I first met Sharon and Vanessa in 2007 at a conference where I was presenting a paper that raised questions about assessments of rape in the asylum context. They accosted me at the end of our panel discussion to talk about how we might be able to work together in the future. We exchanged email addresses, and I returned to Glasgow – happy to have met some kindred spirits.
It started with an email and grew into a research project
Little did I realise that Vanessa is the world’s most organised woman. Within 24 hours, the three of us started corresponding by email, and before the year was out, we were research colleagues and had secured funding for a small pilot study based in Scotland.
We went on to obtain generous funding from Nuffield Foundation for a longer-term study that examines the ways experiences of rape are disclosed by women seeking asylum and how these disclosures are responded to and evaluated by decision-makers.
Disclosure, credibility and the emotional impact of asylum work
Our findings, as summarised in our recently released Briefing Report (857Kb, PDF) highlight three main themes of disclosure, credibility and the emotional impact of asylum work. As someone who has spent ten years working in this field, all resonate for me.
In particular, our findings on emotion remind me of the fine balance we tread every day. Hearing narratives of torture and abuse can be distressing. It is not appropriate to display your own emotional response in a courtroom or an interview setting, for your upset can never outweigh that of the person before you.
But when trying to cope with the personal impact of these narratives, it is vital that we do not deny or detach ourselves from all emotion in the name of ‘professionalism’. Workers must feel able to acknowledge the difficulties of asylum work and seek support where necessary.
Coping strategies that refuse to take emotion into account can translate into disengagement from the very people whose human rights we are engaged to protect.
