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Freedom from Torture (previously known as The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture) is a British registered
charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...
which provides therapeutic care for survivors of
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...
who seek protection in the UK. 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. Freedom from Torture provides medical and psychological documentation of torture, a range of rehabilitation therapies, including
psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...
, individual and family counselling,
physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patie ...
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. 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 Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...
. 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 Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
and the documentation of evidence of torture by volunteer health professionals and senior medical specialists as a reaction . In 1985, under the leadership of
Helen Bamber Helen Rae Bamber OBE, ''née'' Helen Balmuth (1 May 1925 – 21 August 2014), was a British psychotherapist and human rights activist. She worked with Holocaust survivors in Germany after the concentration camps were liberated in 1945. In 1947, sh ...
, the organisation was established as a registered charity. It provided medical treatment, counselling and
therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many differe ...
to torture survivors and documented evidence of torture using the Istanbul Protocol. Sponsorship came from the heads of the
Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...
,
Royal College of Psychiatrists The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental healt ...
and
Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. T ...
. It worked at first in two rooms in the former National Temperance Hospital, off Hampstead Road in north-west
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. By 1990, the organisation was treating 750 clients and then moved to a building in Grafton Road,
Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the open ...
. The organisation began a regional programme in late 2003 with the opening of a centre in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
, treating clients living in the north-west. This followed the Government's Dispersal scheme, which saw
asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and ...
relocated outside London. 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. Freedom from Torture’s
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
centre opened in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
in 2004, followed by the
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
centre in 2006 and the Birmingham centre in 2009. These regional centres were opened to treat torture survivors who had been dispersed outside London. Freedom from Torture's
chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
is Sonya Sceats.


Treatment provided

Freedom from Torture provides a range of services for its clients. These include medical consultation, examination and forensic documentation of
injuries An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or o ...
through medico-legal reports, psychological and physical treatment and support, and practical help. 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 Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...
,
psychotherapists Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome prob ...
,
psychologists A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
,
interpreters Interpreting is a translational activity in which one produces a first and final target-language output on the basis of a one-time exposure to an expression in a source language. The most common two modes of interpreting are simultaneous interp ...
, child and family therapists and group workers.


Statistics

Since the organisation was founded in 1985, the organisation has received over 57,000 referrals. In 2016, Freedom from Torture’s five centres received 1,066 referrals for individuals from 76 different countries. The highest number of referrals came from
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
(230),
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
(140),
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
(108),
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
(64),
Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(62),
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
(56),
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
(55),
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
(53),
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
(48) and
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
(46). 99% of Freedom from Torture clients are
asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and ...
or
refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
, who have fled
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...
and
persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these ter ...
usually in their home countries.


Medico-Legal reports

The organisation's Medico Legal Report 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 detailed evidence of the extent of a torture survivor’s injuries and trauma. Freedom from Torture's team of clinical staff apply international standards for documenting torture in these assessments.


Funding

Freedom from Torture is an independent registered charity. According to the organization's Annual Report 2015, they rely on donations from individuals for almost three quarters of their funding. They raise income using a variety of methods and from a variety of sources.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedom From Torture Torture victim support organizations Human rights organisations based in the United Kingdom Charities based in London Refugee aid organisations in the United Kingdom