For greater than a decade, mandatory offshore detention has been a cornerstone of Australia’s technique to deter people arriving by boat to assert asylum. This is followed by onshore detention, where people without a valid visa are held in transit centers and accommodation on mainland Australia.
Today we show the impact these policies have on the mental health of formerly detained asylum seekers.
Our new studythe largest study of its kind, shows high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and suicidal thoughts amongst individuals who have been previously detained – especially at sea.
Our findings come at a time when several other countries are exploring their very own versions of offshore detention.
What we did
We surveyed 990 adult refugees and asylum seekers living in the Australian community between 2011 and 2018. These included 775 individuals who had never been held in a detention center and 215 who were detained and later released.
It is the largest known dataset available globally to measure the mental health of previously detained asylum seekers.
Some of the people in the detention center were held only on land, while others were held at sea after which transferred to a detention center on land.
Based on the survey participants’ responses, we determined the probable presence of mental disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and suicidal thoughts (intense and frequent thoughts about ending one’s life).
What we found
We found that incarceration significantly increases the risk of serious mental illness. People who had been in detention were more prone to later report symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and suicidal thoughts in comparison with individuals who had not.
However, not all incarceration experiences carried the same degree of mental health risk.
People detained at sea were 16.5–20.2 times more prone to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, five times more prone to suffer from depression, and 4.6–5.2 times more prone to have suicidal thoughts in comparison with those detained on land for lower than six months.
The link between offshore detention and mental illness isn’t surprising. However, we were surprised by the scale of this effect.
Prolonged detention on land also had serious mental health consequences. People held on land for six months or longer were 16.9 times more prone to develop post-traumatic stress disorder and 5.5 times more prone to have suicidal thoughts in comparison with those held on land for lower than six months.
Our findings coincide with large body of research documenting the harmful psychological effects of detention on land (specifically for prolonged periods). However, for the first time we have now empirical data showing the much more harmful impact of detention at sea.
How did we get here?
Since 2012 4296 people they were held at sea on the island of Nauru or Manus under the supervision of the Australian government overseas processing policy.
It involves politics mandatory detention on land in detention and transit centers on mainland Australia.
Domestic and international courts have ruled that Australia’s practice of compulsory detention, particularly indefinite immigration detention and offshore detention, is against the law in some circumstances. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has repeatedly called for an end to Australia’s offshore detention policy.
Despite this, detention at sea continues. Although all those remaining on Nauru in June 2023 were transferred to the Australian mainland, more people have since arrived. In September 2023, the Australian Government resumed transfers of individuals who arrived on Nauru by boat. The latest estimates suggest about 100 people were moved there.
However, research over the past decade has shown that detaining people at sea is each costly and ineffective. Analysis of migration patterns to Australia and other countries has shown that such policies don’t deter people from looking for asylum.
Detention at sea can also be expensive. It costs almost 22 million Australian dollars one yr for Australia to detain and interrogate one person at sea; the annual cost of managing the same person in the community could be $3,962.
Other countries must take this under consideration
Our findings have implications for other countries currently using similar models of offshore detention – often called “third-country processing.”
In February 2024 offshore processing transaction between Italy and Albania and in October 2024 these detention centers were ratified opened.
In April 2024, the UK passed this legislation relocating asylum seekers to Rwanda, a move that has been made repeatedly condemned by the United Nations. Despite the newly elected British Labor government promising to repeal the law in Julyit hasn’t happened yet. Instead, it looks like Britain is watching Agreement between Italy and Albania regarding asylum seekers with interest.
Denmark too resumed talks with Rwanda outsource the processing of data of people coming to Denmark to use for asylum. Recently also the Danish Minister of Immigration visited Nauru.
Actions by governments to keep up or establish offshore detention and processing policies are specifically at odds with clear evidence on the humanitarian and economic costs, and now clear evidence on the psychological burden of such practices.
There they’re evidence-based alternatives to be held at sea. These include timely and humane processing on land and supporting regional neighbors in providing friendly resettlement conditions for people looking for refuge from war and persecution.
Our findings strongly caution against continuing or establishing immigration detention policies that end in people being detained, particularly at sea or for longer periods of time.
