Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture

Hermansson, A., Timpka, T., Thyber, M. (2003).  The long-term impact of torture on the mental health of war-wounded refugees: Findings and implications for nursing programmes.  Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 17, 317-324.

       Today, nurses from many disciplines are expected to provide nursing care to refugees severely traumatized in war and conflict. The general aim of this study was to explore the long-term impact of torture on the mental health of war-wounded refugees. The study group consisted of 22 tortured and 22 non-tortured male refugees who had been injured in war. Standardized interview schedules, exploring different background characteristics, and three instruments for assessment of mental health were used: the Hopkins Symptom Checklist, the Post Traumatic Symptom Scale and a well-being scale. The prevalence of psychiatric symptoms was high in both groups. However, there were no significant differences in mental health between the tortured and the non-tortured refugees. The patterns of associations between background characteristics and mental health were different in the two groups. The strongest associations with lower level of mental health were higher education in the tortured group and unemployment in the non-tortured group. Methodological difficulties in research on sequelae of prolonged traumatization remain. Further studies within the caring sciences can broaden the present understanding of the impact of torture and other war traumas.

Hooks, G., Mosher, C. (2005).  Outrages against personal dignity: Rationalizing abuse and torture in the war on terror.  Social Forces, 83, 1627-1646.

       The outrage over revelations of torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison has faded from public discourse, but a number of questions remain unanswered. This paper criticizes official rationalizations offered for the abuse. We make the case that these abuses are systemic, resulting from dehumanization of the enemy and the long reliance on and refinement of torture by the United States national security agencies. We also consider the spread of torture in the current war "on terror," and we call on sociologists to become involved in the study of torture and prisoner abuse.

Hovens, J. E., Drozdek, B. (2002).  The terror of torture: A continuum of evil.  The Psychology of Terrorism: Clinical Aspects and Responses, 2, 76-103.

       This chapter describes torture as it has evolved from ancient times to the present, with state-organized violence now constituting a worldwide epidemic. The authors discuss torture as punishment and as part of war and terrorism, and note that international declarations against torture have not enlisted participation by many countries throughout the world. This chapter examines characteristics, objectives, and methods of torture, and describes its physical, psychological, and social impact. Prevention can be undertaken on local, national, international levels, and Amnesty International and the United Nations are cited as organizations that have had experience with prevention. The authors explore rehabilitation services for victims, in countries where torture is practiced and in resettlement countries for refugees. Also discussed are characteristics of torturers, and how they should be treated by a society working to heal itself and its individuals.

Kanninen, K., Punamaki, R., Qouta, S. (2003).  Personality and trauma: Adult attachment and posttraumatic distress among former political prisoners.  Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 9, 97-126.

       Attachment patterns are especially salient in facing danger and threats to one's life. We hypothesized that the general view of the secure attachment pattern being protective, and the insecure patterns being unprotective, would apply when political prisoners are exposed to physical torture and ill-treatment. Whereas, when exposed to psychological torture involving interpersonal cruelty, securely attached persons would be more vulnerable than insecure. The hypotheses were examined among 176 Palestinian male former political prisoners (aged 19-51 yrs) living in the Gaza Strip. Their mental health was assessed by posttraumatic (PTSD) and somatic symptoms, and adult attachment patterns by an applied AAI-method. The results confirmed that among insecure (both dismissing and preoccupied) men, the exposure to a high level of physical torture and ill-treatment was associated with increased levels of PTSD and somatic symptoms. On the other hand, exposure to psychological torture and ill-treatment was associated with an increased level of somatic symptoms among secure-autonomous, but not insecure, persons. The secure and insecure victims thus differed in their strengths and vulnerabilities depending on whether the torture was psychological and interpersonal or physical in nature.

Lee, P.R., Heiling, S. (2005).  Participation of health care personnel in torture and interrogation.  New England Journal of Medicine, 353, 1634-1635.

