History Of Torture Research Articles

Clinical and Legal Considerations When Optimizing Trauma Narratives in Immigration Law Evaluations.

Asylum seekers in the United States face complex legal processes that require the construction of coherent and credible narratives to establish eligibility for legal status or immigration relief. In this article, we review clinical and legal considerations involved in optimizing trauma narratives in forensic psychiatric evaluations for immigration courts. We highlight significant challenges faced by asylum seekers, including the emotional impact of trauma and cultural factors affecting their ability to disclose their experiences, including the roles of symptoms and cultural and situational elements in disclosure and narrative development. We emphasize the importance of creating a therapeutic and empathetic environment to facilitate disclosure and partnering with interpreters across multiple culturally sensitive evaluations. We address the roles of common traumatic stressors in narrative development, including cultural challenges related to histories of torture, abduction, sexual violence, and human trafficking prevalent among asylum seekers, providing insights and guidance on each. Further, we address specific potential challenges to the forensic psychiatric evaluator during the narrative development process, such as transference, countertransference, malingering, and vicarious traumatization. We aim to provide guidance on the development of trauma narratives of asylees developed for both therapeutic and medico-legal effectiveness.

Severe Cognitive Impairment in Trauma-Affected Refugees-Exploring the Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background/Objectives: This study explores the relationship between cognitive performance measured by the Symbol Digit Modality Test (SDMT) and the severity of self-reported head injury, traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, pain, and psychosocial dysfunction in a population of trauma-affected refugees. Refugees, especially those who have been subjected to torture, often face various difficulties, such as PTSD, depression and somatic disturbances (e.g., pain), which can significantly impact their day-to-day functioning. Methods: Participants included 141 adult refugees (38% women) with a mean age of 45.4 years (SD = 9.4) and 9.7 years (SD = 4.9) of education who were referred for treatment of post-traumatic distress to DIGNITY, Danish Institute Against Torture. Participants completed standardized self-report measures of PTSD, anxiety, depression, pain, and health-related disability and measures of trauma history, physical injuries including head injury and loss of consciousness, and the SDMT, a quick standardized performance-based measure of cognitive impairment. Results: Eighty-eight percent of participants evidenced signs of substantial cognitive impairment as indexed by lower SDMT scores. Those with a self-reported history of TBI, marked by loss of consciousness, exhibited lower SDMT scores and higher health-related disabilities. Severity of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and pain were highly correlated with lower SDMT scores. TBI history was not significantly associated with the severity of PTSD, depression, anxiety, or pain, suggesting a complex interplay among these factors. Conclusions: Cognitive impairments are prevalent in trauma-affected refugees, interacting with symptoms of post-traumatic stress and pain, likely explaining the high disability levels in this population. Further research should employ a broader range of cognitive measures and detailed investigations of head injury/TBI experiences to investigate their impact on overall functioning, treatment response, and longer-term outcomes. This study adds to a small but growing body of studies documenting cognitive impairments in trauma-affected refugees, highlighting the importance of addressing cognitive impairments in treatment for trauma-affected refugees, particularly those with histories of torture and TBI. Clinicians working with trauma-affected refugees should consider the assessment of cognitive difficulties as part of comprehensive care planning.

Crime and Policing in Africa: Tactical Politics, Authoritarianism, and the Rule of Law

In 2020, Nigerian youths took to the streets to demand the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian Police with a long history of extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, extortion, torture, and other atrocities. The Nigerian government created the division in 1992 following the killing of an army colonel, under the pretense of fighting a crime wave which was sweeping the country. In the “societies of enmity” (Achille Mbembe, “The Society of Enmity” [Radical Philosophy Vol. 200, No. 1], 23–25) we live in today, the growing militarization of law enforcement in the context of the “war on crime” has put even solid democracies in grave danger and continues to justify authoritarianism and military regimes worldwide. The expansion of state powers through the violent exploitation of its growing “margins,” (V. Das and D. Poole, eds., Anthropology at the Margins of the State [School of American Research Press, 2004]) tarnished with the signs of danger, illegality, and precariousness, has shown that bureaucratic power and state violence walk hand in hand in instituting highly unequal but economically viable social orders in postcolonial Africa and elsewhere. Those movements configure an emergent threat coming from a tactical level of political action and show that contemporary political power can indeed emerge from the tip of a machine gun, proving Walter Benjamin’s critique of Hannah Arendt’s famous image (“Critique of Violence” in Deconstruction, a Reader [Routledge, 2017], 62–70).

