Torture Victims' Charity To Set Up North-West Branch

A charity that provides medical, psychological and practical support to victims of torture and other violent human rights abuses such as ethnic cleansing is poised to open its first regional treatment centre in Salford.

The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture says its expertise is needed to help refugees and asylum seekers in the North West who have suffered torture in their country of origin.

The charity has until now focused its activities to London, where its treatment centre has assisted more than 35,000 people since its doors first opened in 1986. But a £180,000 grant from a North West charity, the Society for the Investigation of Human Values, set up by health professionals to promote psychotherapy as a healing tool, has enabled it to open up in Manchester, and will cover the first three years of the project.

Emma Williams, from the Medical Foundation's Regional Development Team, which monitors the effects of the government's policy of dispersing asylum seekers all over the country, said: "Treating torture survivors is both specialised and time consuming. We have already given training to a number of local doctors and other health professionals, who indicated the need for a dedicated service.

"The Manchester operation will be limited in scope but it sets an important precedent. Until now, the Medical Foundation has only been able to offer services in London.

"Now a counsellor/caseworker has been appointed in the North West to concentrate on a limited number of complex cases needing psychological support. A team of volunteer counsellors is being trained to increase the numbers that can be seen. It is hoped that this group will eventually include volunteer doctors prepared to document cases of torture in medico-legal reports that can be submitted in support of asylum claims. In addition, we will continue to provide training to health professionals interested in our work.”

Ms Williams said Manchester had been chosen for the project because of the large number of torture survivors in the area, many of whom were expected to settle there once their asylum claims had been assessed.

"Outside London, Greater Manchester now has the largest concentration of refugees and asylum seekers in the land some 20,000 in total,” she said. "People want to live there not least because of the prevailing attitude of local people, who are in the main sympathetic and welcoming. As a result, we expect the vast majority of those that are dispersed to Manchester to elect to stay there once they are granted asylum. In addition, a large number of refugee community organisations already exist there, as well as a large number of interpreters, who are vital to our work

The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture is the only organisation in Britain dedicated solely to helping victims of torture and organised violence. Clients include former British servicemen who were prisoners of the Japanese in World War Two, refugees who were tortured in South America in the 1970's, and torture survivors fleeing today's conflicts.

Most of those the Medical Foundation helps are adults, but sadly it is also called upon to treat children who have either suffered torture themselves, or have witnessed acts of extreme violence against members of their families.

In London the range of free services provided by some 200 paid and voluntary staff include:

• Medical, psychiatric and psychological assessment and treatment.
• Rehabilitation, both short and long term, through social care, casework and counselling, psychotherapy, physiotherapy and a range of other complementary treatments including osteopathy, reflexology - and even gardening.
• Forensic medical reports to document allegations of torture.
• Legal advice in furtherance of applications for asylum for torture survivors.
• Practical assistance over matters such as housing, benefit advice and education.

Most of the foundation's work is focused on cases living in this country, although it has on occasion run projects further afield, e.g. in Guatemala, Uganda, Israel/Palestine, and Kosovo.