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Hasna Sheikh

Hasna

PhD Student

Email: h.m.sheikh@qmul.ac.uk

Profile

Thesis Title

How do Domestic Asylum Authorities Adjust Decision-Making in Light of Medical Developments?

Supervisors

Summary of Research

This thesis examines the struggle for authority between UK asylum authorities and medical experts regarding the relevance of trauma-based illnesses to the determination of asylum claims. Two fields of expertise are engaged – medical diagnosis and asylum determination - which are in competition concerning the creation of knowledge and its consequences for those seeking asylum. The first part focuses on two issues: how asylum seekers’ immigration status determines their access to healthcare and how healthcare professionals accommodate these limitations with their duty to provide treatment. The second part analyses how the power to assess the mental health of asylum applicants for medical treatment and for immigration decision-making operates. This thesis therefore examines the coherences and discrepancies involved in these assessments which may have life or death consequences for those seeking asylum. The project uses a multi-disciplinary approach to analyse the relationship between law and medicine in the context of Refugee Law, with a combination of doctrinal and comparative approaches to law including international refugee and human rights law, domestic asylum law, asylum policies and mental health research.

Biography

Hasna began her doctoral research at Queen Mary University of London in September 2021 as a recipient of an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Studentship award from the London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP). Prior to her doctoral research, Hasna worked for the UK Civil Service on a range of global topics including asylum and migration. She holds an LLB degree in Law from Queen Mary University of London and was called to the Bar in 2013. Hasna completed an LLM in Human Rights Law at Queen Mary University of London in 2019 in which she received a Distinction overall. She has a strong interest in the mental health needs of those seeking asylum, particularly the prevalence of trauma-based disorders amongst this group, and is keen to integrate the results of her research into government practice.

Hasna was awarded an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded Research Studentship at Queen Mary University of London from the London Arts and Humanities Partnership.

Research

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