
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Introduction: thinking beyond states and state institutions Introduction: thinking beyond states and state institutions
-
The legal and epistemological expansion of definitions of violence The legal and epistemological expansion of definitions of violence
-
What is torturous violence? What is torturous violence?
-
Moving from who perpetrates violence and why, to the infliction and impact of violence Moving from who perpetrates violence and why, to the infliction and impact of violence
-
‘It’s non-stop. The violence continues’: domestic and interpersonal violence as torturous ‘It’s non-stop. The violence continues’: domestic and interpersonal violence as torturous
-
Childhood and families: recognizing trajectories of torturous violence Childhood and families: recognizing trajectories of torturous violence
-
“I wouldn’t call it torture, though”: conflict within discourses “I wouldn’t call it torture, though”: conflict within discourses
-
-
Expanding the realms of infliction: witnessing, borders and sociospatial shifts Expanding the realms of infliction: witnessing, borders and sociospatial shifts
-
Spatial continuums of torturous violence through bordering Spatial continuums of torturous violence through bordering
-
-
A note on discourse: the outcome of being gender neutral is not neutrality A note on discourse: the outcome of being gender neutral is not neutrality
-
Conclusion Conclusion
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3 ‘I Wouldn’t Call it Torture’: Conceptualizing Torturous Violence
Get access-
Published:January 2023
Cite
Abstract
In the month prior to submitting this book for publication I garnered opinions of approximately 100 practitioners working on trauma, torture, violence and rehabilitation, discussing if or how much the concept of torture is of central relevance to their work. For some, particularly lawyers and legal advisors working on international committees and advising governments accused of torture, it was paramount: without the concept of torture, all aspects of international or criminal justice, accountability or torture rehabilitation would be defunct. Others alluded to the possibility of ‘cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment’, only themselves to agree that the concept of and terminology around ‘torturous’ holds a linguistic and discourse advantage in its derivation of ‘torture’, given torture’s common understanding as the most heinous of all violence. For others, my continued inclusion of legal definitions of torture undoes the objective of transcending definitional boundaries of torture, since some aspects of the book continue to build around it. For some psychologists and psychotraumatologists in particular, the term can be relevant for survivors of torture, but far from relevant to treatment or rehabilitation since extreme violence may have been part of a longer-term trajectory, even from childhood. As a number of people argued, even assessing for ‘torture’ can be highly problematic: people receiving support can relay torture as one of many traumatic events or forms of serious physical or psychological violence. Without a torture assessment, they might see many more self-elected survivors of extreme violence who experience the same impacts of trauma. In short, torture assessments may be useful to an extent for responding to state inflicted or sanctioned torture, but they also act as a metaphorical sieve for responding to other forms of extreme violence, even those which may mirror torture in their sustained and impactful nature.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
October 2023 | 1 |
August 2024 | 1 |
September 2024 | 1 |
December 2024 | 1 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.