Detaining Refugees Doubles the Risk of Stress Disorder

Asylum seekers gesture to protesters holding a pro-refugee rights rally from their hotel room where they have been detained in Melbourne on June 13, 2020, after they were evacuated to Australia for medical reasons from offshore detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island. William West/AFP via Getty Images

Detaining people seeking asylum in Australia more than doubles their odds of developing post-traumatic stress disorder.

A national study published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress investigated the mental health impacts of immigration detention on 334 asylum seekers.