Freedom from Torture

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Freedom from Torture (Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture)
Founded1985 by Helen Bamber in the United Kingdom
TypeCharity
Location
  • United Kingdom (Birmingham, Glasgow, London, Manchester and Newcastle)
ServicesTreating survivors of torture, advocacy
Key people
Susan Munroe (CEO)
Websitewww.freedomfromtorture.org

Freedom from Torture (previously known as The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture) is a British registered charity which provides therapeutic care for survivors of torture who seek protection in the UK.[1] Since it was established in 1985, over 57,000 survivors of torture have been referred to the organisation for help and it is one of the world’s largest torture treatment centres.[2][3]

Freedom from Torture provides medical and psychological documentation of torture, a range of rehabilitation therapies, including psychotherapy, individual and family counselling, physiotherapy and complementary group work as well as practical advice and support. It trains health, legal and policy professionals throughout the UK to work with the complex needs and rights of torture survivors.

A key area of Freedom from Torture's work is to advocate for torture survivors and to ensure states responsible for torture are held accountable. It works to guarantee the human rights of survivors nationally and internationally. Freedom from Torture also supports Survivors Speak OUT (SSO), the UK’s only torture survivor-led activist network.[4][5][6] All members are former Freedom from Torture clients.

History

Freedom from Torture began in the early 1980s, as part of the Medical Group of Amnesty International.[7] The organisation was set up to improve existing health services for torture survivors in the UK. This work initially took the form of campaigns against violations of human rights and the documentation of evidence of torture by volunteer health professionals and senior medical specialists.

In 1985, under the leadership of Helen Bamber, the organisation was established as a registered charity, based at the former National Temperance Hospital in north-west London. It provided medical treatment, counselling and therapy to torture survivors and documented evidence of torture using the Istanbul Protocol. Sponsorship came from the heads of the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Psychiatrists and Royal College of Surgeons of England.

It worked at first in two rooms in the former National Temperance Hospital, off Hampstead Road in north-west London.[8] By 1990, the organisation was treating 750 clients and then moved to a building in Grafton Road, Kentish Town. In 2004, the London headquarters moved into a £5.8m treatment centre in Isledon Road, Finsbury Park. The building was purpose-built by architect Paul Hyett.

The organisation began a regional programme [9] in late 2003 with the opening of a centre in Manchester, treating clients living in the north-west. This followed the Government's Dispersal scheme,[10] which saw asylum seekers relocated outside London, largely to urban areas in the north of England and in Scotland. Freedom from Torture’s Scotland centre opened in Glasgow in 2004, followed by the Newcastle centre in 2006 and the Birmingham centre in 2009.

Freedom from Torture's chief executive officer is Susan Munroe.[11]

Treatment provided

Freedom from Torture provides a range of services for its clients. These include medical consultation, examination and forensic documentation of torture through medico-legal reports, psychological and physical treatment and support, and practical help for people who have survived torture.

The organisation employs over 156 staff and 140 volunteers across its five centres in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow. These include medical doctors, caseworkers, counsellors, legal advisers, physiotherapists, psychotherapists, psychologists, interpreters, child and family therapists and group workers.

Statistics

Since the organisation was founded in 1985, the organisation has received around 57,000 referrals.[12]

In 2016 Freedom from Torture's five centres provided over 17,200 psychological therapy interventions supporting 1,066 clients. The top ten originating countries for clients referred in 2016 were Sri Lanka (230), Iran (140), Afghanistan (108), Nigeria (64), Democratic Republic of Congo (62), Turkey (56), Iraq (55), Pakistan (53), Syria (48) and Sudan (46). Two thirds of our clients came from one of these ten top referring countries.

99% of Freedom from Torture clients are asylum seekers or refugees, who have fled torture and persecution usually in their home countries.[13]

Medico-Legal Reports

The organisation's Medico Legal Reports Service accepts referrals from torture survivors, their friends and family, GPs, solicitors, refugee community organisations or any other voluntary or statutory sector body.

Medico-legal reports provide expert detailed evidence of the extent of a torture survivor’s injuries and psychological trauma. Freedom from Torture's team of clinical staff apply international standards for documenting torture in these assessments based on the UN Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, known as the Istanbul Protocol. [14]


Funding

Freedom from Torture is an independent registered charity. According to the organization, they rely on donations from individuals for almost three quarters of their funding.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ About Freedom from Torture, accessed 13 March 2017
  2. ^ The Guardian “UK failing Syrian refugees who survived torture, say MPs”, 13 January 2017, accessed 13 March 2017
  3. ^ BBC News “Torture evidence ignored by Home Office, says charity”, 21 November 2017, accessed 13 March 2017
  4. ^ About Survivors Speak OUT, accessed 13 March 2017
  5. ^ Huffington Post “Home Truths About Torture”, 3 March 2017, accessed 13 March 2017
  6. ^ The Guardian “Hissène Habré's conviction the first step on a longer road to justice for Chad”, 3 June 2016, accessed 13 March 2017
  7. ^ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1600475/pdf/brmedj00001-0052e.pdf
  8. ^ Freedom from Torture history: http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/about/33
  9. ^ Freedom from Torture's Regional Program http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/about/15
  10. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1477491.stm
  11. ^ https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/about/32/38
  12. ^ Freedom from Torture: What we do http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/5176
  13. ^ http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/about/5178
  14. ^ [https//www.freedomfromtorture.org/content/9288 Proving Torture, November 2016], accessed March 2017

External links

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