Confined in a Detention Center U nder conditions of mass mobility, migration-related detention has become part of a set of border control measures that are implemented in the majority of countries across the world, particularly in the global North (Bosworth 2014; Bosworth and Kellezi 2014). The proliferation of border zones and detention centers-where various categories of people marked as outsiders are confined pending the adjudication of their statusplays a key role in the government of human mobility and in the continuous production of nation-state and citizenship boundaries (Luibhéid 2005). In spite of growing academic interest in the adverse effects of detention and deportation (e.g., Sobhanian et al. 2006; Robjant, Robbins, and Senior 2009), relatively little attention has been paid to the potential relationships between the violence that affects people in their countries of origin and contemporary immigration laws and policies (Lykes and Hershberg 2015). Even less effort has been devoted to understanding how gender and sexualityalong with race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and geopolitics-shape such relationships, playing a role in the production of particular subjects as excludable and deportable (Lewis 2013). As Eithne Luibhéid (2005) clearly notes, multiaxial differentiations that operate through immigration control regimes not only distinguish citizens from noncitizens but also discriminate among noncitizens themselves, stemming from and reinforcing normative power hierarchies. This research was carried out as a part of Francesca Esposito's doctoral thesis, supported by a scholarship from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/ 87854/2012). We would like to thank Maayan Ravid, Rimple Mehta, Gaia Giuliani, Simone Tulumello, and Erica Briozzo for their encouragement for this project by offering their time and insightful feedback, as well as Signs's editor and anonymous reviewers who provided critical comments on this article. We also need to thank the organizers and participants of the workshop "Critical Prison Studies, Carceral Ethnography, and Human Rights: From Lived Experience to Global Action," held at the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law, where we presented an earlier version of this article, for their generous input and comments. Last, and most important, we are grateful to the BeFree team and to the women we met inside Rome's detention center for sharing their stories and struggles with us.
Highlights• In spite of concerns about migration-related detention, research inside these sites of confinement is scarce.• We present an ethnographic exploration into the detention of illegalized non-citizens in Italy.• Transcending individual-centered analysis, we adopt an ecological framework with a focus on justice.• We contribute to create knowledge on the psychosocial and cultural world behind the walls of detention.• We discuss the oppressive qualities of detention and avenues for research and action for community psychologists.Abstract Drawing on almost 3 years of fieldwork, comprising qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations, this study provides an exploration into the detention of illegalized non-citizens in Italy. Taking the largest detention center as a case study, the fabric of everyday life and the lived experiences of people, both detainees and professional actors, are the focus of examination. An ecological community psychology framework, with a focus on justice, guided the data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Findings highlight the oppressive qualities of detention, and its ripple effects on people's life spaces. Scarcity of resources, activities, and information created a very distressing environment for detainees, also enhancing feelings of powerlessness and frustration in professionals willing to assist them. Uncertainty and instability, rather than coercion or discipline, emerged as modes of governing and dominating. Bound in a different space and time, detainees were turned into unwanted and expendable others, their confinement becoming a means to extract profit from them. Yet, people languishing in these sites displayed an extraordinary ability to cope with, resist, and challenge the persisting conditions of injustice they endured. We conclude by highlighting the potential of the proposed framework, and discussing broader implications of our findings and avenues for research and action.