Niños palestinos…herederos de una historia de traición, indolencia y tortura

El conflicto entre Palestina e Israel es un tema sensitivo por sus características histórico -religiosas. Este artículo no pretende plantear argumentos que busquen crear juicios hacia la población de un país, como tampoco crear controversias tendenciosas por diferencias ideológicas, políticas ni religiosas; busca poner en el debate internacional desde el punto de vista de los derechos humanos cómo funcionarios de un país democrático como Israel deciden afectar a toda una colectividad palestina bajo lo que ellos consideran una “amenaza inminente” y, con este pretexto, sumergen a palestinos en el maltrato físico empleando métodos de tortura de manera indiscriminada, tanto a adultos como a menores de edad; niños detenidos de forma arbitraria, violenta, luego aislados, sometidos a tratos indignos, lo que les deja secuelas psicológicas y físicas para el resto de sus vidas así como a sus familias. Se pretende mostrar este drama social donde los más afectados son los niños palestinos. Sucede ante la mirada indolente de muchos gobiernos de comunidad internacional que optan por evadir su responsabilidad moral y política, dándole prelación a mantener las buenas relaciones políticas dado el poder hegemónico que representa Israel en detrimento de los derechos humanos de una población atrapada en un conflicto social y armado como es el pueblo palestino que intenta sobrevivir en un tipo de apartheid impuesto. Para la recolección y análisis de datos se empleó entrevistas semiestructuradas a profesionales especialistas en el tema palestino; además fuentes documentales como reportes oficiales, textos históricos, sitios web de noticias y de organizaciones de derechos humanos que trabajan en Palestina.

Being Without World: A Phenomenological Reading of the Findings on Torture in the Colombian Truth Commission’s Final Report

ABSTRACT This paper explores the theme of torture in the Colombian Truth Commission’s Final Report, focusing on its characterization of torture as a way of annulling a person’s identity. Drawing on Jean Améry’s approach, I argue that torture destroys the victim’s world and explore the further implications of this assertion. I begin by highlighting how the history of torture distorts legal and medical practices, masquerading as a quest for truth while exercising a farce of power, disintegrating the victim’s lived body. By delving into Merleau-Ponty’s notion of “flesh,” I also explain how torture erodes the carnal trust that connects us to the world and enables proper communication. Consequently, torture results in an utter negation of the self and the world. In conclusion, I suggest that torture as understood as the destitution of a person’s world, can serve as a paradigm for comprehending the experiences of violence faced by victims in Colombia.

Headache comorbidity in refugees and migrants with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Headache is often comorbid with post-traumatic stress disorder yet overlooked in health assessments of refugees. To describe prevalence of severe headache among refugees with post-traumatic stress disorder and compare severity of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and treatment outcomes among those with and without severe headache. This follow-up study used data from the Danish Database on Refugees with Trauma. Participants were recruited from 2009 to 2015 at a specialized psychiatric clinic. Prevalence of severe headache was computed by age, sex, and history of head injury or torture. Severe headache was defined as maximum headache scores on the Hopkins Symptom Checklist, Symptom Checklist-90 or the Visual Analogue Scale. Groups with and without severe headache were described according to validated questionnaires before and after 12-18 months of multidisciplinary treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Regression analyses were used to analyze associations between headache at start of treatment and symptom burden post-treatment, controlled for pre-treatment scores and possible confounders. Among 403 female and 489 male participants, nearly all (97.5%) complained of headaches. Severe headache prevalence was 31.4% to 50.0% (depending on which questionnaire was used) and was significantly more common among females and those aged 30-49 years. There was no clear relationship between headache and head injury or torture. Participants with severe headache had heavier symptom burdens compared to those without severe headache. Post-treatment, headache prevalence by age and sex did not change significantly. Those without severe headache showed a tendency toward improvement in outcome measures; this was not seen among those with severe headache. Pre-treatment headache scores were correlated with all outcome measures. Regression analyses controlled for pre-treatment scores of the outcome variables showed associations between pre-treatment headache scores (Hopkins Symptom Checklist or Symptom Checklist-90) and post-treatment scores for intrusion, numbing, hyperarousal, anxiety, disability, and quality of life (all p < 0.02). Headache is a prevalent comorbid condition among refugees with post-traumatic stress disorder. Measures of pre-treatment headache severity appear to predict post-traumatic stress disorder treatment outcomes. Severe headache adversely affects post-traumatic stress disorder prognosis. Assessment and treatment options should be studied further.

