Health, mental health & medical neglect in detention
Because detention does not remove a person’s right to medical care, dignity, safety and humanity.
Pain should never be ignored. Mental suffering should never be hidden. Every detainee deserves care, respect and urgent medical attention.
Understanding health & mental health in immigration detention
This page aims to expose, document, and explain the health and mental health problems faced by people in immigration detention. These include physical illness, chronic pain, trauma, anxiety, depression, self-harm risks, delayed treatment, lack of specialist access, medication problems, passive smoking exposure, sleep deprivation, and the long-term psychological harm caused by uncertainty.
The Australian Human Rights Commission states that people held in immigration detention are particularly vulnerable.
Mental health in detention
Detention can break the mind before it breaks the body. Many detainees suffer silently because they fear being ignored, punished, disbelieved or transferred. Mental health care must not be treated as an afterthought. It must be urgent, compassionate and professional.
This section focuses on psychological suffering caused or worsened by detention, covering topics such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks, trauma, PTSD, suicidal thoughts, self-harm risks, hopelessness, sleep deprivation, fear of deportation, separation from family, loss of identity and purpose, long-term uncertainty, and the psychological impact of being treated like a prisoner.
Medical neglect watch
This is a strong watchdog section where detainees and families can report alleged medical neglect. Issues to document include delayed medical appointments, refusal of specialist treatment, ignored pain complaints, medication delays, inadequate mental health care, lack of proper diagnosis, no follow-up after hospital visits, poor response to emergencies, failure to provide interpreters, failure to accommodate disability, poor treatment after use of restraints, and failure to investigate breathing problems, chest pain or neurological symptoms.
Warning: Medical neglect in detention can have serious consequences. If a detainee is experiencing chest pain, breathing difficulty, suicidal thoughts, severe pain, serious injury or sudden mental health deterioration, urgent medical help should be requested immediately.
This section also covers passive smoking exposure and other environmental health concerns, which are often ignored.
Children, family separation & mental health
This section connects detention to family harm. Topics include children separated from detained parents, anxiety in children, partner stress, family breakdown, loss of parental role, children’s school performance, financial stress on families, emotional damage caused by indefinite uncertainty, and trauma from prison-like visits and fear of deportation of a parent.
The AHRC has published material recording serious concern about the effect of immigration detention on children, including trauma, nightmares and self-harm concerns reported by health professionals. Behind every detainee is a family waiting.
Health is a human right: international human rights law
This section connects health care in detention to international law. Relevant human rights principles include the right to life, the right to humane treatment in detention, freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the right to health, the rights of the child, and the rights of persons with disabilities.