Deepa Shah

Deepa Shah is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Sussex’ School of Law, Politics and Sociology. She is a research fellow at the Human Rights Consortium and an associate editor for the International Journal of Human Rights. Deepa completed her Master’s degree in Understanding and Securing Human Rights at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, part of the School of Advanced Study at the University of London. Her dissertation focused on processes involved in refugee status determination for separated child asylum seekers. Deepa is interested in how the increasingly politicised and securitised asylum system in the UK impacts on people seeking asylum, and how those working with them can help them get the support they need. For social workers given immigration duties as part of the hostile environment, there are conflicts between principles of human rights, social justice, dignity, and professional integrity, and exclusionary immigration policies. Deepa is researching how social workers respond to the ethical dilemmas they face, both individually and as a profession, when working with people seeking asylum. Her research interests have been shaped by her past researcher role with Medical Justice, an organisation that works to uphold the health and associated legal rights of people in immigration detention, and provides medical evidence so the harms of detention are understood and acted on.