Torture Journal with a special section on Sleep Deprivation.
The latest issue of the Torture Journal examines sleep deprivation as a method of torture and presents the text of a Protocol on Medico-Legal Documentation of Sleep Deprivation. Finally, this issue also comprises an epidemiological study on knowledge of torture among medical professionals in Tanzania, a case report exemplifying narratives of Tamil survivors of sexual torture in Australia, and a debate on the standing of the Istanbul Protocol in Israel.
Deprivation and Despair: The Crisis of Medical Care at Guantánamo
A new report by the Center for Victims of Torture and Physicians for Human Rights reveals that the experiences of detainees and independent civilian medical experts with medical care at the Guantánamo Bay detention center not only broadly refute the claim that detainees receive care equivalent to that of U.S. service members, but also evidence specific violations of the Nelson Mandela Rules, the universally recognized UN standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners, which the United States has championed. Guantánamo should be closed. Unless and until that happens, the Center for Victims of Torture and Physicians for Human Rights call upon Congress, the executive branch, and the courts to adopt a series of recommendations aimed at meaningfully improving the status quo.
Torture: Journal on Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and Prevention of Torture
Torture Journal examines the impact of forensic documentation of torture in diverse settings around the world and identifies innovative rehabilitation approaches. Fresh research and perspectives on sport-based rehabilitation, as well as other key topics, also comprise the issue.
Torture of migrants: ‘Many are not aware of how bad it really is’
Human trafficking between Africa and Europe has not only thrived in recent years, it has grown into a highly abusive system involving corrupt elites and political networks. Jan Philipp-Scholz, the author of a new book on the migration business, has spoken with migrants in Africa on nearly every step of their journey. Their testimonies reveal the extent of abuse and human rights violations happening on Europe’s doorstep.
Shedding light on a dark practice
This book is primarily intended for health and legal professionals who work with or are likely to come into contact with torture survivors, but anyone with an interest in the question of torture will find useful insights. These short articles provide an array of illuminating and readable perspectives on different aspects of a complicated subject. Together they comprise an excellent introduction to the many challenges and opportunities associated with the task of establishing medical evidence in cases of alleged torture.
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Article 14)
Each State party shall ensure to victims of torture an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation (article 14).
http://legal.un.org/avl/pdf/ha/catcidtp/catcidtp_e.pdf
Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys
As the civil war in Syria further deteriorates, accounts of systematic human rights abuses continue to emerge, including torture, starvation, and widespread sexual violence against civilians and combatants. More than five million refugees have fled to neighbouring countries in search of safety, yet they continue to face challenges of poverty, discrimination, as well as sexual violence and exploitation. Some attention has been given to women and girls who have suffered sexual violence in Syria and in displacement; however, less is known about male survivors, including ways to meet their needs.
Sexual Violence Against Men in Armed Conflict
Sexual violence is committed against men more frequently than is often thought. It is perpetrated at home, in the community and in prison; by men and by women; during conflict and in time of peace. It has been written that, [i]n some respects, the situation facing male rape victims today is not so different from that which faced female victims, say, two centuries ago.
https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article/18/2/253/361968
Forced and Involuntary Disappearances
A disappearance has a doubly paralysing impact: on the victims, frequently tortured and in constant fear for their lives, and on their families, ignorant of the fate of their loved ones, their emotions alternating between hope and despair, wondering and waiting, sometimes for years, for news that may never come.
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet6Rev3.pdf
Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims
Among the evidence-based treatment methods that GCRT uses are trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, prolonged expositional therapy, brief eclectic psychotherapy and somatic experience therapy. Additionally, cognitive, cognitive-emotional and body-focused psychotherapy methods are used in order to achieve stabilization in cases of complex trauma or trauma-related disorders.