Preventive detention: the ethical ground where politics and health meet. Focus on asylum seekers in Australia

Australia has a history of migration, especially during the wars in Europe, but many have forgotten the difficulties underlying asylum and wars endured by their forefathers. Preventive, indefinite detention of asylum seekers, most of whom are found to be genuine refugees, impinges on their human rig...

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Main Authors: Sheikh, M., Macintyre, C., Perera, Suvendrini
Format: Journal Article
Published: British Medical Journal Group 2008
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35710
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author Sheikh, M.
Macintyre, C.
Perera, Suvendrini
author_facet Sheikh, M.
Macintyre, C.
Perera, Suvendrini
author_sort Sheikh, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Australia has a history of migration, especially during the wars in Europe, but many have forgotten the difficulties underlying asylum and wars endured by their forefathers. Preventive, indefinite detention of asylum seekers, most of whom are found to be genuine refugees, impinges on their human rights. The mental and physical health consequences of detention in this already traumatised group are significant, particularly in children. There are abundant studies to support this but, even as these studies continue to be done, asylum seekers languish in detention centres. To be fully addressed, the health implications of detention cannot be considered in isolation, but must be considered frankly and openly by health professionals in the broader historical and political context within which they occur. If we do not do this, we risk turning a blind eye to, or even condoning, human rights abuses.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-357102017-09-13T15:30:50Z Preventive detention: the ethical ground where politics and health meet. Focus on asylum seekers in Australia Sheikh, M. Macintyre, C. Perera, Suvendrini Australia has a history of migration, especially during the wars in Europe, but many have forgotten the difficulties underlying asylum and wars endured by their forefathers. Preventive, indefinite detention of asylum seekers, most of whom are found to be genuine refugees, impinges on their human rights. The mental and physical health consequences of detention in this already traumatised group are significant, particularly in children. There are abundant studies to support this but, even as these studies continue to be done, asylum seekers languish in detention centres. To be fully addressed, the health implications of detention cannot be considered in isolation, but must be considered frankly and openly by health professionals in the broader historical and political context within which they occur. If we do not do this, we risk turning a blind eye to, or even condoning, human rights abuses. 2008 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35710 10.1136/jech.2007.061028 British Medical Journal Group restricted
spellingShingle Sheikh, M.
Macintyre, C.
Perera, Suvendrini
Preventive detention: the ethical ground where politics and health meet. Focus on asylum seekers in Australia
title Preventive detention: the ethical ground where politics and health meet. Focus on asylum seekers in Australia
title_full Preventive detention: the ethical ground where politics and health meet. Focus on asylum seekers in Australia
title_fullStr Preventive detention: the ethical ground where politics and health meet. Focus on asylum seekers in Australia
title_full_unstemmed Preventive detention: the ethical ground where politics and health meet. Focus on asylum seekers in Australia
title_short Preventive detention: the ethical ground where politics and health meet. Focus on asylum seekers in Australia
title_sort preventive detention: the ethical ground where politics and health meet. focus on asylum seekers in australia
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35710