Temporary protection visas compromise refugees' health: new research
30th January 2004
New research by the Centre for Population Mental Health Research at the University of New South Wales supports health professionals’ concerns about the adverse impact of Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) on refugees.
UNSW professor of psychiatry, Derrick Silove, said: “The study’s preliminary findings show that refugees placed on TPVs have a 700 per cent increase in risk for developing depression and post-traumatic stress disorder compared to refugees with permanent protection visas.”
He said that the research “confirms that TPVs cause immense psychological distress to an already vulnerable and traumatised community”. The Centre will publish a report of the full study later this year.
Clinical psychologist, Zachary Steel, co-author of the study, said: “These are refugees who have proven their cases. It is a public health tragedy that their mental health should deteriorate so significantly in a relatively short period of time as a result of this policy. Our findings illustrate that it is just not possible for refugees to rebuild their lives on TPVs and the cost will ultimately be paid by the broader community as we are forced to repair the damage caused to these peoples lives.”
“Refugees on TPVs get trapped in a situation were they live in permanent fear about the future. Of the TPV holders interviewed, 80 per cent experienced intense and disabling feelings of fear and terror about the future compared to only eight per cent of those with permanent protection visas,” said Steel, a senior lecturer in the UNSW school of psychiatry.
The Centre’s research was undertaken among a sample of 241 refugees and immigrants from a persecuted Middle Eastern minority group now living in Sydney. Of the 140 refugees placed on TPVs the majority experienced severe symptoms of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
The research also provides the first long-term assessment of the impact of immigration detention on refugees who are released into the Australian community. The 154 refugees who had spent time in detention had twice the risk of depression and three times the risk of traumatic stress compared to refugees who had not been in detention. The risk for depression was found to increase by 17 per cent for each additional month spent in detention.
“While we have known for some time that many individuals in detention experience poor mental health, it was hoped that they would recover once released. Unfortunately these new findings show, for the first time, that the effects of detention extend well beyond release and that the longer the period of detention, the worse their mental health outcomes are in the community,” Professor Silove said.
“These results should be taken into account when reviewing the immigration system so that it is equitable, fair, and does not contribute to the burden of mental illness.”
The Centre also released the preliminary results of a second study involving detailed clinical assessments of a randomly selected sample of 73 asylum seekers applying for refugee status in the community. The asylum seekers arrived in the period preceding and subsequent to the Tampa crisis.
“This research should dispel any notion that asylum seekers are economic migrants,” said Zachary Steel. “They are a highly vulnerable group – 62 per cent gave credible accounts of torture, with a third of the group reporting sexual torture. The asylum seekers had experienced an average of eight major life traumas prior to their arrival in Australia.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Zachary Steel m 0407 200 517; Professor Derrick Silove m 0409 717 284; Denise Knight, UNSW Media Office, m 0405 207 685 w 02 9385 3192.
UNSW professor of psychiatry, Derrick Silove, said: “The study’s preliminary findings show that refugees placed on TPVs have a 700 per cent increase in risk for developing depression and post-traumatic stress disorder compared to refugees with permanent protection visas.”
He said that the research “confirms that TPVs cause immense psychological distress to an already vulnerable and traumatised community”. The Centre will publish a report of the full study later this year.
Clinical psychologist, Zachary Steel, co-author of the study, said: “These are refugees who have proven their cases. It is a public health tragedy that their mental health should deteriorate so significantly in a relatively short period of time as a result of this policy. Our findings illustrate that it is just not possible for refugees to rebuild their lives on TPVs and the cost will ultimately be paid by the broader community as we are forced to repair the damage caused to these peoples lives.”
“Refugees on TPVs get trapped in a situation were they live in permanent fear about the future. Of the TPV holders interviewed, 80 per cent experienced intense and disabling feelings of fear and terror about the future compared to only eight per cent of those with permanent protection visas,” said Steel, a senior lecturer in the UNSW school of psychiatry.
The Centre’s research was undertaken among a sample of 241 refugees and immigrants from a persecuted Middle Eastern minority group now living in Sydney. Of the 140 refugees placed on TPVs the majority experienced severe symptoms of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
The research also provides the first long-term assessment of the impact of immigration detention on refugees who are released into the Australian community. The 154 refugees who had spent time in detention had twice the risk of depression and three times the risk of traumatic stress compared to refugees who had not been in detention. The risk for depression was found to increase by 17 per cent for each additional month spent in detention.
“While we have known for some time that many individuals in detention experience poor mental health, it was hoped that they would recover once released. Unfortunately these new findings show, for the first time, that the effects of detention extend well beyond release and that the longer the period of detention, the worse their mental health outcomes are in the community,” Professor Silove said.
“These results should be taken into account when reviewing the immigration system so that it is equitable, fair, and does not contribute to the burden of mental illness.”
The Centre also released the preliminary results of a second study involving detailed clinical assessments of a randomly selected sample of 73 asylum seekers applying for refugee status in the community. The asylum seekers arrived in the period preceding and subsequent to the Tampa crisis.
“This research should dispel any notion that asylum seekers are economic migrants,” said Zachary Steel. “They are a highly vulnerable group – 62 per cent gave credible accounts of torture, with a third of the group reporting sexual torture. The asylum seekers had experienced an average of eight major life traumas prior to their arrival in Australia.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Zachary Steel m 0407 200 517; Professor Derrick Silove m 0409 717 284; Denise Knight, UNSW Media Office, m 0405 207 685 w 02 9385 3192.
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