Unsafe and unstable housing for refugees and asylum seekers is a threat to intergenerational health

Immigration policies in Europe have become increasingly punitive to deter new arrivals and unsettle the people already here.1 These policies translate into increased and protracted periods of uncertainty, including through the normalisation of hostile contingency accommodation, which is detrimental to the health of people seeking asylum2 and has repercussions across generations.

At the same time the concept of intergenerational health is gaining traction in public health, recognising how health is affected by intrafamilial factors and the intersection with medical, socioeconomic, racial, and cultural factors between generations.34 This concept also describes how vulnerability is reproduced intergenerationally through legal, economic, social, and political structures.5 It is well established that children’s early years are critical in developing their future health and wellbeing.6 But research on migration has often dismissed how forced displacement, including experiences throughout the resettlement process, can affect infants and young children before they start school.