Self-harm by asylum seekers has surged since offshore processing – leaked report

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/09/self-harm-asylum-seekers-detention-surged-serco-report

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The immigration department was warned that self-harm among asylum seekers in detention – particularly on Christmas Island – had surged since the introduction of mandatory offshore resettlement and would continue to do so, Guardian Australia can reveal.

A leaked, confidential report by Serco – the security company managing all immigration detention centres in Australia – also shows the extraordinary measures being undertaken to tighten security in the detention network, borrowing from military practise and those used by Asio, and the relaxed regulation of the use of force.

The report contains previously unseen statistics showing that the rate of self-harm among asylum seekers was six times higher by January 2014 than in July last year, when the former prime minister Kevin Rudd introduced the so-called “PNG solution”.

“There has been an increase in self-harm, particularly on Christmas Island where the detainee cohort is most heavily impacted by new policies,” the report warns. It goes on: “as time in detention continues to increase, it is likely that a corresponding increase will be experienced more broadly across the IDN [immigration detention network]”.

On Wednesday Tony Abbott said the government would not be held “over a moral barrel” in relation to a group of mothers on Christmas Island who self-harmed and were placed on suicide watch.

The report says that since the introduction of mandatory offshore processing and resettlement an “unprecedented risk profile” has arisen, including increased tension, large scale protest, escape attempt, aggression towards staff and self-harm.

“It is assessed that as detainees continue to realise their pathway proposition, there will almost certainly be a continued shift in demeanour where detainees may individually, or collectively, attempt to coerce or test policy outcomes through a range of adverse behaviours,” the report states.

It documents a series of practices marked “agreed” to clamp down on so-called “non-compliant” asylum seekers, which have been criticised by professor Louise Newman one of Australia’s foremost experts in mental health as “very dangerous”.

It is unclear how many of these have been implemented.

Non-compliance could be defined as simply not taking part in structured activities in detention centres.

The practices include:

Professor Newman, director of the Monash University Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology told Guardian Australia she had “very serious concerns” about the measures being introduced and the lack of checks and balances that appear to have been established.

“The rewards and punishments model shown in the report is an outmoded approach and there’s nothing in there about properly dealing with the obvious issues of distress and breakdown in detention,” she said.

Newman said the document highlighted a “military control model” being imposed, “without reference to oversight, governance and with no reference to mental health concerns.”

“It reflects that mentality, that distress is not allowed. That distress should be dealt with punishment.”

“There’s nothing wrong with writing a framework for non compliant behaviour – but it appears there are no checks and balance like there are outside of detention”.

Both the immigration minister, Scott Morrison, and Serco have been contacted for comment.