A Human-Centred Investigation into the Impact of Social Protection on the Wellbeing of UK Asylum Seekers

: (Alternative Format Thesis)

Abstract

Asylum seekers arriving in the United Kingdom at this time face a hostile policy environment. Over the last twenty-five years, formal social protection provision has diminished considerably and the lives of those waiting in the extended asylum application system have become heavily regulated. At the same time, community-based welfare support has increased, providing essential practical and moral support for those seeking sanctuary in towns and cities across the country.

Despite the current prominence of asylum debates in political and media circles, there remains a dearth of robust evidence concerning the impact of these different forms of social protection on the wellbeing of UK asylum seekers, and limited channels for their opinions to inform policy design. Existing literature focuses mainly on the impact of refugee community organisations in northern England, Scotland and Wales, and there are few studies that provide first-person accounts of informal welfare provision through social networks or the role of asylum seekers as givers rather than simply receivers of support.

This research study responds to this literary gap by testing the efficacy of a human-centred research design to investigate, and effectively present, the impact of different forms of social protection on asylum seekers’ wellbeing in Bristol, Southwest England. A human-centred research methodology was employed, utilising participatory processes of knowledge generation to resist generalisation and focus instead on the individual and specific details of peoples’ lived experience. The research also aimed to facilitate positive wellbeing outcomes for all those involved in the research process. In pursuit of this goal, data were collected through mixed methods, including refugee peer researcher interviews and a Photovoice project that culminated in a photographic exhibition as an advocacy activity.

A two-stage data analysis process was undertaken. Firstly, Causal Map software was used to code and illustrate causal links between social protection interventions and wellbeing change in broad domains of participants’ lives. The main areas discussed by participants in relation to formal social protection were the negative impact of restrictive hotel living and a long and difficult asylum application process on their autonomy and psychosocial wellbeing. Formal welfare support also included government community-based housing and education provision, which were reported to have a mainly positive impact on asylum seekers’ lives. The impact of community-based social protection on wellbeing was overwhelmingly positive, linked to increased human connection, informal peer support, volunteering opportunities, practical and material support, and information, training, and skills development.

The second analysis stage utilised Manfred Max-Neef’s Human Scale Development theory to understand how asylum seekers’ fundamental human needs were being satisfied or harmed by different forms of social protection. Four negative satisfier themes emerged: dehumanisation, unfreedoms, ignorance as structural violence, and (re)traumatisation. Four positive satisfier themes were also identified: common humanity, autonomy and resistance, exerting agency through knowledge exchange, and holistic healing.

These findings, alongside wider literature, informed the development of seven conceptual bridging satisfiers, changes in policy and practice that may support a move from needs deprivation to needs satisfaction for asylum seekers at this time. The proposed changes involve improving transparency, equity and efficiency in policy formulation and administration, a focus on supporting productivity and occupation in asylum seekers’ lives while they await their asylum application decision, trauma-informed policy adaptation and increased mental health support, and credible and robust evidence as the basis for policy decision-making. A multi-agency, joined-up system of asylum social protection, including both formal and semi-formal actors, is proposed to facilitate these changes through the formation of local level networks and a national landscape of practice. In line with the human-centred nature of the research project, reflexivity and methodological critique form an important part of my research findings, as does participant feedback and a robust dissemination process.

Date of Award	22 May 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Jeremy Dixon (Supervisor), James Copestake (Supervisor) & Rachel Forrester-Jones (Supervisor)