The purpose of this paper is to examine the constructions of sexuality, which are produced when judgments concerning Asylum are made, based on an Asylum seeker?s sexual orientation. The question formulations are the following: Which constructions of sexuality are produced when necessary condition, fear of persecution due to sexual orientation, is applied in judgments regarding refugee status? Furthermore, how constructions of sexuality differ in the judgments where the Asylum seeker has been consented and rejected is investigated. The empirical material consists of 13 judgments, which were announced between the years 2009-2013 by the Migration court.

The common Asylum and migration policy of the European Union is a struggle between a strong belief in the protection of human rights and the need of strong and secured borders. This paper highlights the dilemma that occurs in the common Asylum and migration policy of the European Union. What happens when the union have to choose between liberal standards with high priorities to human rights and a realistic focus on security? The aim is to study the Asylum policy presented in the Stockholm Program, and thereafter evaluate what kind of character the union has itself. By an ideal type analysis of the Stockholm program from 2009, the common Asylum policy is divided into either liberal or realistic ideas.

This study is aimed to increase the knowledge about the Swedish immigration authorities? assessment of the Asylum applications based on particularly distressing circumstances, submitted by disabled undocumented migrants. Making an attempt to explain the reasons of Asylum-seekers? health deterioration during the Asylum process, this study determines the factors in migration authorities proceedings affecting such deterioration. Documents in five personal files concerning six disabled Asylum-seekers, whose applications were declined, were studied by applying two observational methods: content analysis of the documents in the personal files and non-participant observations made during receptions of undocumented migrants at the Swedish Asylum Committee.

When gender-related refugee claims was ratified in the Swedish Asylum law the 31 of March this year (2006) it opened the door for women with this specific refugee status to receive Asylum in Sweden. The aim of this thesis has been to investigate how these specific female refugees are represented and described in the Asylum process. The focus has been the construction of identity concerning these women in the Officials discourse at the Immigration department. The theoretical framework has been a critical discourse analysis regarding the exercise of power and dominance connected to the construction of identity.An understanding of the women with gender-related refugee claims as the Others has been perceived through the Officials discourse. Female refugees which have been exposed to persecution that occur in our part of the world (rape, wife abuse, etc.) are treated differently and much more restrictive, compared to women exposed to so called culture specific oppression (e.g.

In the last decade the Italian authorities have tried to adapt themselves to a united European Asylum system, in the European Union, through the adoption of legal reforms, intended to improve the conditions of Asylum seekers in Italy. Despite these reforms, Asylum seekers and refugee?s living conditions are far from covered. The aim of this study is to explore the different functions of social work in the Italian reception process regarding unaccompanied minors and their implications on the wellbeing of the unaccompanied minors. This study was conducted through several interviews with both social workers, which in some way worked with unaccompanied minors, and the unaccompanied minors themselves.

The Swedish Migration Board has during a long time had problems with long processing times for persons that apply for Asylum. The government has set targets that investigation should not exceed 6 months although it is done in almost 70% of cases.The study's aim has been to examine if steering can be linked together to long processing times and, if so, explain why. The intention has not been to provide a comprehensive picture of the problem but has defined itself to ensure steering impact. The study has been carried out by studying relevant governing documents, previous research and by interviews with administrators and decision-makers in two of the Migration Board Asylum units.The analyses of the study show that a combination of inadequate steering and inadequate resources have contributed to aggravate the implementation, which has lead to long processing times..

This essay is based on seven lifestoryinterviews with people who are undergoing orhave undergone a long Asylum process. Four women and three men have contributedwith their stories about their experiences of waiting for a determination of theirapplication for residence permit. The main aim of the essay is to give betterunderstanding of how to be a refugee and a long Asylum process affects people's abilityto narrate and thus examine their opportunities to be active in the construction of theirown identity.The questions that are debated and discussed are:? What can it mean for an individual's identity to escape her country and for a longtime wait for decision of Asylum?? What stories can be told?? What reality are highlighted as central in the stories?? How do they handle their situation and give meaning to their lives?The analysis is based on two main theoretical perspectives: narrative theory and identitytheory. The approach is that people create meaning of events through storytelling andthat they through this process of narrating construct (and reconstruct) their identities -the self image as one have and wants to present to others.In the analysis three different types of stories are distinguished, stories that arerepresented in the empirical material: the story that can not be told, the story that mustbe told and the story that are gladly told.

This phenomenological study explores the mental health problems of Asylum- seeking children in Sweden and highlights possible ways of meeting their needs. Open interviews with 13 clinically experienced psychologists were conducted.The results of the analysis suggest that experiences of trauma and separation, the child's developmental level, parental functioning and family dynamics contribute to the mental health problems of Asylum- seeking children. When meeting these children the psychologists continuously face ethical dilemmas since the Asylum-seeking process seems to aggravate the problems as well as complicate the use of traditional interventions. Promoting structure and activity, normalizing symptoms, educating about trauma and crisis, sharing and accepting anxieties and sometimes thoroughly working through traumatic experiences are treatment strategies found clinically useful. Systematic follow-up studies are needed to decide the effects of these interventions..

