Torture: quarterly journal on rehabilitation of torture victims and prevention of torture 

About: Torture: quarterly journal on rehabilitation of torture victims and prevention of torture is an academic journal published by International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Torture & Poison control. It has an ISSN identifier of 1018-8185. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 267 publications have been published receiving 2951 citations. The journal is also known as: Torture journal.

Dance/movement therapy approaches to fostering resilience and recovery among African adolescent torture survivors.

Abstract: Dance/movement therapy (DMT) interventions, if designed to promote cultural relevance and community ownership, may enhance healing among African adolescent survivors of war and organised violence. The author posits a theoretical rationale for body movement-based approaches to psychosocial rehabilitation, and offers DMT's holism as evidence of transcultural applicability. Two distinct DMT iniatives with this population are discussed in terms of theoretical assumptions, implementation, and outcomes. Both efforts afforded creative means for discharging aggression and restoring interpersonal connection. The first of these programes engaged a community of South Sudanese refugee youths, resettled to the U.S., in a series of gatherings for traditional dancing and drumming that reconstituted a central culture-of-origin ritual. Anectodal evidence supports this psychosocial intervention's emphasis on group cohesion as a vehicle with both preventive and reparative capacities. Also a series of DMT groups with youths in Sierra Leone. All organized several years post-conflict, these interventions involved applying the DMT modality within a framework of Western psychotherapeutic conventions described in a series of groups with youths, all organized several years post-conflict, is presented. Programe evaluation revealed a drop in average symptom expression among a group comprised of former boy combatants who reported continual reduction in symptoms of anxiety, depression, intrusive recollection, elevated arousal, and aggression. The group's teenage males joined actively in improvisatory dancing and in other structured creative exercices. Theese former child soldiers later elected to demonstrate their wartime experiences through public presentation of a role-play. A report on this event illustrates the success of the process in overcoming stigma and enabling meaningful community reintegration. Thus, whether introduced in refuge or post-conflict, DMT approaches are shown to embody revitalizing psychosocial support in the aftermath of massive violence.

Politically-motivated torture and its survivors:

Abstract: Objective This desk study intends to update and complement the desk study review of the torture rehabilitation literature completed in 1998 (Gurr and Quiroga, 2001), emphasizing areas not covered by the original study but updating the torture rehabilitation literature from the publication of the original desk study. Some selected earlier references have been retained, but the focus remains primarily on the published literature from 1998 through mid-2004. This paper intends to stand alone but will refer back to original study. The target audience is those working in or interested in the field of rehabilitation of politically motivated torture survivors. Findings since 1998 Perhaps the most important finding is that either torture has increased worldwide or the exposure of torture events has improved. Publications: Much has been written about trauma and torture, especially since the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001 (9/11) and the Abu Ghraib prison abuses in Iraq. The print and visual media has fostered a virtual explosion of information about torture and terrorism. Even in the professional literature, the relevant books are too numerous to catalogue here and beyond our scope. Research on PTSD and on the prevalence of torture has been notable. In addition, much information is more readily available with the increased access and availability of internet resources and publications. Changing Nature of Torture: After 9/11, terrorism and its relationship to torture became an issue.The use of torture methods to extract information from suspected terrorists became controversial. Evidence of torture by "civilized" western countries was uncovered. Worldwide, the context of torture has broadened to include many aspects of organized violence, often occurring during war. Antiimmigrant sentiment has not improved and, if anything, has worsened in the US Europe, and in many other Western countries. METHODS: The Abu Ghraib prison abuses and alleged torture by coalition forces in Iraq has fueled an international discussion about what methods constitute torture. Assessment: Progress has been made on the legal and forensic evaluation of torture survivors, notably publication of the Istanbul Protocol. Questions raised regarding the validity of memory recall have implications for assessment of torture survivors. Prevention: Passage of the UN Optional Protocol and formation of the International Criminal Court are significant advances in the effort to prevent and eradicate torture. Gaps in the literature since 1998 After a quarter of a century and dramatic expansion of rehabilitation efforts worldwide, there is still no consensus about the efficacy of treatment interventions for torture survivors. There is little additional literature about treatment outcome, models and structure of rehabilitation services, design of services, cost-effectiveness, or sustainability of services. General principles of assessment and treatment remain virtually unchanged. Controversies over PTSD applicability for torture survivors persist. Restructuring of the desk study New Structure: In order to focus the desk study on health issues, the sections with this emphasis will be presented as chapters while the remaining topics, which are more political, research, or prevention oriented will be included as appendices. Language: en

School-based interventions for minors in war-exposed countries: a review of targeted and general programmes.

