5. THE FIGHT AGAINST TORTURE: Prevention of torture, accountability, and the rehabilitation of survivors 5.1 Survivor activism In a number of contexts survivors want to speak out and tell their story of torture and the challenges of rehabilitation. The motivation for sharing their story can include seeking justice, holding perpetrators to account, preventing torture and, for some survivors, it is a key part of their rehabilitation to break the silence about what happened to them and the effect that it has had on them, their family and communities. A number of rehabilitation services offer group work programs that include supporting torture survivors to communicate beyond the rehabilitation service provider to a broader community. Examples of these approaches include therapy programs structured around writing, drama and art that are shared with the public at events or through publications. These approaches have proven very effective in raising awareness about torture and its consequences. In some cases, survivor activism projects or programs are developed and aimed at human rights bodies, governmental and policy targets that can have an influence on the prevention of torture and the rehabilitation of its survivors. This has proven to be a powerful approach as in many contexts; those we seek to influence in our sector to prevent torture and to respond to the needs of its survivors have never met a survivor. It can be a real motivator when those who can create the change we seek have the experience of responding to the well placed message of a torture survivor making informed demands. Key to engaging in these types of approaches in a rehabilitation service context is proper clinical support as telling of one’s story of torture and its ruinous effect can raise powerful emotions that a survivor may need support in handling. Equally important, is the skills building to ensure that the survivor acquires knowledge, competencies and confidence to share their story in a public setting. For example, in survivor activism approaches there is a skills build that includes training in human rights, effective story writing, communicating through various media such as television, radio and public speaking, lobbying and advocacy skills for political targets and communicating with youth groups and through social media. It is important that the skills needed to engage in these sorts of approaches are gained by survivors and in many instances, survivors had a very public life prior to their torture and will feel very confident in appearing publicly to recount their story of torture and most importantly, how to prevent it and to respond to its consequences as a community. An important element of this approach to providing a rehabilitation response that includes survivor activism is that it has to be survivor led, carried out in a way that it is safe for the survivor, and informed by an understanding of the implications of sharing a story about oneself in a public manner. The service provider needs to ensure that the nature of public disclosure is understood and in particular the implications of social media and the permanent nature of sharing information on the internet. Appropriate steps to ensure safety and confidentiality should be taken with due account for the participatory rights of survivors and the rehabilitative effect of empowering them by opening up spaces for their voices to be heard. 37