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The Letter and Spirit of the Law: Barriers to Healthcare Access for Asylum Seekers in France

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  • Paul May

    (Université du Québec à Montréal)

Abstract

This article focuses on the barriers to healthcare access experienced by asylum seekers in France. Based on data from a qualitative analysis involving 52 semi-structured interviews with asylum seekers, it uses critical race theory (CRT) to understand informal obstacles to healthcare access that are not identifiable in the study of national legislation. Our findings are twofold. First, institutional barriers result from the mismatches between administrative procedures to ensure healthcare access and the real-world concrete difficulties that asylum seekers have to face because of their ethnic and national backgrounds. Second, psychological barriers that hinder refugee from requesting and obtaining proper healthcare (mistrust of public authorities, feeling of discrimination) can be more fully explained by considering the experiences of trauma, insecurity, and marginalization that asylum seekers are forced to endure once they depart from their country of origin. From an academic point of view, this study highlights the importance of including subaltern people in considering the migratory phenomenon, in order to uncover the less visible aspects of discriminatory process. From a political point of view, this study calls for the modification of certain aspects of the asylum procedure which are not suited to the concrete situation of asylum seekers.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul May, 2021. "The Letter and Spirit of the Law: Barriers to Healthcare Access for Asylum Seekers in France," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1383-1401, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:22:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1007_s12134-021-00821-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s12134-021-00821-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gunst, M. & Jarman, K. & Yarwood, V. & Rokadiya, S. & Capsaskis, L. & Orcutt, M. & Abbara, A., 2019. "Healthcare access for refugees in Greece: Challenges and opportunities," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(9), pages 818-824.
    2. Scott, Penelope, 2014. "Black African asylum seekers’ experiences of health care access in an eastern German state," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(3), pages 134-147.
    3. MacFarlane, Anne & Dzebisova, Zhanna & Karapish, Dmitri & Kovacevic, Bosiljka & Ogbebor, Florence & Okonkwo, Ekaterina, 2009. "Arranging and negotiating the use of informal interpreters in general practice consultations: Experiences of refugees and asylum seekers in the west of Ireland," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 210-214, July.
    4. Kullgren, J.T., 2003. "Restrictions on Undocumented Immigrants' Access to Health Services: The Public Health Implications of Welfare Reform," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(10), pages 1630-1633.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ellen Heidinger, 2021. "Overcoming Barriers to Service Access: Refugees’ Professional Support Service Utilization and the Impact of Human and Social Capital," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1151, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    2. Ellen Heidinger, 2023. "Overcoming Barriers to Service Access: Refugees’ Professional Support Service Utilization and the Impact of Human and Social Capital," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 271-312, March.

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