Female asylum seekers ‘living like prisoners’

Women asylum seekers have said they are living like prisoners and that direct provision is like “a hell”, while expressing concern about their mental health and that of their children, according to a new study.

The project by Dr Joan Giller, a GP in West Cork, also found that religion is seen as a source of comfort and coping amid worries over a lack of privacy, uncertainty regarding their futures, and a lack of concern by management at centres.

Entitled Dimensions of Distress — A qualitative study of female African asylum seekers in Ireland, the study formed part of Dr Giller’s MA Counselling and Psychotherapy and recounts the experiences of a number of women based in a West Cork direct provision centre.