Torture. 2015;25(2):34-60.
The National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs conducted a large voluntary research project among torture rehabilitation centers in the United States (US). Its goal is to fill the void in the literature on demographic and diagnostic data of torture survivors across a large country.
Twenty-three centers across the US collaborated over six years, utilizing training and making decisions via conference calls and webinars. A data use agreement signed by all the participating centers governed plans and the use of the data.
This study reports on torture survivors from 125 countries, 109 of which signed the United Nations Convention against Torture (UNCAT). Of the 9,025 torture survivors represented, most came from Africa and Asia and reported an average of 3.5 types of torture. Asylum seekers have different immigration experiences and show significantly higher rates of major depressive disorder (MDD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than refugees. Torture survivors at high risk of PTSD and MDD in this sample reported three or more types of torture, reported rape, and had the immigration status of asylum seeker. At one and two years after beginning treatment, both asylum seekers and refugees reported increased rates of employment and improvements in their immigration status.
This longitudinal project provides basic data on a large number of torture survivors who accessed services in the US, and provides a foundation for long-term follow up on immigration status, employment status, diagnostic status, medical diagnoses, and eventually, the effectiveness of treatment for torture survivors in the US. This article shares demographic and diagnostic findings useful for informing programmatic and policy decisions. However, these findings on refugees and asylum seekers in the US may not reflect the experience in other receiving countries. Collaboration with other researchers across continents is required to provide a much needed, more complete picture of torture survivors seeking rehabilitation across the world.
美国酷刑治疗项目国家联盟在美国的酷刑康复中心开展了一项大型自愿研究项目。其目标是填补关于一个大国酷刑幸存者人口统计学和诊断数据文献的空白。
美国23个中心在六年时间里进行合作，通过电话会议和网络研讨会进行培训并做出决策。所有参与中心签署的数据使用协议对计划和数据使用进行管理。
本研究报告了来自125个国家的酷刑幸存者，其中109个国家签署了《联合国禁止酷刑公约》（UNCAT）。在9025名有代表性的酷刑幸存者中，大多数来自非洲和亚洲，平均报告遭受3.5种酷刑。寻求庇护者有不同的移民经历，且与难民相比，患有重度抑郁症（MDD）和创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的比例显著更高。在这个样本中，有患PTSD和MDD高风险的酷刑幸存者报告遭受了三种或更多种酷刑，报告曾遭受强奸，且具有寻求庇护者的移民身份。在开始治疗后的一年和两年，寻求庇护者和难民的就业率都有所提高，移民身份也有所改善。
这个纵向项目提供了大量在美国接受服务的酷刑幸存者的基础数据，并为对移民身份、就业状况、诊断状况、医学诊断以及最终对美国酷刑幸存者治疗效果的长期随访奠定了基础。本文分享了有助于为项目和政策决策提供信息的人口统计学和诊断结果。然而，这些关于美国难民和寻求庇护者的研究结果可能无法反映其他接收国的情况。需要与各大洲的其他研究人员合作，以更全面地呈现全球寻求康复的酷刑幸存者的情况，这是非常必要的。
