National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
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Submission to the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention from
Ms Terry Zeeher, Clinical Psychologist
Sumission lodged by:
Terry Zeeher (Ms), Clinical Psychologist
May 9, 2002
I wish to provide background information to support the submission from the Australian Psychological Society, based on my experience of working as a psychologist in the Woomera Detention Centre between 28/3/02 and 13/4/02. I agree unreservedly with the conclusions reached in the APS report which states that the detention experience has multiple negative effects on children, and that these effects can be expected to be extremely long lasting.
I would like to list the questions that are proposed by the APS for investigation by the Enquiry, and provide my own responses to them, based on my personal observations. In order to provide a background to these observation I will provide a brief description of the working environment.
There were two psychologists and a psychiatric nurse at the Centre during the period I was there. Of the approximately 280 detainees held at the Centre, around 48 were considered to be at risk of self harm or suicide. This number included approximately seven children under the age of eighteen. People considered at risk were required to be monitored at intervals of 15 to 60 minutes by officers in the compounds. Those on 15 minute observations were required to see one of the mental health staff daily. Because of the large number of people on observation, the system had broken down, and it was impossible for staff to give severely disturbed people the care they needed. It is not an exaggeration to say that self harm and suicide attempts (attempted hangings, overdoses of prescription medication, slashing, drinking of toxic substances, jumping from high places) occurred every day within the Centre, often a number of times each day, and the perpetrators included children as young as eight years.
Q1 What steps are currently being undertaken to monitor the psychological welfare of the children in detention? In particular, what steps are being taken to monitor the psychological wellbeing of children arriving from war-torn countries?
A To my knowledge children were not screened in any way to ascertain whether they had suffered trauma prior to their arrival at the Centre. No child came to the attention of psychologists in the Centre until symptoms of psychological disturbance were observed by officers. This typically took the form of some act of self harm.
Example: two [word deleted] year old boys attempted separately to hang themselves. I assessed one of these boys. He said he would continue to attempt to kill himself until he succeeded, or until he and his family were given visas, and that it was better to die than to be locked up any longer. He was sent to Woomera Hospital overnight with his father, then returned to the compound and placed on 15 minutely observations. The father expressed his extreme concern about his son, saying he had been a happy, achieving child until his incarceration. Now, he said, his boy is "crazy", and he feels quite unable to control his behaviour. The second boy who attempted hanging was briefly placed with his uncle to attempt to ensure his safely, then returned to his mother who felt unable to cope with his behaviour. Because of staff limitations minimal follow up was available to these two boys.
Q2 What qualifications and training do staff who care for children and their families in detention centres have? What knowledge to they have of psychological issues faced by people who have been subjected to traumatic experiences and are suffering high degrees of anxiety, stress and uncertainty?
A Psychologists employed within the centres would have varying degrees of experience in dealing with victims of trauma. Few would be likely to be specialists in this area, though it is likely that most would be able to deal with the emotional effects of trauma if they were able to spend the requisite amount of time with each individual. At a practical level, this was impossible during my period at Woomera. The psychologists and psychiatric nurse went from one crisis to the next, and it was too often the case that detainees received care after self harm or attempted suicide, rather than receiving appropriate preventative care. Amongst the general nursing staff, understanding of the emotional responses to trauma was variable. Where understanding was inadequate detainees were accused of refusing to take responsibility for themselves, of attention seeking behaviour, and of failing to take proper care of their children when they were simply too distraught to do so.
Q3 What provisions have been made for psycho-educational assessment of children's specific learning needs prior to their attending formal educational programmes?
A I cannot answer this question except to say that the children spent only half a day at school, and it seems unlikely that any assessment of their needs would have occurred given time limitations.
Q4 What provisions have been made for the psychotherapeutic treatment of children who are sufferein chronic and/or vicarious trauma as a result of witnessing threatening behaviour while in detention?
A Again, because of limited resources, only children exhibiting overt disturbed behaviour received attention. There was no systematic procedure to otherwise identify children who had witnessed threatening behaviour.
Q5 What provisions have been made for families who have been seriously affected by displacement to participate in family therapy?
A No family therapy is available in Woomera Detention Centre. As a general rule, if severe conflict occurs between a husband and wife the husband will be placed in a different compound, leaving the wife to care for the children of the family unassisted.
