Book review: Tortured as a Child: Torture, Forced Migration and the Right to Rehabilitation

Abstract

This review explores Tortured as a Child: Torture, Forced Migration and the Right to Rehabilitation (Johansson Metso, 2026), an interdisciplinary anthology from the Swedish Red Cross Competence Center for the Rehabilitation of Torture and War Trauma. The book addresses the limited recognition of children as victims of torture and the resulting gaps in identification, documentation, and access to rehabilitation. It makes a timely and urgent contribution to a field where both clinical practice and legal frameworks remain underdeveloped, highlighting the consequences of continued invisibility for affected children.

The volume brings together seven chapters from experts in law, psychology, paediatrics, and neuropsychology. It highlights key challenges such as difficulties in distinguishing trauma from developmental conditions, ethical and methodological issues in interviewing children, and the lack of legal precedent on child torture cases.

The anthology also presents emerging approaches to treatment and assessment, including intensive short-term therapy models and structured clinical tools, though the evidence base remains limited.

Overall, the book argues that children subjected to torture remain largely invisible within both legal and healthcare systems. It constitutes an important contribution to bridging disciplinary gaps and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration, with the aim of improving recognition, protection, and access to rehabilitation services.