The Philadelphia Human Rights Clinic (PHRC) is a medical student-run organization with a mission to provide no-cost psychiatric and physical evaluations for survivors of persecution seeking asylum in the United States.
PHRC was founded in 2012 by a small group of medical students and physicians at the University of Pennsylvania who were passionate about refugee issues. Today, we are a collaboration between all five Philadelphia medical schools: UPenn, Jefferson, Drexel, Temple, and PCOM. Our clinic operates in partnership with the Physicians for Human Rights Asylum Network.
Each year, tens of thousands of people apply for asylum in the United States in order to escape torture, trafficking, and other forms of persecution. By documenting the physical and psychological sequelae of human rights abuses and submitting a medical-legal affidavit to court, physicians and students can make a difference in whether these individuals are granted asylum or other relief from deportation. PHRC also trains healthcare providers to perform asylum evaluations, and educates medical students about the process of asylum and the role of healthcare providers in asylum.