Women's Experiences of Immigration Detention in Italy: Examining Immigration Procedural Fairness, Human Dignity, and Health.

Recent decades have witnessed a growing number of states around the world relying on border control measures, such as immigration detention, to govern human mobility and control the movements of those classified as "unauthorised non-citizens." In response to this, an increasing number of scholars from several disciplines, including psychologists, have begun to examine this phenomenon. In spite of the widespread concerns raised, few studies have been conducted inside immigration detention sites, primarily due to difficulties in gaining access. This body of research becomes even scanter when it comes to the experiences of detained women. This study is the first of its kind to have surveyed 93 women confined in an Italian immigration detention facility. A partial mediation model with latent variables was tested through partial least structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed the negative impact that unfair immigration procedures have on detained women's human dignity, which in turn negatively affects their self-rated physical and mental health. Overall, our study sheds light on the dehumanisation and damage to human dignity that immigration detention entails, as well as its negative impact on the health of those affected. This evidence reinforces the image of these institutions as sites of persistent injustice, while stressing the need to envision alternative justice-oriented forms to address human mobility.

Examining life in detention: A process of survey translation and adaptation through an ecological and collaborative approach.

This paper illustrates the process we engaged in to translate and adapt a survey to examine life in an immigration detention center in Italy from the perspective of the migrants detained therein. The process consisted of: the forward translation of the original measure performed by four independent translators; a blind backward translation to identify misinterpretations or incorrect cross-cultural and contextual adaptations; a synthesis of all translations to obtain a semifinal version; the creation of an Expert Committee composed of scholars, practitioners, and migrants with experience of detention to assess equivalence and content validity; and, finally, pretesting with a group of 15 detained persons. Through this multi-step process we obtained a measure capable of grasping the context-specific meanings, needs and experiences that characterize life in detention. The challenges and benefits of a collaborative and ecological approach to measurement translation and adaption are discussed in the final section.

Ecology of Sites of Confinement: Everyday Life in a Detention Center for Illegalized Non-citizens.

Drawing on almost 3 years of fieldwork, comprising qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations, this study provides an exploration into the detention of illegalized non-citizens in Italy. Taking the largest detention center as a case study, the fabric of everyday life and the lived experiences of people, both detainees and professional actors, are the focus of examination. An ecological community psychology framework, with a focus on justice, guided the data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Findings highlight the oppressive qualities of detention, and its ripple effects on people's life spaces. Scarcity of resources, activities, and information created a very distressing environment for detainees, also enhancing feelings of powerlessness and frustration in professionals willing to assist them. Uncertainty and instability, rather than coercion or discipline, emerged as modes of governing and dominating. Bound in a different space and time, detainees were turned into unwanted and expendable others, their confinement becoming a means to extract profit from them. Yet, people languishing in these sites displayed an extraordinary ability to cope with, resist, and challenge the persisting conditions of injustice they endured. We conclude by highlighting the potential of the proposed framework, and discussing broader implications of our findings and avenues for research and action.