Methodology

What is the research being conducted?

The ‘DEVAS Project’ (Detention of Vulnerable Asylum Seekers) aims to study the conditions for vulnerable asylum seekers in detention in 23 EU Member States. The project will take place within an 18-month period, beginning officially on 17 November 2008.

The project will also study the conditions for illegally staying third-country nationals in detention. This research will not be presented in the final report to the European Union, but will be merged with the rest of the research for wider public distribution.

The research will determine which vulnerable groups exist in detention, what the conditions of detention are for these groups, and how they cope with their detainment.

Who is conducting the research?

JRS-Europe is the Lead Project Coordinator of the 23 project partners. Each project partner is to designate a Country Project Supervisor to ensure the smooth implementation and progression of the project.

JRS-Europe and the 23 project partners will be organised into a Steering Committee (SC), composed of one representative of each partner organisation.  The SC will meet three times during the project period: before the project begins, mid-way to evaluate the project’s progress, and during the final conference in Brussels.  A sub-SC will be organised to ensure the implementation of the project in between larger SC meetings.

For more details on the project partners see the Partners section.

Which research instruments will the project use?

Three social questionnaires will be used to interview three distinct groups:

1. Detainees: asylum seekers and/or illegally staying third-country nationals who are in detention;
2. NGOs: non-governmental organisations that work in the detention centres being researched;
3. Staff: the staff of the detention centres being researched.

A legal questionnaire will be used to research the existing laws related to detention in each Member State under investigation.

What do we mean by ‘vulnerable’ asylum seekers and illegally staying third-country nationals?

 In a recent study the European Parliament identified ‘vulnerability’ according to three factors: risk, personal and environmental.3

Risk factors are experiences of the asylum seeker and/or third-country national prior to their arrival, whether in their country (war, famine) or as a consequence of their migration (desert or sea crossing, trafficking).

Personal factors include gender, age, physical and mental health condition, race and ethnicity.

Environmental factors are the experiences of the asylum seeker and/or third-country national after arrival into Europe. These include medical, legal and social needs, accommodation and the political climate of the reception country.

Conditions of vulnerability such as severe depression and anxiety, or severe malnutrition, may be deeply rooted in the experiences of the asylum seeker and/or third-country national before their migration, yet may only manifest itself at a later time while they are in detention. The conditions of detention may serve as a catalyst for the manifestation of vulnerable ‘symptoms,’ such as from prolonged detention. Or the social conditions in the detention centre may create vulnerability where none existed before, e.g. elderly persons detained with a larger number of younger persons, or, a woman detained with males in the same living quarters.

Legal institutions and bodies have sought to identify ‘vulnerability’ by clearly delineating specific groups of people who are, according to established criteria, at a disadvantage when compared to the rest of the population.

EU law identifies vulnerable asylum seekers and third-country nationals as minors, unaccompanied minors, disabled people, the elderly, pregnant women, single persons with minor children, persons subjected to torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence.

The European Court of Human Rights has addressed vulnerability in relation to Article 3 (torture and ill-treatment), Article 5 (arbitrary detention) and Article 8 (private and family life).

The 1999 UNHCR Revised Guidelines on Detention identify single women, unaccompanied minors, accompanied minors and those with special psychological or medical needs as vulnerable. Furthermore, UNHCR views the detention of vulnerable asylum seekers as “inherently undesirable” where alternatives should be actively considered.

Medical research has sought to identify ‘vulnerability’ by linking the experiences of a person to the specific behaviour they emit. Dr. Joseba Achotegui, a psychiatrist and director of a psychopathological and psychosocial support service, identified immigrants living in extreme situations as experiencing the effects of “Ulysses Syndrome”.4 Coined in 1952, Dr. Achotegui uses this label to classify immigrants who experience multiple chronic stressors as a result of their migration. Loneliness, despair and failure, a diminished will to survive and deep-seated fear are the four main stressors of this syndrome. These stressors cause immigrants to exhibit symptoms such as sadness and crying, tension, insomnia, intrusive thoughts, irritability, migraines and fatigue, confusion and osteoarticular discomfort or pain, e.g. arthritis. The marked difference between this and the legal interpretation is that any migrant could experience these symptoms, meaning that any migrant could be considered as ‘vulnerable’.

How will the DEVAS Project assess vulnerability?

 The DEVAS Project will not research pre-determined categories of vulnerable asylum seekers and illegally staying third-country nationals in detention. It will instead determine, through the research, the factors and circumstances that could lead to vulnerability. The detainee research instrument, in particular, will seek to obtain the personal experiences of persons in detention and to identify which risk, personal and environmental factors of vulnerability they are faced with. Moreover it will aim to research the personal stressors and symptoms the detainee may experience while in detention. Taken this way, the DEVA project diverts from the legal definitions of vulnerability that are commonly used in the political and social discourse on refugees and migration.

The objective is to identify how detainees become vulnerable in order to advocate for the improvement of detention conditions, and more importantly, to advocate for stronger protections and alternatives to detention for vulnerable persons.


To view 'Methodology Guidelines' click below:

Methodology Guidelines