       A central element of codes of ethical conduct for the profession of medicine is the imperative to "do no harm." Disclosures with regard to the treatment of detainees by licensed medical personnel in the "war on terror" have revealed undeniable breaches of medical ethics among the involved U.S. military health care personnel. In response, the authors call for the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association to request relevant authorities to disclose all medical personnel involved, directly or by chain of command, in the treatment of detainees in the "war on terror" since September 11, 2001. The records and conduct of these personnel should be reviewed by the medical licensing boards, other responsible licensing authorities in each state where the military physicians are licensed, or both. Finally, appropriate disciplinary action should be taken on the basis of the results of the reviews, and these actions should be made publicly available.

Rubenstein, L., Pross, C., Davidoff, F., Lacopino, V. (2005).   Coercive US interrogation policies: A challenge to medical ethics.  Journal of the American Medical Association, 294, 1544-1549.

       As world attention has focused on allegations of torture and ill treatment by US forces, there have been questions about the role of physicians and other health professionals in abusive interrogations. Considerable light has been shed on these allegations by documents released in 2004 and 2005 under the Freedom of Information Act and official US Department of Defense (DoD) investigations initiated since the Abu Ghraib investigations in 2004, including an internal review of medical practices regarding detainees by the US Army surgeon general. In 1982, the United Nations General Assembly addressed the ethical questions associated with participation of physicians in the interrogation of prisoners and detainees. The newly released US DoD guidelines, Medical Program Principles and Procedures for the Protection and Treatment of Detainees in the Custody of the Armed Forces of the United States purport to recognize the duty of "health care personnel, particularly physicians" to uphold humane treatment of detainees and follow some of the approaches and language from the UN principles. US military officials' efforts to promulgate ethical guidelines that enable physician participation in coercive interrogation practices are inconsistent with international principles of medical ethics and, if unanswered by the medical community, establish a dangerous precedent.        

Salo, J.A., Qouta, S., Punamaki, R. (2005).  Adult attachment: Posttraumatic growth and negative emotions among former political prisoners.  Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal, 18, 361-378.

       Although traumatic events are generally associated with negative psychosocial consequences, trauma survivors also report positive changes in themselves, human relationships and spirituality. Our aims are, first to study associations between exposure to torture and ill-treatment and posttraumatic growth and negative emotions, and second, to examine the role of adult attachment in moderating the association between exposure and positive growth. The participants were 275 Palestinian men imprisoned in a political context. They completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Adult Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ) and reported exposure to traumatic events. The results show that a high level of torture and ill-treatment was associated with a low level of posttraumatic growth and a high level of negative emotions. However, adult attachment style moderated that association, among men with secure attachment exposure to torture and ill-treatment was associated with a high level of posttraumatic growth, whereas among insecure-avoidant men exposure was associated with relatively higher level of negative emotions. Main effects show that men with secure attachment reported generally more posttraumatic growth, i.e., personal strength, positive affiliation to others and spiritual change, while insecure-preoccupied attachment was associated with negative emotions. Finally, favorable socio-economic characteristics were associated with posttraumatic growth: men with high professional position, steady employment, and good economic situation reported more personal strength and positive affiliation to others. Of demographic factors, only education was associated with attachment, secure men being more educated.

Sironi, F., Branche, R. (2002).  Torture and the borders of humanity.  International Social Science Journal, 54, 539-548.

       A psychologist and an historian tackle some of the questions raised by one extreme kind of violence, torture. The authors address the following questions: What are its aims? What underlies its methods, and what are its mechanisms, once we look below the surface? Who are the torturers, and how are they trained? What escape is there from torture, not just from the victim's point of view, but the torturer's as well?

Summerfield, D. (2003).  Fighting 'terrorism' with torture.  British Medical Journal, 326, 773-774.

       The author questions whether the "war on terrorism" is legitimizing what is described as torture as it existed in the Middle Ages. Issues discussed include interrogation of Al Qaeda suspects in US custody, the treatment of detainees of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and definitions of torture by international organizations. The author recommends that doctors speak out against what he describes as undue impact of Western led politics, economics and culture as globalizing forces, and the slighting of issues of human rights and social justice as a result.