Durham et al. Public Health Reviews (2016) 37:6 DOI 10.1186/s40985-016-0020-9 REVIEW Open Access The need for a rights-based public health approach to Australian asylum seeker health Jo Durham1* , Claire E. Brolan1,2, Chi-Wai Lui1 and Maxine Whittaker1,3 * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract 1Faculty of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health Public health professionals have a responsibility to protect and promote the right to School of Public Health, The health amongst populations, especially vulnerable and disenfranchised groups, such University of Queensland, Herston as people seeking asylum and whose health care is frequently compromised. As at Road, Herston, Queensland 4006, Australia 31 March 2016, there was a total of 3707 people (including 384 children) in immigration Full list of author information is detention facilities or community detention in Australia, with 431 of them detained for available at the end of the article more than 2 years. The Public Health Association of Australia and the Australian Medical Association assert that people seeking asylum in Australia have a right to health in the same way as Australian citizens, and they denounce detention of such people in government facilities for prolonged and indeterminate periods of time. The position of these two professional organisations is consistent with the compelling body of evidence demonstrating the negative impact detention has on health. Yet in recent years, both the Labour and Liberal parties—when at the helm of Australia’s Federal Government—have implemented a suite of regressive policies toward individuals seeking asylum. This has involved enforced legal restrictions on dissenting voices of those working with these populations, including health professionals.