Does the State fulfil its duty to provide adequate and accessible mental health care for female asylum seekers? : comparison between Malta and Austria

Abstract

States have the obligation through national and international legislation to provide everyone within their jurisdiction with accessible and adequate health care services, including mental health care. Nevertheless, female asylum seekers face obstacles when accessing mental health care services. This thesis observes international law, EU law, and national law that puts an obligation upon States to provide mental health care for female asylum seekers and summarizes existing research in the field of health care for migrants and potential obstacles. To answer the question “Does the State fulfil its duty to provide adequate and accessible mental health care for female asylum seekers? A comparison between Malta and Austria.”, interviews with experts working in the sphere of mental health care for asylum seekers were conducted with four professionals working in Malta and four experts employed in Austria. In the course of these expert interviews, the participants were asked to answer ten questions regarding their work, the mental health care offered to asylum seekers, the role of the government within this sphere, and potential obstacles female asylum seekers may have to face when trying to access mental health care in the two countries. The conclusion drawn from this research is that both, the government of Austria as well as the government of Malta, fail to fulfil their obligation to provide accessible and adequate mental health care for female asylum seekers. This conclusion is justified by the outcome of the expert interviews, as both, Maltese and Austrian participants, stated that their government fails to provide sufficient financial and human resources, come up with long-term, pro-active, preventive measures to solve wellknown issues in this sphere, provide adequate housing and living conditions for female asylum seekers, to take a position in line with democratic, European values towards female asylum seekers, to satisfy the special needs of female asylum seekers and to cope with post-migration difficulties.