Feminist scholars, as well as community psychologists, have advocated the role of reflexive engagement in the research process in order to challenge power relations. Moreover, the liberating potential of storytelling, especially when working with issues of diversity and marginalization, has been stressed. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on an ethnographic work underway in the Identification and Expulsion Center-CIE of Ponte Galeria, Rome. How the researcher's identities, values, and experiences, alongside power and privilege, have influenced her positioning in the research setting and the relationships formed with the different members is the subject of discussion. In sharing the story of this work, the final intent is to contribute to the joint effort to foster a reflexive community psychology practice,incorporating feminist goals, and a dialogue about ethnography in community psychology. KEYWORDS migration-related detention, ethnography, reflexivity, power relationships, storytelling A reflexive account In the last decades, migration-related detention has become a mechanism of border governance regimes used by states to manage and control individuals' mobility. Migrationrelated detention is the deprivation of liberty of migrants due to their irregular status.According to this practice, typically based on administrative grounds, migrants may be detained up to many months, until being identified and deported, or having their claims adjudicated (see Global Detention Project, 2009). Over the years this mechanism has become stricter, increasingly affecting the lives of undocumented migrants, their family members, and communities at large (Esposito, Ornelas, & Arcidiacono, 2014).Despite the growing concern shown by academia about this issue, a large part of scholarship has been based on secondary analysis (e.g., media account and legislation), or post-detention interviews, due to the difficulty in gaining access to these centers (Bosworth, 2012). Only in recent times have some scholars been permitted to conduct research within migration-related detention contexts, thus developing a line of research on everyday life in detention based on the use of ethnographic approaches (see Bosworth, 2012;Hall, 2010Hall, , 2012). This research is of great value for understanding the identity of these sites of confinement and enclosure, their impact in terms of lived experiences, and the ways in which power is negotiated within them (Bosworth, 2012). Furthermore, in thinking through ethnography as embodied research, these first-hand accounts reveal the salience of researchers' identities and experiences for the development of the research process and the engagement with participants (Border Criminologies, 2013a, 2013b.Challenging implicit assumptions embedded in traditional psychological research and theory, feminist scholars have long highlighted the importance of reflexive engagement in the research experience in order to construct socially conscious and critical knowledge (e.g., Campbell & Wasco, 2000;Oakley, 1981...
BackgroundIn recent years, border control and migration-related detention have become increasingly widespread practices affecting the lives of undocumented migrants, their families, and communities at large. In spite of the concern within academia, few studies have directly witnessed the life and experiences of people confined to migration-related detention centers. In the medical and psychological fields, a considerable body of research has demonstrated the pathogenic nature of detention in terms of mental health, showing an association between length of detention and severity of distress. Nevertheless, it was limited to the assessment of individuals’ clinical consequences, mainly focusing on asylum seekers. There currently exists a need to adopt an ecological perspective from which to study detained migrants’ experiences as context-dependent, and influenced by power inequalities. This paper addresses this gap.DiscussionDrawing upon advances in community psychology, we illustrate an ecological framework for the study of migration-related detention contexts, and their effects on the lives of detained migrants and all people exposed to them. Making use of existing literature, Kelly’s four principles (interdependence, cycling of resources, adaptation, succession) are analyzed at multiple ecological levels (personal, interpersonal, organizational, communal), highlighting implications for future research in this field. A focus on justice, as a key-dimension of analysis, is also discussed. Wellbeing is acknowledged as a multilevel, dynamic, and value-dependent phenomenon.SummaryIn presenting this alternative framework, the potential for studying migration-related detention through an ecological lens is highlighted, pointing the way for future fields of study. We argue that ecological multilevel analyses, conceptualized in terms of interdependent systems and with a focus on justice, can enhance the comprehension of the dynamics at play in migration-related detention centers, providing an effective tool to address the multi-level challenges of doing research within them. Furthermore, they can contribute to the development of policies and practices concerned with health, equality, and human rights of all people exposed to migration-related detention. Consistent with these assumptions, empirical studies adopting such a framework are strongly encouraged. These studies should use mixed and multi-method culturally situated designs, based on the development of collaborative and empowering relationships with participants. Ethnographic approaches are recommended.
The objective of this study was to document the prevalence and evolution of sexual prejudice toward gay men and lesbian, same-gender marriage, and same-gender parenting among a large sample of Portuguese young adults. The sample consisted of 704 self-identified heterosexual individuals (24% men and 76% women), aged between 18 and 30 years (M = 22; SD = 3), who participated in an online survey. ANOVA results revealed that women were less sexually prejudiced, were less likely to endorse social etiological beliefs of homosexuality, and were more supportive of samegender marriage and same-gender parenting than were men. Further mediation analysis revealed that the effects of gender, religiosity, importance of religious beliefs, and political leaning on the support for same-gender marriage and same-gender parenting were partially mediated by etiological beliefs and attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. The complexity of attitudes toward same-gender marriage and same-gender parenting was highlighted, indicating how attitudes toward gay men and lesbians and the belief that homosexuality is controllable impact on the support for same-gender parented families. These results are important to inform affirmative polities designed to correct inequalities and recognize same-gender families.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.