Clinical and Legal Considerations When Optimizing Trauma Narratives in Immigration Law Evaluations

Amy Franks; Diab A. Ali; Ahmad Adi

doi:10.29158/JAAPL.240080-24

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Table 1

Common Scenarios in Asylum Trauma Narratives and Suggested Areas of Inquiry

Common Scenario	Suggested Questions
Torture	Who was the perpetrator of the torture? What was the kind of torture, and what happened during torture? How often did the torture occur (one incident versus multiple incidents)? Did the torture occur in the context of an interrogation? Was the torture done to obtain specific or false confessions? Are there any scars or physical evidence of the torture? Did the person have access to medical care after torture? Did the person have access to any local, regional, or international NGOs to report the torture?
Imprisonment	What were the circumstances that led to imprisonment? How long was the imprisonment? Did the person have access to food, clean drinking water, toileting? Where was the person held (cell versus other settings)? How many others were in the same cell or holding environment? Were there any formal charges read to the person? Did the person have access to legal representation? Did family and loved ones know about where the person was held? Did the person have access to medical care during imprisonment?
Abduction	Who were the abductors? What were the circumstances around the abduction? Did the person have access to food, clean water, toileting? Was the person allowed any contact with family and loved ones? Was there a ransom, and if so, how much was the ransom? How was the ransom paid? What were the circumstances of the person’s release? Did the person have the option of reporting the abduction to local authorities?
Sexual violence	Were the perpetrators known to the victim? What were the circumstances around the assault? How many incidents of assault or sexual violence occurred? How did the assault stop or how did the victim escape the assault if held captive? Did the person have the option of reporting the assault? Were there any family, community, or cultural barriers to reporting? Did a pregnancy occur as a result?
Human trafficking	What were the circumstances around the trafficking? How did the person know the activities were part of a trafficking scenario? Did the person attempt to escape or leave the traffickers? Did the person have access to food, clean water, toileting? Was the person allowed any contact with family and loved ones? Were there expectations regarding work duties (for example, manual labor, prostitution)? How did the person escape the traffickers? Did the person have access to any local, regional, or international authorities to report the trafficking?