This paper studies the Swedish Alien?s Act regulations regarding individuals in need of international protection. The purpose of the essay is to examine the differences between the three grounds of protection that are found in the Swedish Alien?s Act. Central questions have been whether the origins of protection statuses granted in this act are national or international, as the UN convention relating to the status of refugees and also the progress of the European Union?s Common European Asylum System both are affecting the Swedish legislation.

The main purpose of this thesis is to explore journalists? views of the role of journalism in the Asylum processes. The potentially problematic phenomenon is growing, and its spread will affect the way publishing decisions are made in the future. The subject is new and foreign to many journalists, and little to no research has previously been done on the subject. Our study will therefore provide new insight in the field of journalism ethics.We have conducted a qualitative study based on interviews with eight Swedish journalists who in oneway or another have reported on threatened Asylum seekers.

This essay is about the Asylum and immigration politics within the EU. Due to the heavy criticism the EU has been exposed to from among others different kind of human rights organizations I have become interested to find out what kind of Asylum and migration politics right now is being formed by the member states of the union. Thus the purpose is also to see if the EU is creating a policy within this area that intends to live up to the human rights obligations.My overall research question is:Which ideas characterize the Asylum and immigration politics within the EU?The theoretical perspectives of universalism and particularism are used as two analytical tools in order to understand the phenomenon I am investigating and to identify its characterizing ideas. In my essay universalism and particularism are used as opposite ideal types.

Motives and reasons behind a decision to change the Asylum process in Sweden are the central concern for this thesis. A symbolic political perspective will be applied in order to elucidate the symbolic factors that have influenced the decision process.The Aliens Appeal Board in Sweden will close down at the end of March 2006 and all pending and future cases will henceforth be decided by three administrative courts. This will be done in order to enhance the principles of legal certainty by making the process more transparent and oral. It is an extensive reform, but since very few amendments are made to the applicable substantive law it raises questions about the actual motives behind the change.One reason that seems to have had a major impact on the decision to close down the Aliens Appeal Board is the fact that the board is perceived as a symbol for an inhuman Asylum policy. Transferring the process to the courts might ease the attempt to increase the legitimacy of the Asylum process.

This paper focuses on the Swedish migration discourse and investigates if and to what extent it is dominated by a security perspective. Analysing a number of official texts and documents I want to show how the discourse describes migrants and what implications this carries with it for the migrants and for the Swedish migration politics. Through discourse analysis I have analysed whose security that is prioritised, the Swedish or the refugees, who is the refugee and the Asylum seeker, and who is the illegal migrant in the Swedish official migration discourse. As a theoretical frame for the analysis I have used theories on migration and security. These include theories on the securitisation of politics, the globalisation and the creation of political identity from the nation state perspective and theories on the connection between migration and security.My results show that a security discourse is dominating the Swedish official migration discourse and is therefore defining our reality and the identities of refugees, Asylum seekers and illegal migrants.

This study is focused on the caseworkers of the Swedish Migration board and their experiences of ethical dilemmas in their daily work with Asylum seekers. Our research question is aimed at examining the ethical dilemmas that the caseworker as a social agent is experiencing in the meeting with the Asylum seeker. The empirical material in this study is based on interviews with five caseworkers of the Swedish Migration board. The material has been collected through semi-structured interviews and has then been analyzed through professional ethics as a theoretical framework. The results of this study show that ethical dilemmas are constantly being present in the work of the caseworkers. Ethical dilemmas are in different ways occurring in the meeting with the Asylum seeker. The law that regulates the caseworkers work is functioning as a limiting aspect, which leads to a feeling of contradiction between the caseworker?s personal ethics and the professional ethics..

The purpose of this essay is to outline the aspects of the rule of law that can be applied to credibility assessment in the Asylum procedure, and more specifically what factors influence the assessment of credibility in practice. To evaluate this procedure, a multidisciplinary method has been used. Secondary data has been collected from previous academic research and from legal documents such as the Swedish Aliens Act. Since the area of study lacks a reflection on how credibility issues are dealt with in practice, primary research in the form of qualitative interviews has been conducted.Key findings suggest that the Swedish Asylum system does offer a fairly inclusive refugee law and rights protection relating to the rule of law. However, the study also suggests that the decision maker's own subjectivity, lack of training relating to trauma and torture victims as well as a rigid system of regulations contribute to credibility assessments being arbitrary and discretionary, in violation of the rule of law..