L’expérience des demandeurs d’asile détenus au Canada

Abstract

Au Canada, les demandeurs d’asile détenus en vertu des lois sur l’immigration sont enfermés dans des établissements de type carcéral, même si moins de 6 % d’entre eux sont soupçonnés de criminalité ou de dangerosité. Nous présentons un survol de la situation canadienne, incluant des données tirées de notre récente étude sur l’impact de la détention sur la santé mentale des demandeurs d’asile. Cette étude fut menée auprès de 122 demandeurs d’asile adultes détenus dans des centres de surveillance de l’immigration, à Montréal et à Toronto, et d’un groupe témoin de 66 demandeurs d’asile non détenus. Les demandeurs d’asile détenus vivent un sentiment de disempowerment et de perte d’agentivité en raison du régime de surveillance et de règles strictes dans lequel ils sont placés et de la durée indéterminée de leur détention. Après une incarcération moyenne de 31 jours, le niveau de symptômes psychiatriques était nettement plus élevé chez les demandeurs d’asile détenus que chez les non-détenus ayant eu une exposition traumatique prémigratoire équivalente. La Loi visant à protéger le système d’immigration du Canada (projet de loi C-31) prévoit que des demandeurs d’asile désignés par le ministre, incluant des jeunes de 16 ans et plus, seront automatiquement détenus avec une possibilité très limitée de demander la libération. Il faudrait, au contraire, envisager des solutions de rechange moins contraignantes.Under Canadian immigration law, detained asylum seekers are held in prison-like facilities although less than 6 % of them are suspected of criminality or dangerousness. We present an overview of the Canadian situation, including data drawn from our recent study on the impact of detention on asylum seekers’ mental health. The study involved 122 adult asylum seekers detained in Immigration Holding Centres in Montreal and Toronto and a comparison group of 66 nondetained asylum seekers. Detained asylum seekers experience a sense of disempowerment and loss of agency linked to the regime of surveillance and strict rules to which they are subjected, as well as to the indeterminate length of their detention. After an average imprisonment of 31 days, detained asylum seekers had a considerably higher level of psychiatric symptoms than did non-detained asylum seekers, although the two groups had undergone equivalent premigration trauma exposure. Under the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act (Bill C-31), asylum seekers designated by the Minister, including youth 16 years old and over, will be automatically detained with very limited access to review by an independent tribunal. On the contrary, less restrictive alternative should be considered.En Canadá, los demandantes de asilo detenidos en virtud de las leyes sobre la inmigración son encerrados en establecimientos de tipo carcelario, incluso si menos del 6 % de ellos son sospechados de ser criminales o peligrosos. Presentamos un panorama de la situación canadiense, incluyendo datos extraídos de nuestro reciente estudio sobre el impacto de la detención sobre la salud mental ...

Prevalence of Current PTSD Symptoms Among a Sample of Black Individuals Aged 15 to 40 in Canada: The Major Role of Everyday Racial Discrimination, Racial Microaggresions, and Internalized Racism

“…A study of migrants, some of whom had been detained upon arrival in Canada and some of whom were not, with 50% and 65.1%, respectively, from sub-Saharan Africa, reported a PTSD prevalence of 37.7% and 18.2%. 34 These rates are still low compared to the results of the present study. However, a study of urban Indigenous women in Canada showed an even higher prevalence than the present study (83.2%).…”

Asylum-seeking children’s experiences of detention in Canada: A qualitative study.

“…Current pediatric evidence, though limited to the United Kingdom and Australia, consistently demonstrates psychological harm associated with detention (Lorek et al, 2009; Mares & Jureidini, 2004; Mares et al, 2002; Newman & Steel, 2008). There is only one report including case studies on children in Canadian detention centers (Canadian Council for Refugees, 2009), though studies on detained adult asylum seekers describe a deleterious effect on mental health (Cleveland, Dionne-Boivin, & Rousseau, 2013; Cleveland & Rousseau, 2013). The aim of this article is to describe children’s experience of detention in terms of their daily life, routine, social interactions and their emotional and behavioral responses.…”

Adaptation under strain: an ethnographic process evaluation of community-based psychosocial support services for refugee claimants during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal, Canada

“…Past research had found social connectedness to be a key determinant of asylum seekers’ mental health ( 62 ). For example, enduring longer periods awaiting family reunification, not having access to family support or local connections and facing discrimination due to a rise in xenophobia contributes to feelings of loneliness and is associated with higher levels of depression among this population ( 17 , 18 , 63 ). Therefore, psychosocial workshops with the aim of bridging social connection may protect claimants’ mental health through restoration of bonds and networks.…”

“…Research has now shown that for asylum seekers these post-migration difficulties were significantly exacerbated by the pandemic, compromising their mental health and increasing risk of suicide ( 16 , 17 ). Asylum seekers’ living and working conditions – as security guards, custodians in hospitals, and personal care attendants in long-term care facilities – deepened their isolation due to shift work and fears of contamination and put them at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 ( 18 , 19 ). Unlike many host-country peers who readily transitioned to online spaces to seek social support, claimants had no straight-forward solution to combat isolation because of lack of access to technology and closure of public spaces ( 2 ).…”