Part 6: Child Detainees- A Statement from Key Leaders
In this final contribution to this blog series, Dr. Inge Corless (Professor, School of Nursing) has shared a document that was prepared late last month by an interprofessional group of leaders to express concern over the separation of children and families. Thanks to Dr. Corless for her leadership and willingness to share. My hope is that this series of contributions adds to our collective understanding of the current situation affecting those being detained and separated. As always, feedback is welcome! Alex Johnson
Statement
Concerning the Incarceration of Children and Adults
June
27, 2018
As an interdisciplinary, international
group of health care practitioners, scholars, and experts in the field of loss
and grief (including U.S. citizens), we are adding our collective voice in
opposition to the current, continuing incarceration of children and their
parents. The removal of children from
parents can never be justified as a means of deterring migration, regardless of
the driving forces.
The
family, in all of its different manifestations, is a core foundational unit
of a stable society. Separating children from their parents is known
to have detrimental psychological effects for both children and their
parents. The effects of such traumatic
stress can last for generations.
Attachment, fostered within family
systems, is a key factor in the physical, emotional and psychological
growth and well-being of its members. Therefore, it is essential that all
societies recognize their legal, moral and social responsibilities to respect,
protect and fulfil children’s rights and needs within families.
As members of the International Work
Group on Death Dying and Bereavement we have extensive expertise in the areas
of loss and grief. For children separated from their families, the
resultant trauma has been shown to have profound, prolonged and
intergenerational effects. For parents, the uncertainty of when or whether they
will see their children again creates unbearable stress and grief. The
loss of a child is recognized as one of the most devastating losses one can
experience. Families need safe and stable environments in which to effectively
care for their children. Further, separation of children from their families
has an impact on all inhabitants and is traumatizing not only for the
affected individuals but also for the on-lookers; the children and adults for
whom the current practice can also be traumatizing. The impact on law
enforcement officers and other people charged with implementing a practice in
violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child must also be considered.
We urge all governments, including the
United States, to:
1.
End
the human rights violations of vulnerable people, including separation of
children from their families
2.
Rapidly
reunite children with their families
3.
Treat
asylum seekers with the customary care and respect heretofore given to such
individuals.
We call on governments everywhere –
including the United States Government- to fulfill their obligations under the
United Nations 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees towards all peoples
who seek shelter and support outside their own countries of origin and, in
particular, towards the most vulnerable of all: children.
This statement was written by a group of
concerned professionals in response to the separation of children and families
entering the United States. This statement represents solely the opinions of
the authors and signatories.
You have full permission to translate the
document into other languages, and to distribute it via websites, blogs, the
media, and other venues. It is our intention that the message be shared widely.
Authors
Inge B. Corless
PhD RN FNAP FAAN Professor, MGH Institute of Health Professions,
Boston, MA. USA
Susan Cadell
PhD Professor of Social Work, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
Debra Wiegand
RN PhD FAAN Associate Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore,
MD. USA
Stacy S. Remke
Professor, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN. USA
Irene Murphy M.Soc.Sc., C.Q.S.W, Director of
Bereavement & Family Support Services,
Marymount University Hospital and Hospice, Curraheen, Cork.,
Ireland.
Andrea Warnick
RN MA Andrea Warnick Consulting Guelph, Canada
Carrie Arnold
PhD MED RSW CCC FT Thanatology, King’s College, London, Ontario,
CA
Lauren
Breen PhD Associate professor Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia
Signatories
Jane Skeen MD
Auckland, New Zealand
Phyllis
Kosminsky PHD LCSW, New York, New York, USA
Donna Schuurman
EdD Portland, Oregon, USA
Janice Nadeau
PhD Private Practice, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Kathleen
Gilbert PhD Professor Emerita, Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Janet McCord
PhD FT Chilton, Wisconsin, USA
Ida Martinson
RN PHD Bemidji, Minnesota, USA
David Roth Funeral
Director Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
Gerry Cox PhD
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Salina, Kansas, USA
Andy Hau Yan Ho
PhD MFT FT, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Mary L Vachon
RN PhD RP, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Catriona Macpherson
EdD, Children and Family Services, Scotland
Daniela Reis E
Silva MCP FT Associacao de terapia Familiar de Espirito Santo, Vitoria,
Brazil
Ronit Shalev
PhD The Center for Academic Studies. Israel
Emmanuelle
Zech, Professor, Universite catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Signatories (continued)
Wendy Bowler
PhD, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
Tammy Bartel MA
RCC CT, Private Practice, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Danai Papadatou
Professor of Clinical Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University
of Athens, Athens, Greece
Chris Paul
Trauerinstitut Deutschland, Bonn, Germany
Regina Szylit
Professor of University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Betty Davies,RN
PhD University of Victoria, VictoriaBritish Columbia, Canada
Leslie Balmer
PhD Psychologist Missisauga, Canada
Astrid Ronsen
Assistant Professor NTNU Fjellhammer, Norway
Resources
American
Academy of Nursing https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/AANNET/c8a8da9e-918c-4dae-b0c6-6d630c46007f/UploadedImages/docs/Press%20Releases/2018/2018-Acadeny_Statement_on_Separation_of_Children-Parents_at_Border-B.pdf
American Association of
Colleges of Nursing https://www.magnetmail.net/actions/email_web_version.cfm?ep=6xX3RWT_y-Zgujfys_wwVkRGGCsKXlDaepEmTtUbLptDKLu3Ttt1eYpB-vas2C2h7aqIonSWtTH3UkUNao2TEpWs86W4Vj14RWvuVMkfF5p1sZQZM_N2fxlRUMC1ms9j
American
Family Therapy Academy https://afta.org/2017/01/afta-stands-opposition-trumps-executive-order-immigration/
National Council on Family
Relations (NCFR)
United Nations Health
Commission on Refugees (UNHCR).
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