Labelling Theory Essay

Labelling theory is a means by which sociologists can attribute preconceptions (often false ones) about certain social groups. The idea behind the theory is that conformists will define which acts can be construed as ones of a “deviant”, and can then label a person as a deviant. This labelled “deviant” is then treated as one, and eventually begins to turn into one. This series of events is known as a “self-fulfilling prophecy”. Examples of labels placed upon members of society include: thief, criminal, guilty, et cetera. Though labels are not limited to crime, some of the most prominent ones are commonly associated with crime.

An asylum seeker (also frequently referred to as a refugee), is a person who flees a country to live in safety in a new country. By definition, they are “seeking asylum”, which means they are looking to find a place that will give
protection (for example, a new country which, by international law must accept a political refugee). These refugees must be affected by “push” factors (reasons to leave the country, such as war or terrorism) more so than “pull” factors, which include reasons such as wealth, business, or change of mind.

The labelling theory successfully explains why asylum seekers are sent off to the regional processing centres.
The fact that they are given a detainee number instantly means they are classified as an “unauthorised maritime arrival”, or UMA. This means they are no longer viewed as people who are trying to escape their country to survive, but instead people who are arriving by boat to avoid paying to enter the country. This means they are therefore branded as “people smugglers” and are thought of as criminals (thus they are believed to be morally inferior), as they are given numbers and locked away. This is to remove the rights ordinarily given to political refugees (by the aforementioned international law), and allows the Australian Government to treat these asylum seekers as illegal immigrants. This example of labelling asylum seekers as “deviants” often results in a self-fulfilling prophecy and the victims of the perpetuated stigma follow the expectations and try to break out of the centres, as they now have a new identity. This often inspires others to rebel and the labelled deviants turn into actual
deviants.

Labelling theory does not, however, explain why refugees, who are classified as UMAs and have their rights as a refugee stripped from them, but higher powers, such as Tony Abbott, are not thought of any lesser because of that classification. Though it is probable that the prejudice against these asylum seekers is because of the third-world countries they come from, it does not explain why higher social powers think of these innocent refugees as criminals, because it is those exact criminals that they are attempting to seek refuge from. Be that as it may, labelling theory does not explain how these places achieve this prejudice in the first place.