Assisting asylum seekers in a time of global forced displacement: Five clinical cases

McKenzie, Katherine C.; Thomas, Arielle

doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2017.04.007

Cited by 9 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…In some cases, we observed keloid scars, typical in Africans, which make it more difficult to establish the degree of compatibility with the alleged injury method. Finally, the most commonly involved anatomical regions were both the lower and upper limbs in accordance with previous studies, 9,22 perhaps because limbs are often used as a means of selfprotection from injury and harm.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Medical evaluations documenting the existence of such scars can provide powerful evidence that increases the likelihood of asylum being granted. 9 It is especially helpful if examiners have experience of working within the legal system and have knowledge of the immigration process. 10 This is the reason why this kind of study should always be conducted by forensic physicians.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Asylum seekers: Forensic remarks regarding 185 cases

et al. 2019

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The medical examination of asylum seekers plays a significant role in helping them to obtain any form of international protection (refugee status or subsidiary or humanitarian protection). The Brescia Institute of Forensic Medicine has been increasingly involved in the medical examination of alleged victims of torture. Based on the Istanbul Protocol, the purpose of this study was to correlate the degree of consistency between the information provided by asylum seekers and the results of clinical examinations. A total of 185 asylum seekers were examined between September 2008 and September 2017. Almost all of the victims were male (94.0%) and aged between 11 and 30 years old (89.2%). Most victims were from Nigeria (23.2%), Gambia (16.2%) and Mali (10.8%), and the majority of the aggressions happened in Nigeria (18.9%), Gambia (14.5%) and Libya (12.9%). More than half of the instances of torture were related to political motives (57.3%); in 22% of cases, the victims referred to more than one act of aggression at different times. Blunt instruments were the most frequent means of injury (33.8%), followed by sharp instruments (23.3%). The most commonly involved anatomical regions were the lower and the upper limbs (23.6% and 20.5%, respectively). In terms of the degree of consistency between the lesion and the alleged torture, 50.4% of lesions were consistent with the information provided by the asylum seekers.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asylum seekers: Forensic remarks regarding 185 cases

et al. 2019

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“…The literature based on the forensic assessments of subjects who allegedly suffered torture acts is rather scarce [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. It is therefore so difficult for the medicolegal or forensic specialists to acquire a specific knowledge and experience in the field that the matter of the evaluation of the physical signs of torture is still considered a challenging area of forensic medicine [21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tortures alleged by migrants in Italy: compatibility and other medicolegal challenges

et al. 2021

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Background Illegal immigration to Europe is a well-known phenomenon whose numbers are being steadily increasing in recent years. Most of the immigrants in Italy come from war zones, and many of them submit an asylum application supported by the complaint to have been victims of persecutory acts in their home countries. Material and methods One hundred ninety-six medicolegal reports are analyzed considering the different country of origin, the type of the lesions claimed, tools used, evidenced effects, location of the perpetration of the physical abuses, and the possible motivation of the alleged torture. Results Greater than 80% of the assessed asylum seekers are over 18-year males coming from African countries. Fifty-eight percent of migrants were tortured or abused in countries of transit, 95% in Libya. Economic, familial, politic, and ethnic reasons prevail in some countries of origin, while tortures or abuses perpetrated in transit countries are mainly linked to forced labor and detention. In the 42.2% of cases, no physical evidence of tortures was detected. The Istanbul Protocol resulted to have been only partly applicable and about 40% of the medicolegal reports are “inconclusive” about the compatibility of physical evidence with the alleged tortures. Conclusions The medicolegal and forensic experts involved in torture and ill-treatment cases should seek specific education and training to lower the risks of underestimation and the rate of inconclusive reports. More extensive implementation of the Istanbul Protocol in daily practice should be pursued by the authorities in charge of asylum or protection releasement.

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“…Again, our findings may provide useful information about the memory processes of migrants escaping from war and persecution. Those seeking asylum in Western countries need to testify to their history of persecution in front of a mixed national and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) commission in order to obtain international protection or refugee status (McKenzie and Thomas, 2017). Accuracy of recall during hearings will determine whether applicants are successful in obtaining asylum (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2014; Veldhuizen et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between happiness and sorrow: Phenomenal characteristics of autobiographical memories concerning war episodes and positive events in the Gaza Strip

et al. 2018

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In the present study, we investigated the characteristics of memories concerning both traumatic events (war-related memories) and positive life events (happy memories) in a group of Palestinian students who were victims of war and military violence. An ad hoc questionnaire was developed to explore differences in how the traumatic and happy events were recalled, both in relation to the actual events experienced and in relation to their phenomenological features in autobiographical memory. Traumatic memories were observed to be richer in sensory characteristics, more vivid, and generally more detailed; the emotions associated with traumatic episodes were more intense and played a key role in recall, as did recurrent thoughts and discussion of events and post-event autobiographical memories. In sum, traumatic memories are more complex than non-traumatic ones given their more sensory and analogical nature, which can also undermine accuracy of recall. The clinical implications of these findings and possible directions for future research are discussed.

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Assisting asylum seekers in a time of global forced displacement: Five clinical cases

Cited by 9 publications

References 8 publications

Asylum seekers: Forensic remarks regarding 185 cases

Asylum seekers: Forensic remarks regarding 185 cases

Tortures alleged by migrants in Italy: compatibility and other medicolegal challenges

Between happiness and sorrow: Phenomenal characteristics of autobiographical memories concerning war episodes and positive events in the Gaza Strip

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