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History of Torture as a Means of Criminal Procedure in the Western Legal Tradition

History of Torture as a Means of Criminal Procedure in the Western Legal Tradition

Extra-Judicial Killings in Papua, Indonesia Reflections on Violation and State Authoritarianism Toward Papuans

This article aims to elaborate on and explore extrajudicial killings, i.e.,the human rights violations conducted by Indonesian state security forces in Papua. Such unlawful executions are tightly intertwined with the history of torture and forced disappearance during the lengthy conflict in Papua and West Papua. Despite claiming numerous victims, security officials have never been held fully accountable for extrajudicial killings due to their “legal impunity” and the lack of political will to bring perpetrators to trial. Importantly, this article shows that the reported killings are only the tip of the iceberg, as human rights experts and scholars believe there are many more profound and severe violations of Papuans’ rights. Journalists’ limited access to documents, as well as general non-disclosure, has created speculation that numerous human rights violations have occurred but gone unreported. First, we urge the government to recognise extrajudicial killings as gross and severehuman rights violations, as defined by international law. Second, the government must comprehensively review police, military, or other security officials’ fieldwork and use of firearms and physical force when arresting suspects.

The Color of the Third Degree: Racism, Police Torture, and Civil Rights in the American South, 1930–1955

The Color of the Third Degree: Racism, Police Torture, and Civil Rights in the American South, 1930–1955

Contributors

Contributors

Gynecologic care utilization in asylum-seeking women in New York City

IntroductionOver 25,000 individuals are granted asylum status in the United States annually. Gender-based violence (GBV) has historically been supported as a claim for persecution to apply for asylum. In women, GBV is a known risk factor for sexually transmitted infections, poor mental health, and worse perinatal outcomes. Less is known about the links between GBV, asylum seekers, and gynecologic outcomes or care utilization. Reported rates of gynecologic care-seeking are low in asylum-seeking women and women with histories of GBV often experience barriers to care. We hypothesized that asylum-seeking women with a history of GBV at the Libertas Center, a comprehensive center for survivors of torture in New York City, would receive low rates of recommended gynecologic screening and infrequent gynecologic care. Materials and methodsThis retrospective cross-sectional study included adult self-identified female patients who had completed intake at the Libertas Center from 2005-2020. In order to examine the relationship between GBV and gynecologic care use, patients were included if they had an electronic medical record (EMR) at Elmhurst Hospital, were female, 18 years of age and older, and had ever experienced GBV in their lifetime. EMRs were reviewed for medical and psychiatric diagnoses as well as routine components of gynecologic care and were linked to intake data from the Libertas Center characterizing patients’ torture history. The primary outcome of this study was whether or not patients attended a gynecology visit. Demographic characteristics, medical histories, adequacy of gynecologic care, and gynecologic care-seeking behavior were compared between the gynecologic care group and the no gynecologic care group. ResultsA total of 249 female patients were seen at the Libertas Center from December 2005 until January 2020 at the time of data collection. The prevalence of GBV in this population was 48%. Among women who suffered GBV, 81 received medical care at Elmhurst Hospital and 44 (54%) received gynecologic care. Nearly 50% of those patients who sought care at Elmhurst carried a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression. Women who received gynecologic care were significantly more likely than those who did not receive gynecologic care to have had an Emergency Room visit (68% vs. 41%), an obstetric visit (32% vs 3%), and/or have been seen by a social worker (46% vs 24%; all p < 0.05). Women who saw a gynecologist were significantly more likely to have completed four basic gynecologic care measures (Pap smear, gonorrhea/chlamydia screen, pelvic exam, and mammogram if applicable) compared to women who did not (77% vs 8%, p < 0.05). ConclusionThis study characterizes the gynecologic care utilization of female patients within a comprehensive care center for survivors of torture. We found a high lifetime rate of gender-based violence of 48% in this population. Adequate gynecologic care was uncommon among those who experienced GBV. However, gynecologic care was significantly more likely in patients receiving gynecologic specialty care, which frequently occurred after initial interaction with another provider (i.e. Emergency Department providers). These findings highlight the importance of trauma-informed care and establishing pathways to help asylum seeking and refugee women receive adequate gynecologic care. Further research is needed to explore specific barriers to gynecologic care in this population, how programs for asylum-seekers can integrate gynecologic care into existing structures for medical and mental healthcare, and how to increase awareness amongst providers on the prevalence of GBV and the gynecologic needs of these patients.

Exposed and alone: torture survivors in Sri Lanka bear the burden of their own protection

Within a history and context of torture practised by state agents in Sri Lanka, this article discusses in relation to victims of torture who engaged with complaint mechanisms, the threats faced, the responses received from complaint mechanisms, and what victims and their families actually did to secure protection. The article is an analysis of the threats of fabricated criminal charges, personal and social humiliation, and physical threat and intimidation in retaliation to lodging of complaints against perpetrators and the strategies of aggression and mobilising social connections that are utilised.