Example: A woman and her [very young] daughter came to the Medical Centre in an extremely distressed state. The woman said her husband had become "crazy" (indeed he had recently exhibited quite bizarre behaviour, though no psychosis was detected when he was assessed). The family [words deleted], had recently been moved to a different compound, and the wife also reported the child had become very disturbed because she was afraid of the children in her new accommodation. The child was reported as screaming and throwing herself on the ground when required to enter the compound, was biting her fingernails and had begun bedwetting. The husband was moved to a different compound and the wife was left to look after [the rest of the family]. An application was made to allow the wife and [family]to move to the community house in Woomera township, but this was refused by DIMIA because the family's initial visa application had been refused, so the wife was considered to be at increased risk of escape.
Q6 What critical incident debriefing procedures are in place for children who have witnessed their parents, other family members, or social acquaintances engaging in acts of self harm or being harmed while in detention? What psychotherapeutic support is in place for children who themselves have been harmed or have engaged in self harmful acts while in detention?
A There is no systematic way of ascertaining when children might have witnessed disturbing events, as quite frequently occurs because of the crowded conditions. Unless the child exhibits symptoms of disturbance they receive no intervention. As described above, support to children who have self harmed is frequently inadequate because of staff limitations.
Q7 What provisions are in place for parenting programmes that provide support for parents of children under extremely difficult psychological and physical circumstances?
A There are no assistance to parents in Woomera other than that provided by friends and family.This frequently places great stress on older children who may be required to care for younger siblings, or provide support for an emotionally disturbed parent.
Example 1: A twelve year old girl began head-banging. She was the eldest [words deleted], and had been required to take on the care of her younger siblings because her mother suffered severe anxiety and associated irritability, and had recently made several suicide attempts, including setting fire to herself. The father of the children refused to assist with their care.
Example 2: A thirteen year old boy attempted to hang himself. His mother had been severely depressed for several months, and refused to leave her bed. He said he had attempted to kill himself because his mother didn't eat and cried all the time, he was tired of getting up in the morning and seeing the fences and dirt. He said the family was being tortured, and it didn't matter where he was kept, he would find a way to kill himself.
Q8 What efforts are being made to provide parents with the opportunity to model traditional family roles for children, such as working to earn an income, meal preparation, other household duties, etc.?
A There is no provision for families to prepare their own food. Accommodation is usually shared by a number of families so there is no family privacy. Some work is available for a very few people outside the compounds. I understand they are paid something like $1/hour. One woman told me she would like to obtain work so she could buy chips and lollies for her children, as they saw other children getting these things and she could not afford them.
Q9 What opportunities are in place for the assessment of safety issues such as bullying, and sexual or physical abuse of children in detention centres.
A There was one allegation, later shown to be unfounded, of sexual abuse of a young girl. This was investigated. Beyond this I cannot comment. I heard rumours of parents using excessive physical punishment as a result of their distressed mental state, but saw no actual evidence of this myself.
Q10 What socialization opportunities are available either within detention centres or in the wider community for children to develop skills and independence, engage in social activities, participate in cultural traditions, and communicate and interact with same-age peers and adults from similar ethnic and religious backgrounds?
A Socialization opportunities are extremely limited for the children remaining in Woomera. Many complain of loneliness and of having lost their friends when they obtained visas. The children leave the centre to attend school, which is based at a now disused Catholic school. They have no contact with the children who attend the local Woomera School. The have few opportunities to develop skills and independence and no chance to see their parents demonstrating these attributes. I saw no opportunity for any significant practice of cultural traditions, and frequently the families occupying shared accommodation are from different ethnic and religious backgrounds.
Q11 What provisions are in place to ensure the maintenance of privacy in a manner commensurate with usual cultural practice?
A Difficulties are created by the crowded conditions.
Example: An elderly woman [words deleted] was a cause of considerable conflict in her shared accommodation as other occupants considered her habits unclean and blamed her family for this. An application was made to DIMIA for more suitable accommodation for the family [words deleted] but this was refused.
In conclusion, I believe that the current policy of mandatory detention for asylum seekers can only result in continued psychological damage to the children who are detained. The isolation of the detention centres, the manner in which they strip autonomy and dignity from inmates, the uncertainty associated with the visa application process, and the way in which inmates perceive themselves as unfairly treated, or even persecuted, all serve to create an atmosphere of helplessness and hopelessness. This in turn frequently precipitates frank mental illness in an already highly vulnerable population. Children of parents affected in this way are damaged in a severe and lasting way by this experience, as described in detail in the Australian Psychological Society submission.
I have found this a very difficult report to write. Never before in my professional life have I felt so helpless, so often. I could not give the people in Woomera Detention Centre what they needed most: their freedom. I felt guilt because I was part of the society that had inflicted this wrong upon them, and because it was impossible for me, and my colleagues, to provide them with the level of care that was their right as human beings.
Terry ZeeherLast Updated 9 January 2003.