Definition of Torture and Trauma

Torture has been variously defined in different national laws and international instruments. However, determinations of eligibility for the Torture Survivor (TS) must be made according to the definition of torture given in 18 U.S.C. 2340(1) and cited in the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 (TVRA) authorizing legislation: “torture” means an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or lawful control; This definition opens the interpretation of the torture in lawless societies that are executed by tribal leaders who are in control of their territories.

  • Torture is a cumulative complex trauma that may include different trauma types which are connected over periods of time, with the purpose of breaking the person who belongs to certain group(s). Torture is a Group or collective identity trauma. Additionally, the trauma accumulation dynamics are different from the dynamics of single trauma.
  • However, torture survivors are tough and resilient, as they fight for their belief system and for their group(s). Studies found that they are more resilient than victims of other trauma types (Kira et al, 2006). However, the cumulative dynamics of other traumas that happened before and after torture can have severe health and mental health effects.
  • While the primary tortured can be resilient, family members may not be as resilient. Secondary traumatization and its effects on family members can be serious (e.g., Kira, 2004).
  • For refugee torture survivors, involuntary uprootedness of a tortured refugee, ripping him or her from the community and family network, is traumatic in itself. Trauma caused by uprootedness can have added negative health and mental health consequences.
  • Furthermore, an act of torture terrorizes the community and may have serious health and mental health effects on community members. Community healing should be an important part of the torture treatment process. Consequently, the effects of torture can be transmitted across generations in the families and communities. Torture, as part of the oppressive process, can terrorize the community and inhibit their members’ freedom and ability to express their feelings, ideas and real intentions and actions.
  • Other serious effects of torture can be neurological as most victims of torture are severely hit on the head and back which can cause severe neurological effects. This can also affect the central and peripheral nervous system. The effects of torture on health can be irreversible.
  • Torture victims may have different health needs. For example, they may require extensive dental work - tooth extraction is a common torture technique - so local dentists are part of providers’ network. The most significant medical complaints may include: Hep B, HIV, parasites, and TB have higher prevalence.
  • Other common physical complaints like chronic pain, muscular-skeletal symptoms, and physical function limitations are prevalent.
  • Additionally, psychosomatic problems can be more present as well.

Trauma is caused by a traumatic event or events which can be a single or repeated event or events that completely overwhelm the individual's ability to function properly. Trauma is well-known in genocide, war, and violent situations (for comprehensive definition and taxonomy of traumas see, Kira, 2001, Kira et al., 2008). Therefore, it is important to screen for all the aspects of the trauma that the client has gone through before and after the torture to determine the cumulative trauma load.

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) lists trauma among the five leading causes of death in the United States

Amnesty International's Report of 2008, shows that sixty years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations, people are still tortured or ill-treated in at least 81 countries, face unfair trials in at least 54 countries and are not allowed to speak freely in at least 77 countries.