Suchergebnisse

In 2008, findings from the People's Inquiry into Detention were published as Human Rights Overboard: Seeking Asylum in Australia. The People's Inquiry, led by social work academics in Australia, exposed injustices within Australia's privatised detention network for asylum seekers and interrogated policies and practices that ensued since mandatory immigration detention was introduced by legislation in 1992. With reference to the global context, the article presents a snapshot of policies and practices revealed by the People's Inquiry that were considered antithetical to human rights and discusses this extensive undertaking within a broader context of asylum seeker social movements and professional advocacy endeavours that continue as harsh policies escalate. The article speaks to the resilience of the asylum seeker movement, often against the odds, a movement that includes responsive and tenacious professional groups.

In the latter months of 2014, following events in faraway Iraq and Syria, Australia responded forcefully at home. The manufactured fear of a terrorist attack resulted in police raids, increased counter-terrorism legislation and scare campaigns to alert the public to 'threat'. Although Islamophobia rose in Australia after 2001 it has been latent in recent years. It is on the rise again with collateral damage from government measures including verbal and physical attacks on Australian Muslims. Vitriol is also directed at asylum seekers and refugees. Media, government and community discourses converge to promote Islam as dangerous and deviant.

In the latter months of 2014, following events in faraway Iraq and Syria, Australia responded forcefully at home. The manufactured fear of a terrorist attack resulted in police raids, increased counter-terrorism legislation and scare campaigns to alert the public to 'threat'. Although Islamophobia rose in Australia after 2001 it has been latent in recent years. It is on the rise again with collateral damage from government measures including verbal and physical attacks on Australian Muslims. Vitriol is also directed at asylum seekers and refugees. Media, government and community discourses converge to promote Islam as dangerous and deviant.

Tensions arise for social workers when confronted with wicked policies, particularly in paving their way through dual loyalty issues and risk paradigms. By merging radical, critical and human rights perspectives and drawing on their practice ethnography, social workers can become confident advocates in challenging dominant discourses and contributing to social change. In this article, illustrative case studies are provided in the fields of social work with Indigenous peoples, asylum seekers, people living in poverty and children. Although focusing specifically on the Australian context, the article provides leads for political engagement and moral courage.

Although mandatory immigration detention for "unauthorized" arrivals in Australia receives considerable attention, the use and abuse by government of technologies within sites of detention is less publicized. Control and surveillance are exercised in a number of ways. Immigration detainees have been denied adequate access to technologies that would enable them to fully communicate with family and friends and are deprived of the capacity to acquire information that can ensure their human rights are realized. At the same time that asylum seekers experience restrictions, devices are in place to control detainees through technological surveillance. Despite the prohibitions and impositions, detainees have adopted alternative means of communication in defiance of the limits foisted upon them. ; Bien que la détention obligatoire des immigrants dans le cas d'arrivées « non autorisées » en Australie retienne beaucoup l'attention, l'utilisation et l'abus des technologies par le gouvernement au sein des sites de détentions sont moins médiatisés. Le contrôle et la surveillance sont mis en pratique de diff érentes manières. Les immigrants détenus se sont vus refuser un accès adéquat aux technologies qui leur permettraient de communiquer pleinement avec leur famille et leurs amis, et d'avoir accès à l'information nécessaire pour s'assurer du respect de leurs droits humains. Tout en expérimentant ces restrictions, les demandeurs d'asile détenus sont contrôlés par les technologies de surveillances. Malgré les interdictions et les abus, les détenus ont trouvé d'autres façons de communiquer pour franchir les limites qui leur sont imposées.