‘Stop the boats’: deterrence of asylum seekers from the perspective of Australian medical professionals

Abstract

Deterrence ideology has been central to Australia’s response to forced migration for over two decades. Deterrence is communicated through discourse such as ‘stop the boats’ and is powered by strategies of discourse practice that enable the ideology to become dominant in society. Scholarship has documented medical professionals working in Australia’s immigration detention system speaking out against detention and experiencing what is known in bioethics as a dual loyalty dilemma. However, literature is yet to analyse the profession’s views on deterrence. This study performs critical discourse analysis on advocacy from medical professionals who had worked in the detention system, and who had spoken out against the system. The profession’s criticism of the system reveals distrust of the Australian Government for perpetuating deterrence ideology. The profession’s advocacy highlights three key criticisms of deterrence ideology: the language of deterrence dehumanises; the Government’s conduct in perpetuating deterrence ideology is dangerous; and deterrence ideology perpetuates a toxic culture. As other nations look to Australia as an example, it is important to document and interrogate all aspects of Australia’s experience of deterrence.