80 Living in asylum – ambiguities of inclusion and exclusion. A critical ethical analysis

Abstract EP3.2, e-Poster Terminal 3, September 3, 2025, 13:05 - 14:00 Since 1993, social and health support for refugees in Germany has been regulated by the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act (AsylbLG), meaning that it is outside regular social and health care regulations that apply to the resident population, and it is limited in scope. Refugees are thus included and excluded at the same time in an ambivalent way both regarding medical care and social determinants of health. The aim of the poster is to trace an overall view of the social function and the ethically problematic effects of the restrictions in everyday life on health and well-being: What does it mean to live in asylum? Based on the conditions in Germany, it will be depicted which characteristics of living conditions in asylum can also be found globally. In order to identify ethically relevant patterns, material from empirical studies, in particular on the accommodation situation of refugees from various global contexts, was analysed based on the qualitative method of reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke 2022). This approach is an attempt to incorporate the results and methodological approaches of empirical sciences into philosophical-ethical reflection and thus establish a connection between the conditions of asylum that often remain rather abstract in the discourse and the actual fabric of social practices. It becomes visible how political decisions and legal norms, over which those affected have little influence, shape their lives and affect their health - from the micro-fabric of basic and intimate needs in everyday life to existential life decisions and questions of social and political participation.