"Torture is increasing in Chad every day, but it is a country forgotten by the international community," says Nodjigoto Charbonnel, winner of Norway's prestigious Rafto Prize 2022 for human rights, and founder of IRCT member Association Jeunesse pour la Paix et la Non-Violence (AJPNV). Poor and arid, but rich in oil and gold, the vast

The Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture (TRC) was established in Ramallah, the administrative capital of Palestine, in the West Bank in 1997. The West Bank and East Jerusalem areas of Palestine have been occupied by the Israeli armed forces since 1967. Since its establishment, TRC Palestine has treated over 26,000 survivors of

The Colectivo Contra la Tortura y la Impunidad (CCTI) is based in Acapulco on Mexico’s Pacific coast. CCTI was born from the onslaught of police brutality faced by citizens during the past two decades of the State’s War on Drugs. “In Mexico, torture is systematic and widespread,” says CCTI’s founding member, Dr Javier Enriquez Sam,

The IRC in Kyiv was established in 1994 to treat survivors of Soviet Russian torture, and Nazi concentration camps. Its founder is Semyon Gluzman, a Ukrainian psychiatrist, human rights activist, and former political prisoner. In the 1970s, Gluzman was one of the first psychiatrists in the Soviet Union to oppose the practice of sending political

The Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture (VAST) was founded in 1986 by activists and mental health workers in Vancouver, west coast Canada, to support refugees arriving from armed conflicts in Central America. Today it is one of Canada’s largest refugee rehabilitation centres, serving survivors from over 100 countries in 12 languages. Research suggests one

In the heart of South Netherlands’ Den Bosch, PTC-ZN is one of Europe’s leading specialists in treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, including in torture survivors. Offering advanced treatments, this IRCT member is also at the forefront of research into trauma-informed care. In April 2021, PTC-ZN began a partnership with IRCT’s member in Lebanon, Restart. Psychologists from

Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi has been working with the poorest of the poor in India for three decades, and knows very well the link between social deprivation and torture. “Poverty, caste system, patriarchy are the main reasons behind torture and organised violence in this country,” says the founder and CEO of the People’s Vigilance Committee on

Torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment won’t end until we all say it must. Watch how a Nigerian NGO engages young people, the leaders of tomorrow, across the country, from classrooms to radio studios, raising their voices to speak out against torture. Learn more at www.prawa.org

Dr Bollineni Keerthi has dedicated her life to helping women and children suffering from violence and torture in India. Today she leads IRCT’s member centre the Vasavya Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. “Women design strategies which are practical. They are also empathetic and committed to rehabilitation," says Dr Keerthi. "Why?