Citation

Kaur G. Lancet 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00222-1

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Violent global conflict has forcibly displaced 79·5 million people worldwide, many of whom have experienced torture. Although the systematic use of torture is not new, torture as experienced by refugees fleeing war and persecution has become increasingly brutal. Indeed, in many parts of the world, the purpose of torture is no longer to teach a lesson or to extract a confession, but to embody cruelty in its most extreme form. When appealing for refuge, asylum seekers describe experiencing violence that exceeds the standard definition of torture. Medical and legal communities have yet to adopt adequate language to describe this purposeful, extreme violence.

Language: en