О деле Офоньки Науменка и о калабрийском пророке Томмазо Кампанелле: люди эпохи барокко

In 1642, the strelets Ofonka Naumenok stood trial in Moscow for intending to “spoil” the tsarina. The proceedings of this trial do not contain specific historical information. As a historical source they are useful mainly in the context of the history of torture. Hundreds of people were involved in the criminal proceedings, which were directed by the boyars and the tsar. The account of the trial gives a good sense of the atmosphere of the time — cruelty, chaos, social dynamism, and a widespread belief in magic. Especially valuable is a text that was found during the investigation and included in the trial proceedings. The text was about a Calabrian prophet who proclaimed himself the son of Christ, the Messiah, who gathered numerous followers. and who intended to create a kingdom of peace and justice. This article connects the legend with the history of the Calabrian uprisings of 1599 and 1633, which were inspired by Tommaso Campanella. Campanella took on the role of a prophet with the intention to create an ideal society and to rejuvenate the world before its impending destruction. The eschatological, messianic, and salvational legend about the Calabrian prophet was bound to find rich resonance in Moscovy, which was marked by re-ligious and social unrest at the end of the 1630s and in the 1640s. In the juxtaposition of the seventeenth-century Western European and Russian phenomena, this study employs the concept of the “Baroque period” developed by the historian Rosario Villari and, in a similar way, by Aleksandr Panchenko.

水足博泉と朝鮮学士との詩文贈答について - 荻生徂徠の書簡からの評価をめぐって -

Joseon scholars, who visited Japan in 1719 as members of the Joseon Tongsinsa(the Korean Delegation to Japan), exchanged penmanship and spearheads with about 100 Japanese intellectuals. Yasukada Mizutari, a 13􋹲year􋹲old boy who followed his father from Kumamoto, was one of them. When his father Heijan asked for his son's name and pen name, Shin Yoo􋹲han named him Hakusen and Private. It was later that Yasukada was called Hakusen. Later, Hakusen's father summarized the contents of this temporary gift and showed it to Okyu sorai and asked for a preface. Sorai highly praised Hakusen's Chinese poetry and praised it for surpassing Joseon's academic history in a poetry competition. In response to this, I checked and analyzed the participation of Pyeongbyeon story involved idioms for the evaluation of Joseon scholars and Hakusen when they expanded. It was possible to confirm the reason why Hakusen's Chinese poetry was evaluated more highly than that of Joseon history by Ogyu Sorai, and the partiality of evaluation due to the difference in mutual poetry. So, what was the basis for evaluating Hakusen's writing as superior to Joseon history? And we specifically verified whether it was okay to accept it like that. On September 4, 1719, the scene of Hwahwa, a friendly relationship between Shin Yu􋹲han, a ritual official, and Hakusen father and son, was used as a tool to appeal to Japanese torture history due to Ogyu Sorai's letter, and was transformed into a scene of poetry competition.

Torture by administration of electric shocks: The case of PG

In this case study, a survivor of torture describes a history of electrical torture with a rod-like object and the subsequent neurological symptoms and keloid scars that developed afterwards. Electrical injuries can be difficult for a clinician to identify on exam as they do not often leave any physical scars on the skin. However, survivors of electrical injuries do describe a constellation of acute sensations and ensuing neurologic and musculoskeletal symptoms that can be recognized by taking a detailed history. Familiarity with the mechanism of these injuries and their common acute and subacute symptoms can assist a forensic examiner in evaluating consistency in these cases.

The effects of COVID-19 continuous traumatic stress on mental health: The case of Syrian refugees in Turkey.

COVID-19 presents continuous cumulative multilayered traumatic stressors that have a significant mental health impact on refugees and especially Syrian refugees. A sample of 417 Syrian refugees in Turkey participated in an online survey that included measures for COVID-19 traumatic stress (COVID-19TS), cumulative stressors and traumas, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, generalized anxiety, and existential death and status anxieties. We conducted an independent samples t test between those hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection (N = 47) and the others. Further, we conducted path analysis supplemented by PROCESS macro to identify the mediators. The path model included cumulative stressors and traumas and COVID-19TS as independent variables, existential status and death anxieties as mediating variables, and PTSD, depression, and anxiety as outcome variables. We conducted multigroup invariance to test the path model equivalence across genders and tortured and nontortured groups. Results indicated that the participants are highly traumatized and include a relatively high number of torture survivors (N = 102). Being tortured was a decisive risk factor for being hospitalized for COVID-19, with over 75% of the hospitalized been torture survivors. The sample participants have high rates of PTSD, depression, and anxiety, especially among those hospitalized due to COVID-19 and those with a history of torture. COVID-19TS has the highest association with its economic trauma. COVID-19TS is directly associated with elevated PTSD, depression, and anxiety comorbid symptoms and indirectly via existential death and status anxieties as mediators. The path model was strictly invariant across genders and tortured and nontortured groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Clinical Correlates of Deliberate Self-Harm Among Migrant Trauma-Affected Subgroups.

