WHAT WE DO
At the heart of BHRAC is a clinician-student teaching paradigm that mutually benefits survivors, medical students, and clinicians. BHRAC provides space for asylum clinicians to conduct the physical and psychological evaluations of asylum seekers. Two asylum-trained medical students join the clinician in the examination room and assist in the evaluation. The students then write the preliminary draft of the affidavit, which the physician then edits and finalizes. BHRAC sends the affidavit to the client's attorney and the national PHR office for review and submission. Asylum seekers benefit from including a medicolegal affidavit in their application for asylum. Students gain the invaluable opportunity to learn from asylum evaluators. Clinicians are relieved of the administrative burden of coordination and writing the initial draft.
The written medical testimony that physician evaluators submit to courts on behalf of asylum seekers is frequently the determining factor when judges grant asylum or other relief from deportation for survivors of torture, domestic abuse, trafficking, and other forms of persecution who present with physical and psychological sequelae of abuse. Through a partnership with Physicians for Human Rights, BHRAC is committed to helping victims of torture and abuse gain the support they need to receive refuge in the United States.