Abstract: Lately, there has been a call to develop and assess efficacious mental health interventions for minors who have witnessed organized violence. This review outlines what is currently known about targeted and general school-based interventions for children and adolescents in war exposed countries. Seven empirical outcome studies were identified from a PubMed and PsychINFO search; four targeted and three general programmes. Despite the paucity of published evidence, some promising findings were noted. School-based interventions implemented by locally trained paraprofessionals in organized violence settings appear to be a feasible and low cost sustainable alternative to individualized therapy for distressed children in low and middle income countries. However, the reported outcomes for treatment effectiveness were mixed and suggest that school-based group crisis interventions for traumatized war exposed minors may not be sufficient to reduce mental distress and may sometimes even increase it. Several limitations in the published literature were observed. Although studies reported changes in symptoms associated with interventions, most did not report on the degree of functional impairment. Further, there may be a need to develop interventions targeting other dimensions of organized violence than post-traumatic distress, for example, depression and maladaptive grief. At this point in time it is difficult to compare targeted versus general interventions. There may be risks associated with screening minors, and studies should weigh the cost benefit of targeted versus broader treatment approaches. Future research should aim to determine which therapeutic ingredients, which could be professional-specific, such as manualized cognitive-behavioural therapy, culture-specific, or a combination, significantly contribute to positive outcomes. Language: en

Asylum seekers in Denmark--a study of health status and grade of traumatization of newly arrived asylum seekers

Abstract: BACKGROUND: An unknown number of asylum seekers arriving in Denmark have been exposed to torture or have experienced other traumatising events in their country of origin. The health of traumatised asylum seekers, both physically and mentally, is affected upon arrival to Denmark, and time in asylum centres leads to further deterioration in health. METHODS: One hundred forty-two (N=142) newly arrived asylum seekers were examined at Center Sandholm by Amnesty International Danish Medical Group from the 1st of September until the 31st of December 2007. FINDINGS: The asylum seekers came from 33 different countries, primarily representing Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Chechnya. Of the asylum seekers, 45 percent had been exposed to torture--approximately one-third within the year of arrival to Denmark. Unsystematic blows, personal threats or threats to family, degrading treatment, isolation, and witnessing torture of others were the main torture methods reported. The majority of the asylum seekers had witnessed armed conflict, persecution, and imprisonment. The study showed that physical symptoms were approximately twice as frequent and psychological symptoms were approximately two to three times as frequent among torture survivors as among non-tortured asylum seekers. However, even the health of non-tortured asylum seekers was affected. Among the torture survivors, 63 percent fulfilled the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, and 30-40 percent of the torture survivors were depressed, in anguish, anxious, and tearful in comparison to 5-10 percent of the non-tortured asylum seekers. Further, 42 percent of torture survivors had torture-related scars. INTERPRETATION: Torture survivors amid newly arrived asylum seekers are an extremely vulnerable group, hence examination and inquiry about the torture history is extremely important in order to identify this population to initiate the necessary medical treatment and social assistance. Amnesty International Danish Medical group is currently planning a follow-up study of the present population which will focus on changes in health status during their time in Denmark. Language: en

The distinction between torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Abstract: The present article seeks to clarify the distinction between torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment The author argues that the decisive criteria for distinguishing torture from CIDT is not, as argued by the European Court of Human Rights and many scholars, the intensity of the pain or suffering inflicted, but the purpose of the conduct and the powerlessness of the victim and that as such the distinction is primarily linked to the question of personal liberty He concludes that the "scope of application" of CIDT is a relative concept, that outside a situation of detention and similar direct control, the prohibition of CIDT is subject to the proportionality principle Here, only excessive use of police force constitutes CIDT In a situation of detention or similar direct control, however, no proportionality test may be applied Any use of physical or mental force against a detainee with the purpose of humiliation constitutes degrading treatment or punishment and any infliction of severe pain or suffering for a specific purpose as expressed in Art1 CAT amounts to torture