Introduction: Studies have shown that exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) during the migration process has serious consequences on mental health. Migrants with a history of PTEs are more likely to inflict deliberate self-harm (DSH), a spectrum of behavior that includes non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). With reference to a nonclinical sample of trauma-exposed migrants, this study aims to explore the prevalence of DSH and to assess the association with sociodemographic characteristics and clinical conditions, with particular attention to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, resilience capabilities, and feelings of hopelessness.Methods: A sample of migrants underwent a baseline evaluation at an outpatient department of the National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (INMP). Migrants with a history of torture, rape, or other severe forms of psychological, physical, or sexual violence were invited to undergo screening at the Institute's Mental Health Unit. Trauma-exposed migrants completed a series of self-report questionnaires that assessed the presence of PTSD, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, resilience, and feelings of hopelessness, in addition to DSH. Univariate and multivariate log-binomial regression models were used to test the association of age and clinical characteristic of migrants with DSH. Prevalence ratio (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) and p-values were estimated.Results: A total of 169 migrants (76.9% males), aged between 18 and 68 years, M = 28.93; SD = 8.77), were selected. Of the sample, 26.6% were frequently engaging in some form of DSH, and 30.2% were diagnosed with at least one trauma-related disorder. DSH behaviors were most common in single and unemployed migrants as well as in subjects with post-traumatic stress symptoms, feelings of anxiety, hopelessness, low capability of resilience, and suicidal ideation. Taking into account age and hopelessness, we found that PTSD and low resilience capabilities were associated with a higher risk of DSH [PR adj: 2.21; 95% CI: (1.30–3.75) and PR adj: 2.32; 95% CI: (1.16–4.62), respectively].Conclusion: Given the association between trauma exposure and DSH among migrants, exploring the presence of DSH behavior within the immigrant community is crucial for the implementation of measures to develop intervention in a clinical setting.

Self-injury and suicide attempt in incarcerated women: prevalence and risk factors

Purpose: To assess the prevalence and risk factors for self-injury and suicide attempt in prison in a sample composed of 186 female inmates. Methods: Sociodemographic data, measures of depression, self-destructive behavior, suicide attempt, and other specific questions related to the reality in the prison environment were collected. Results: Self-injury and suicide attempt before incarceration was reported by 11.3% and 35.5% of the sample, respectively. During imprisonment, a prevalence of 29% and 18.8% for self-injury and suicide attempt, respectively, was observed. Multiple binary logistic regression identified the following risk factors for self-injury: age &lt;32 years, depressive symptoms, history of torture at the time of the arrest, aggression in prison, and sexually transmitted infection. Conversely, the risk factors for suicide attempt were depressive symptoms, self-injury history, aggression in prison, and sexually transmitted infection. Conclusion: This study confirmed the high prevalence of self-harm and suicide attempts in female prisoners. Specific screening tools and the institution of public policies to assess and provide mental health care for incarcerated people in Brazil are needed.

Patterns of torture among forcibly displaced Eritrean men in California: A cross-sectional study.

This study was conducted to address a lack of information in the literature regarding the frequency and consequences of specific types of torture and abuse among Eritreans seeking asylum in the United States. Cross-sectional study of Eritreans seeking asylum in the United States presenting to a human rights clinic for forensic medical and psychological evaluations based on Istanbul Protocol. Reports were eligible for inclusion if subjects: 1) immigrated from Eritrea 2) reported torture and abuse in Eritrea, 3) were 18 or older. 59 reports met inclusion criteria. Demographic features of individuals, reported history and specific types of torture, and physical and psychological sequelae were analyzed. Over 300 instances of torture were reported, an average of about 6 per person. The primary forms of torture reported were beating (87.7%) and forced positioning (57.9%). 90% of asylum seekers examined had physical findings which were consistent with the torture they reported, some of which had clinical as well as forensic significance. 86% of asylum seekers met diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. Eritreans seeking asylum in the United States bear a high burden of post-traumatic physical and psychological morbidity.