Mount Sinai Human Rights Program | Newsletter December 2017

M S

O U I N

N T A I

H U M A N R I G H T S P RO GR A M

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2

December 2017

Celebrating HUMAN RIGHTS DAY and the 70th Anniversary of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS This year's Human Rights Day celebrated on December 10 th has particular significance because it marks the beginning of the 70th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This declaration set forth by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10th, 1948 proclaimed that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’ regardless of race, nationality, color, religion, sex, language, and political or other opinion. This is a time to reflect on the progress that has been made worldwide, but also to acknowledge the work that still remains. At the MSHRP, we continue to advocate for the rights of asylum seekers and refugees and we are reminded that the principles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are as important and meaningful as ever in protecting fundamental freedoms. As anti-immigrant sentiment and rhetoric has unfortunately propagated in the U.S. over the past year, so have our efforts to provide clinical evaluations and services, advocacy, and education for and about asylum seekers who are survivors of human rights abuses. We have seen that we can and must take action in order to assure the rights of all human beings. The MSHRP is as committed as ever to do so and also to take stock of the work that still remains.

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Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home — so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world.

— Eleanor Roosevelt, Chair of United Nations Human Rights Commission & driving force behind UDHR

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Grand Rounds Drs. Craig Katz and Elizabeth Singer were invited to speak at the Psychiatry Grand Rounds at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s/ West in November. They presented on The Forensic Evaluation of Asylum Seekers and engaged the audience in a case discussion.

Showing 'Credible Fear' Is a Hurdle In Avoiding Deportation Dr. Craig Katz wrote a piece for the Huffington Post describing his experience serving in a "credible fear" case. He teamed up with a medical student, Stephanie Schonholz, to conduct a psychiatric evaluation over the phone of a woman detained at the South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas.

Craig Katz, MD "We are often the last line of defense for immigrants who have failed multiple times to convince the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers that they have a 'credible fear of persecution or torture."

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December 2017

IN FOCUS 3 During the week of October 23rd, 2017 the Icahn School of Medicine class of 2020 embarked upon a week-long course in health and human rights during In Focus 3. Organized by Dr. Holly Atkinson and the Department of Medical Education, the course focused on a broad range of topics in the realm of health and human rights and involved many faculty from the Mount Sinai Human Rights Program. On the Clinical Human Rights day, Dr. Elizabeth Singer gave the keynote talk on Asylum Seekers and the Importance of Screening in this population. She also led a seminar on the immigration detention system in the United States.

Several additional seminars addressing the unique challenges faced by asylum seekers and survivors of human rights abuses were led by: Dr. Sarah Gundle (Evaluation of LGBTI Asylum Seekers), Dr. Craig Katz (The Mental Health of Asylees), Dr. Deboarh Ottenheimer (Domestic Violence: A Global Crisis for Women), and Dr. Mary White (Documenting Physical Signs of Torture).

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE Many families flee to the United States seeking protection from global violence and human rights abuses and are held in immigration detention centers. Only seven psychiatrists around the nation are cleared to conduct psychological evaluations for the 1600 women and children detained at South Texas Family Residential Center (STFRC) in Dilley, Texas. A mental health evaluation documenting past trauma is the first step toward recovery for these Stephanie Schonholz women, and a physician’s assessment of psychological trauma is critical to their legal cases with 89% granted asylum following a medical evaluation compared to 37.5% without one. At STFRC, access to these evaluations is restricted by turnaround times averaging 48 hours, transfers to different centers, and deportation before evaluations are scheduled. Women’s decreased access to mental health evaluations in detention is a global health issue experienced locally because it often means denial of asylum and return to traumatic and potentially deadly situations.

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STUDENT RESEARCH & PRESENTATIONS Aliza Green and Eliza Hersh represented the MSHRP at the recent Physicians for Human Rights National Student Conference at Georgetown in Washington D.C. in November, and presented a poster titled ‘Optimizing Clinic Flow to Meet Increasing Client Volume: The Mount Sinai Human Rights Program’s (MSHRP) Student-Faculty Hybrid Model’ Aliza Green, Eliza Hersh, Schonholz, Gus Ruchman, Neha Sikka.

Syed Haider attended the Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association in Atlanta, GA in November and presented a poster on his study assessing the knowledge and attitudes of medical students on human rights issues and asylum seekers.

The poster, ‘The Role of Health and Human Rights in Medical School Education: Experiences from The Mount Sinai Human Rights Program,’ will also be presented at the upcoming Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) in New York in March 2018.

'Experiences of Violence and Community Dynamics in Women Asylum Seekers who have undergone FGM/ C,' Hazel Lever, Jimmitti Teysir, Rebbia Shahab.* 'Global Health at Home: Service and Training at a Student-Faculty Human Rights Program,’ Gus Ruchman, Kaur, Khushmit , N e h a S i k k a , , S te p h a n i e Schonholz, Arielle Strasser.

All were accepted as moderated ePOSTER presentations at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) 2018 Conference which will be held in New York, NY from March 16-18, 2018. *Also selected as a finalist for the Lancet Best Student Poster

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