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The case histories of 100 women survivors of torture from 24 countries who sought asylum in the United Kingdom were reviewed in order to assess their experiences of torture and ill treatment and of accessing justice and rehabilitative help and support in their countries of origin. These women first sought the services of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture throughout a six month period in 2008. No perpetrators were successfully prosecuted in any of these cases. In the overwhelming majority of cases, torture was not reported because the police or other law enforcement personnel were directly responsible for the harm suffered. Reparations under international law aim to put the victim back in to the position they were in prior to the abuse. In the case of women survivors of torture, however, this approach is often inadequate and untenable: it fails to address the underlying and pervasive gender inequalities which render women vulnerable to violence and torture in the first place and severely limit, if not wholly negate, their ability to seek out any form of reparations. A more robust and gender-sensitive approach to reparations, which situates the individual within the context of their community and which tackles legislative, cultural and societal inequalities is essential. Without such an approach, women survivors of torture will fail to achieve justice, and perpetrators will continue to enjoy impunity for torture. |
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