Assumptions Underlying Credibility Assessments in Asylum Processes : An Analysis of Evaluations in Finnish Asylum Cases
Sui, Veronica (2020)
Sui, Veronica
Åbo Akademi
2020
Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2020102988748
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2020102988748
Tiivistelmä
Asylum seekers rarely arrive in a receiving country with corroborating evidence to their claims. Thus, to determine asylum status, asylum officials often have to evaluate how truthful the applicant’s claim is rather than search for hard evidence that could substantiate it. However, the task of assessing credibility might force asylum officials to use subjective opinions and expectations in the evaluation processes, which could undermine the integrity of the determination processes that should be conducted objectively and impartially. The aim of the current study was to assess whether there seems to be certain assumptions underlying the credibility assessments in asylum processes in Finland, and how well these assumptions correspond with current psychological literature. The methodology partly replicated a similar study by Dowd and colleagues from 2018. We identified assumptions in official asylum cases (n = 56) and assigned these into major themes and sub-categories, which were then compared to empirical psychological knowledge. The results indicate that asylum officials’ explicit and implicit assumptions affect the asylum determinations. It would be essential to compare assumptions about human memory and behavior with current research, and to adjust them to be in line with the literature where needed. Thorough guidelines for how such assumptions should be acknowledged and approached are needed. More training could also be provided about relevant psychological aspects to the asylum processes. For example, the training could focus on how trauma and mental health concerns may affect individuals’ abilities to recollect memories and to present credible asylum claims.
Kokoelmat
- 515 Psykologia [233]