Best practices in survivor engagement in IRCT member centres.

Introduction: While the literature encourages engaging torture survivors in the direction and provision of services, little is known about how best to do this.

Method: We surveyed 82 member centres of the International Rehabilitation Council for TortureVictims (IRCT), a worldwide network of anti-torture organisations, and interviewed fourteen staff members and executive directors about current practices, best practices, and the advantages and disadvantages of engaging survivors.

Results: While few agencies involve survivors extensively, those that did found survivor engagement helped agencies engage in better planning, service provision, and advocacy, while at the same time being healing and empowering for survivors.

Sexual torture among Arabic-speaking Shi'a Muslim men and women in Iraq: Barriers to healing and finding meaning.

Introduction: Rape and sexual torture are frequent experiences among torture survivors, but relatively little is known about how victims respond to and find meaning in these experiences.

Method: This study used secondary qualitative interview data from 47 male and female Shi'a Arab victims and survivors of sexual torture and rape in Saddam Hussein's Iraq to examine how sexual torture affected them, what were the barriers to healing, how they found meaning in their experiences, and how their experiences varied by gender.

Results: Respondents experienced profound psychological effects that lasted for years, including: shame, feeling broken and prematurely aged, and wanting to isolate themselves from others.