Editing Torture (section)

==Prevalence==
[[File:Protesters use tennis rackets to bat away tear gas. (50267655062).jpg|thumb|[[Tear gas]] used during the [[2019–2020 Hong Kong protests]]. The use of tear gas on protestors is sometimes considered a form of torture.{{sfn|Carver|Handley|2016|p=39}}]]
Most countries practice torture, although few acknowledge it.{{sfn|Kelly|2019|p=2}}{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|p=42}} The international prohibition of torture has not completely stopped torture; instead, states have changed which techniques are used and denied, covered up, or [[torture by proxy|outsourced]] torture programs.{{sfn|Barnes|2017|p=182}} Measuring the rate at which torture occurs is difficult because it is typically committed in secrecy, and abuses are likelier to come to light in [[open societies]] where there is a commitment to protecting human rights.{{sfn|Carver|Handley|2016|p=36}} Many torture survivors, especially those from poor or marginalized populations, are unwilling to report.{{sfn|Kelly ''et al.''|2020|pp=73, 79}}{{sfn|Jensena ''et al.''|2017|pp=406–407}} Monitoring has focused on police stations and prisons, although torture can also occur in other facilities such as [[immigration detention]] and [[youth detention center]]s.{{sfn|Rejali|2020|pp=84–85}}{{sfn|Kelly ''et al.''|2020|p=65}} Torture that occurs outside of custody—including extrajudicial punishment, intimidation, and [[crowd control]]—has traditionally not been counted, even though some studies have suggested it is more common than torture in places of detention.{{sfn|Kelly|2019|pp=3–4}}{{sfn|Kelly ''et al.''|2020|pp=73, 79}}{{sfn|Jensena ''et al.''|2017|pp=406–407}} There is even less information on the prevalence of torture before the twentieth century.{{sfn|Einolf|2007|p=104}} Although it is often assumed that men suffer torture at a higher rate than women, there is a lack of evidence.{{sfn|Milewski ''et al.''|2023}} Some quantitative research has estimated that torture rates are either stagnant or increasing over time, but this may be a measurement effect.{{sfn|Einolf|2023}}

Although liberal democracies are less likely to abuse their citizens, they may practice torture against marginalized citizens and non-citizens to whom they are not democratically accountable.{{sfn|Einolf|2007|p=106}}{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|p=24}} Voters may support violence against out-groups seen as threatening; [[majoritarian]] institutions are ineffective at preventing torture against minorities or foreigners.{{sfn|Evans|2020|loc=Political and Institutional Influences on the Practice of Torture}} Torture is more likely when a society feels threatened because of wars or crises,{{sfn|Einolf|2007|p=106}}{{sfn|Evans|2020|loc=Political and Institutional Influences on the Practice of Torture}} but studies have not found a consistent relationship between the use of torture and terrorist attacks.{{sfn|Rejali|2020|p=82}}

Torture is directed against certain segments of the population, who are denied the protection against torture given to others.{{sfn|Wolfendale|2019|p=89}}{{sfn|Celermajer|2018|pp=161–162}}{{sfn|Evans|2020|loc=Political and Institutional Influences on the Practice of Torture}} Torture of [[political prisoners]] and torture during armed conflicts receive more attention compared to torture of the poor or criminal suspects.{{sfn|Oette|2021|p=307}}{{sfn|Carver|Handley|2016|p=36}} Most victims of torture are suspected of crimes; a disproportionate number of victims are from poor or marginalized communities.{{sfn|Kelly|2019|pp=5, 7}}{{sfn|Carver|Handley|2016|p=36}} Groups especially vulnerable to torture include unemployed young men, the [[urban poverty|urban poor]], [[LGBT people]], refugees and migrants, ethnic and racial minorities, [[indigenous people]], and [[people with disabilities]].{{sfn|Oette|2021|p=321}} [[Relative poverty]] and the resulting [[economic inequality|inequality]] in particular leave poor people vulnerable to torture.{{sfn|Kelly ''et al.''|2020|p=70}} [[criminalization of poverty|Criminalization of the poor]], through laws targeting [[criminalization of homelessness|homelessness]], [[criminalization of sex work|sex work]], or working in the [[informal economy]], can lead to violent and arbitrary policing.{{sfn|Oette|2021|pp=329–330}} Routine violence against poor and marginalized people is often not seen as torture, and its perpetrators justify the violence as a legitimate policing tactic;{{sfn|Celermajer|2018|pp=164–165}} victims lack the resources or standing to seek redress.{{sfn|Kelly ''et al.''|2020|p=70}}