadequate remuneration for legal aid lawyers. As a consequence asylum seekers’ chances of obtaining protection are reduced. Legal aid should be an essential safeguard in the context of asylum procedures and the Italian government should take additional steps to expand it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mental health problems are prevalent in asylum seekers and refugees. Screening instruments may be effective tools for identifying individuals with severe mental health problems, which will allow us to offer them further assessment and treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of screening instruments in asylum seekers. The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25) were validated against the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) in a sample of 65 asylum seekers in Norway. In this sample, exposure to traumatic events was reported by 95 per cent of participants, and the prevalence of any mental disorder was high (70 per cent). An apparently high agreement between the two screening instruments and CIDI interviews concealed major differences between two subgroups (MENA and Somalia). Mental health problems were consistently overestimated for the MENA group, and underestimated for the Somali group. The area of origin was significantly associated with symptom reporting. The results of the screening instruments could not be interpreted in the same manner across the two main groups in this study. Hence, our results did not unequivocally support the use of screening instruments to identify asylum seekers in need of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dutch asylum seeker centres tend to greatly restrict the opportunities for asylum seekers to develop their talents. One project, which seeks to overcome the isolation suffered by such refugees, is the Local Exchange System Circle Woudrichem (LCW). This exchange circle has brought asylum seekers in Woudrichem into contact with the local community. This article illustrates how the LCW has developed over the course of time and how local people and asylum seekers have come to meet each other through the exchange of goods and services. Furthermore, it examines the nature of the interethnic reciprocal trust relations and the motivations of the various kinds of participants. The gap between asylum seekers and local people was bridged by stimulating contact between them in a structured fashion. The exchange circle under discussion appears to be a 'modern' form of organization, which can generate bridging social capital in present-day western society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]