From untried steps to omnipresence.

The author introduces new ideas - in this case the multidisciplinary treatment of torture sur-vivors - may be understood as the benevo-lent work of altruistic people. It is indeed, but it requires hard work, toughness and cut-through leadership. The formulation of ideas and some of the unexpected troubles in one of the early periods at The Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victimes is portrayed from a personal angle.

Extreme man-made stress and anti-therapy. Doctors as collaborators in torture.

Forty-nine torture survivors undergoing treatment between 1 March 1988 and 28 February 1989 at the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT) in Copenhagen entered a study to assess whether medical doctors had been involved in aspects of their torture. It became clear that the majority had indeed experienced this dimension of medicine. The participation of doctors in torture appears to be real and extensive and raises extremely serious questions as to medical accountability and responsibility.

Medical education for the prevention of torture.

The United Nations Convention against Torture came into force on June 1987 and the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture on 1 February 1989. The two Conventions are complementary and do not overlap in any respect, including their relevance to training of health personnel. The United Nations Convention calls for education of all doctors and other health personnel.

Treatment of torture survivors and their families: the nurse's function.

Torture has always existed. Whereas it was previously practiced publicly to warn citizens of a similar fate if they violated the law, today torture takes place mostly behind closed doors. The responsible authorities and governments deny its existence.

Torture: diagnosis and rehabilitation.

This article describes psychological and physical methods of torture, the general stress-related sequelae that are unrelated to the method used, and some examples of clinical effects that are related to specific methods. The approach to the rehabilitation of victims of torture practised at RCT is outlined. Two illustrative case histories are given.

Why are torturers never punished?

In 1974, a young woman was arrested and tortured in Calcutta, India. After her release from detention, three years later, she filed a petition against her torturers. Ten years later, the case is still pending before a lower court in Calcutta.