Vol. 31 No. 1 (2021): Torture: Journal on Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and Prevention of Torture

Pau Pérez-Sales introduces this issue with an Editorial which conceptualises and documents threats in the context of ill-treatment and torture. He provides a theoretical reflection on what threats are, what types exist and how they impact the survivor from a medical and psychological perspective, providing a framework of understanding that will hopefully improve conceptual and practical assessment, documentation and qualification.

Ergün Cakal continues with a discussion on the characterisation of threats as psychological torture in international law. His paper suggests that an assessment of the perception of practice and proximity of state authorities to harm could help qualify such threats as torturous.

This issue continues with the contribution from Nicholas Nelson et al. who present a cross-sectional study on patterns of torture among forcibly displaced Eritrean men in the US. This is the first study of its kind and provides valuable data on prevalent  methods, and clinical impacts in a sample of 59 survivors assessed using the Istanbul Protocol.

Following the call for contributions from the Journal, Juliet Cohen et al. present preliminary data on remote medico-legal assessment by telephone during Covid-19, showing that it can be safely used with some special considerations assessed in the paper. We are now expecting results from the comparison with the video assessment.

Vipin Vijay et al. present a qualitative study on the experiences of survivors of commercial sexual exploitation at RP homes in India with an analysis of the elements that facilitate the rehabilitation according to the vice of survivors.

The paper by Frank Hofmann et al. describes the implementation of a pilot project on the use of EMDR in children in post-conflict settings conducted in Northern Iraq.

The IRCT conducted an open discussion on Survivor Engagement in the work of Rehabilitation Centers for torture survivors. Berta Soley has summarised the conclusions and included an interview with Lynne Walker that shares how the Tree of Life Trust has incorporated this perspective for more than ten years.

This issue also includes the Letter to the Editor by Jesús Antona which exposes the proneness of Chilean democracy, exposing the Catrillanca case and the Temucuicui community arrest.

In recent months, during a year when organisations that provide services for survivors of torture faced new challenges during the global COVID-19 pandemic, some of the people who have been leading the anti-torture movement for years have passed. We have paid tribute to Javier Enriquez Sam (1960-2021), Gerald “Jerry” Gray (1935-2020), Sister Jean Abbott (1943-2021), Jose María “Chato” Galante (1948-2020), Gianfranco De Maio (1963-2020) and Sister Dianna Ortiz (1958-2021). Many more people have left us in these months, but let the testimony of Javier, Jerry, Jean, Chato, Gianfranco and Dianna serve as a tribute. They have left behind them a light that we will try to follow.

Finally, this issue also includes the forthcoming call for papers for the special section on racism, ethnocentrism and torture by police and security services.