Care or Collusion in Asylum Seeker Detention

Abstract

This paper explores ethical questions arising from the work of health practitioners in immigration detention centres in Australia. It raises questions about the roles of professional disciplines and the ways in which they confront dual loyalty issues. The exploration is guided by interviews conducted with health professionals who have worked in asylum seeker detention and an examination of the outsider advocacy role undertaken by the social work profession. The paper discusses the stance taken by individuals and professional associations on participation in controlled settings, including as participant, bystander and advocate, and asks when the provision of care becomes collusion with oppression.

Keywords:

• Immigration Detention
• Health Provision
• Dual Loyalty
• Ethical Dilemmas

Notes

¹Australian Correctional Management was the private detention provider until 2004, followed by G4S and now Serco.

²The term ‘boatpeople’ has entered the Australian lexicon to describe asylum seekers who arrive by sea without travel documents.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Linda Briskman

Linda Briskman is a social worker and Chair of Human Rights Education at Curtin University, Australia. She conducts research, advocates and writes on asylum seeker issues in Australia

Deborah Zion

Deborah Zion teaches medical ethics at Monash University, and has published widely on issues related to the health of asylum seekers, clinical research and issues related to HIV/AIDS. She led the project “Caring for Asylum Seekers. Human Rights and Bioethics,” which was funded by the Australian research council

Bebe Loff

Bebe Loff is a lawyer and Director of the Michael Kirby Centre for Public Health and Human Rights in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, Australia