about childhood torture
torture vs. abuse
Torture differs from abuse in that perpetrators of torture leverage their control over the victim's access to the necessities of life in order to gain compliance, information, or some other desired behavioral outcome.
Examples include
- sleep deprivation
- forced nudity
- waterboarding
- forced ingestion of waste, chemicals, or caustic substances
- solitary confinement
- physical binding
- and more.
There are two main categories of childhood torture: War Related, and Non War Related.
Non War Related is further subdivided into intrafamilial and institutional.
Intrafamilial occurs in families/households and is commonly perpetrated by parents, step parents, and foster parents.
Institutional occurs in an institution such as a church, school, or wilderness program.
fatality rate
Due to the extreme nature of the maltreatment, intra-familial childhood torture has a 36% fatality rate.
These crimes tend to occur in extreme isolation, so this number may actually be higher.
proposed medical definition
2 physical assaults [or] 1 extended assault
PLUS
2 forms of psychological maltreatment
RESULTING IN
prolonged suffering
permanent disfigurement/dysfunction
or death
Economic Burden
The annual healthcare cost of Adverse Childhood Experiences is estimated to be around $953 billion in North America alone.
People with an ACE Score of 4 or higher experience an unemployment rate of 13.2% making needed healthcare impossible to afford.
the need for humanitarian aid
All currently available humanitarian aid in the US for surivors of childhood torture is reserved for people who were either tortured in other countries and are now living in the US or for people who survived state-sanctioned torture during a recognized national or international conflict. Both of these criteria exclude people who were tortured on US soil during childhood.
humanitarian aid models
Non War Related Childhood Torture is a humanitarian crisis.
A comprehensive humanitarian aid package must include:
- housing assistance
- funding for research
- funding for long term psychiatric care
- educational support
- public awareness & education / prevention
- funding for long term medical expenses
- foster reform
- and more!
