UWSOM
Asylum Evaluaton Student Clinic
OUR IMPACT
The University of Washington School of Medicine Asylum Evaluation Clinic aims to provide safe, accessible, trauma-sensitive forensic medical evaluations for people seeking asylum in the U.S. One of our primary motivations is the fact that forensic evaluations increase the likelihood that asylum applications will be approved (Atkinson et al., 2021). Since its inception in 2021, our clinic has built robust partnerships with Seattle-based organizations supporting asylum seekers, including the International Rescue Committee, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and Refugees Northwest.
In addition to providing medical evaluations, the Asylum Evaluation Clinic seeks to support the social and economic needs of our clients. We are excited to share that our Continuation of Care team has grown to 12 members who work directly with each client to connect them with essential community-based support services such as safe housing, food, transportation, clothing, and counseling.
WHO WE SERVE
The majority (55%) of our clients are from East Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo). 12.5% are from India and 5% are from Central or South America. We work with interpreters to provide culturally competent care in the language our clients are most comfortable in. Out of our clients this year (2023), 28 used interpretation, most commonly requesting interpretation in Somali (16), and Punjabi (4).
The most common reasons for seeking asylum among our client population this year are physical harm (90%), threats of violence (83%), membership in a particular social group (68%), political opinion (50%), and severe discrimination or economic persecution (23%). Gender-based violence remains a persistent issue driving asylum seeking worldwide, and many of our clients have withstood substantial trauma in the journeys that have brought them to our clinic. Of the clients we have seen this year, 25% have experienced gender-based violence. Further, 25% of clients that come to us have applied for asylum because of threatened or experienced female genital cutting. We are grateful to our phenomenal faculty members for providing these clients with critical trauma informed care to support their asylum applications.