Editing Freedom from Torture

{{Short description|British charity}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox organization
|type  = Charity
|logo  = 1. Freedom from Torture primary logo online low res.png
|founded            = 1985 by [[Helen Bamber]] in the [[United Kingdom]]
|key_people         = Sonya Sceats ([[CEO]])
|location           = United Kingdom (Birmingham, Glasgow, London, Manchester and Newcastle)
|services           = Treating survivors of torture, advocacy
|homepage           = {{URL|http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/}}
}}

'''Freedom from Torture''' (previously known as '''The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture''') is a British registered [[Charitable organisation|charity]] that provides therapeutic care for survivors of [[torture]] who seek protection in the UK.<ref name=WhatWeDo>[https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/about "What We Do"], Freedom from Torture. Retrieved 6 June 2024.</ref> Since it was established in 1985, more than 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/13/uk-failing-syrian-refugees-who-survived-torture-say-mps|first=Alan |last=Travis |newspaper=The Guardian |title=UK failing Syrian refugees who survived torture, say MPs|date= 13 January 2017|access-date= 13 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38017463 |website=BBC News|first=Catrin |last=Nye |title=Torture evidence ignored by Home Office, says charity|date= 21 November 2017| access-date= 13 March 2017}}</ref>

Freedom from Torture provides medical and psychological documentation of torture, a range of rehabilitation therapies, including [[psychotherapy]], individual and family counselling, [[physiotherapy]] 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.<ref>[https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/survivor-voices/7225 About Survivors Speak OUT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314062544/https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/survivor-voices/7225 |date=14 March 2017 }}. Retrieved 13 March 2017.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/kolbassia-haoussou/home-truths-about-torture_b_15104884.html|website= [[Huffington Post]]|first=Kolbassia |last=Haoussou |title=Home Truths About Torture|date= 3 March 2017| access-date= 13 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/jun/03/hissene-habre-crimes-against-humanity-chad-justice |newspaper=The Guardian |title=Hissène Habré's conviction the first step on a longer road to justice for Chad|first=Kolbassia |last=Haoussou|date= 3 June 2016| access-date=13 March 2017}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite journal|pmc=1600475 | pmid=7357273 | volume=280 | title=Amnesty International's medical group | journal=Br Med J | pages=48–9 | last1 = Pollert | first1 = J | last2 = Gordon | first2 = EM | year=1980 | issue=6206 | doi=10.1136/bmj.280.6206.48-d}}</ref> 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]] 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]],<ref name="About us">{{cite web|url=https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/what-we-do/about-us|title=About us {{!}} Our history|website=Freedom From Torture|access-date=13 October 2024}}</ref> the organisation was established as a registered charity. It provided medical treatment, counselling and [[therapy]] to torture survivors and documented evidence of torture using the [[Istanbul Protocol]]. Sponsorship came from the heads of the [[Royal College of Physicians]], [[Royal College of Psychiatrists]] and [[Royal College of Surgeons of England]].

It worked at first in two rooms in the former [[National Temperance Hospital]], off [[Hampstead Road, London|Hampstead Road]] in north-west [[London]].<ref>Freedom from Torture history: http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/about/33</ref> By 1990, the organisation was treating 750 clients and then moved to a building in Grafton Road, [[Kentish Town]].

The organisation began a regional programme in late 2003 with the opening of a centre in [[Manchester]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/uk-centres/our-north-west-centre-in-manchester|title=Our North West centre in Manchester|website=Freedom From Torture|access-date=13 October 2024}}</ref> treating clients living in the north-west. This followed the government's dispersal scheme,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1477491.stm|title=Q&A: Asylum seeker dispersal|website=BBC News|date=2001-08-07|access-date=2019-06-13|language=en-GB}}</ref> which saw [[asylum seekers]] 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]] centre opened in [[Glasgow]] in 2004, followed by the [[Newcastle upon Tyne|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.<ref>[http://nrif.homeoffice.gov.uk/Health/SpecialistSupport/TortureViolence/survivorsoftorture.asp?oi=06-05-01 "The Integration of Refugees - Positive Practice for Health Professionals", Home Office National Refugee Integration website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130105951/http://nrif.homeoffice.gov.uk/Health/SpecialistSupport/TortureViolence/survivorsoftorture.asp?oi=06-05-01 |date=30 Januaryn2011 }}. Retrieved 12 February 2011.</ref>

Freedom from Torture's [[chief executive]] is Sonya Sceats.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/news-blogs/15_03_2018/sonya_sceats_is_appointed_chief_executive_of_freedom_from_torture |title=Freedom from Torture - Sonya Sceats is appointed Chief Executive of Freedom from Torture |website=www.freedomfromtorture.org|date= 15 March 2018|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324043300/https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/news-blogs/15_03_2018/sonya_sceats_is_appointed_chief_executive_of_freedom_from_torture |archive-date=2018-03-24}} </ref>

== Treatment provided ==
Freedom from Torture provides a range of services for its clients. These include medical consultation, examination and forensic documentation of [[injuries]] through medico-legal reports,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/what-we-do/10/5132|title=What we do|work=Freedom from Torture|access-date=17 May 2017|language=en}}</ref> psychological and physical treatment and support, and practical help.

The organisation employs more than 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]], [[psychotherapists]], [[psychologists]], [[interpreters]], child and family [[therapists]] and group workers.

== Statistics ==
Since its founding in 1985, the organisation has received more than 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]] (230), [[Iran]] (140), [[Afghanistan]] (108), [[Nigeria]] (64), [[Democratic Republic of Congo]] (62), [[Turkey]] (56), [[Iraq]] (55), [[Pakistan]] (53), [[Syria]] (48) and [[Sudan]] (46).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/what-we-do|title=What we do|website=www.freedomfromtorture.org|language=en|access-date=2019-06-13}}</ref>
  
Ninety-nine per cent of Freedom from Torture clients are [[asylum seekers]] or [[refugees]], who have fled [[torture]] and [[persecution]] usually in their home countries.<ref name=":0" />

== 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/9460|title=Trustees Annual Report & Financial Statements 2015|work=Freedom from Torture|access-date=17 May 2017|page=19|language=en}}</ref> They raise income using a variety of methods and from a variety of sources.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/}}

{{Authority control}}

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