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Emergency response, in the sense of law enforcement, fire prevention, rescue, and EMS, is not addressed. However, humanitarian and disaster response, in the face of disease and illness, is related to the topics addressed in this article.

• "Until the early 1990s, illness was used as grounds for seeking a residence permit in only exceptional cases. Ten years later, the health criterion had become one of the primary grounds for legalization, and one that was increasing most rapidly."
• “The compassion protocol is thus a procedure of the last resort that derives from a form of sympathy evoked in the face of suffering. It demands the right to keep alive individuals who have nothing except their mere existence."
• “Sometimes the foreigner, too, is no more than his body, but this body is no longer the same: useless to the political economy, it now finds its place in a new moral economy that values suffering over labor and compassion more than rights.”

The authors relied principally on data procured through two research workshops conducted and on anecdotal evidence gathered.

The author supports his case by citing various articles of legislation, highlighting the anecdotal accounts from affected immigrants, and presenting the perspective of physicians who are tasked with caring and treating for these patients. 

• "Despite the urgency and impact of violence affecting health service delivery, there is an overall lack of research that is of health-specific, publically accessible and comparable, as well as a lack of gender-disaggregated data and data on perpetrator motives."
• "Although violence directly affecting health service delivery in complex security environments has received a great deal of media attention, there is very little publically available research, particularly peer-reviewed, original research."
• "Key challenges in addressing violence affecting health service delivery in complex security environments include a lack of health-specific, accessible and comparable, gender-disaggregated data and sufficient data on perpetrator motives."

The author explores the impact of healthcare and immigration laws in France that impact the well-being and health of immigrants. Specifically referencing French legislation from 1997, the author discusses how protocols have developed and been adapted over the past decade to dictate that those immigrants who are suffering from illnesses should be provided care, treatment, and housing, rather than being deported or forced to fend for themselves. 

The authors cite instances of violence against healthcare providers and the environments in which these instances have occured. Anecdotal evidence along with research data on these issues are presented to support the authors' case.

Originally published in French, this article was authored by Dr. Didier Fassin, physician of internal medicine, French anthropologist, sociologist, and an expert in public health. Dr. Fassin is also a professor of social science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. He has authored and edited numerous research articles and publications, in addition to receiving several awards for his work. 

The authors present the issues surrounding increasing violence against healthcare professionals, especially in regions where the geopolitical or socioeconomic conditions have created environments with lack of security. One major issue cited is the lack of ongoing research into these issues.