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Rau Case Puts Spotlight on Mental Health Services for Asylum Seekers

AMA Ethics and Medico Legal Chair, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said today that the plight of Cornelia Rau raises questions about the state of mental health services available to all asylum seekers held in Australian immigration detention centres.

Dr Capolingua said many asylum seekers in Australia suffer from psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and possibly the physical effects of persecution and torture endured in their country of origin.

"The detention environment makes those conditions worse," Dr Capolingua said.

"The Cornelia Rau case is an awful tragedy.

"But why has it taken the wrongful detention of an Australian permanent resident to draw such immediate attention to the poor standards of mental health care among asylum seekers in immigration detention facilities.

"Anyone in Australia, regardless of citizenship status, whether living in the community or in immigration detention, or prison, should be afforded the same basic health care as the general Australian population.

"The Rau case highlights the need for an immediate inquiry into the mental health service provision for people in immigration detention," Dr Capolingua said.

8 February 2005

CONTACT: Judith Tokley (02) 6270 5471 / (0408) 824 306

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