A/59/324 adult about the traumatic events.”25 The Special Rapporteur acknowledges with appreciation initiatives taken by human rights international mechanisms and nongovernmental organizations to examine the question of violence against children. In particular, he would like to refer to the one-day general discussion on violence against children organized by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in September 2000 and September 2001 (see CRC/C/100, chap. V and CRC/C/111, chap. V) and the International Conference on Children, Torture and Other Forms of Violence: Facing the Facts, Forging the Future, organized in Tampere, Finland, in December 2001 by the World Organization against Torture. He also welcomes the appointment by the Secretary-General of an independent expert to lead a global study on violence against children. 55. While the Special Rapporteur realizes that torture survivors who flee their place of origin are often a small minority and that the overwhelming majority of torture victims are ordinary persons who have no means of seeking remedy or asylum, he also notes that torture survivors who flee their place of origin are exposed to the extra trauma of being forcibly uprooted. Therefore, in addition to suffering from the effects of torture, victims who become internally displaced persons, asylum-seekers and refugees are likely to experience another significant emotional effect, which is a deep feeling of loss — loss of a home, possessions, work, loved ones and other close relationships, life style, status, but also loss of self-esteem, trust or personal identity. 56. It is often difficult for the victims to speak about their traumatic experience. However, the Special Rapporteur notes that most victims feel the need to break the silence. Denouncing what happened, often publicly, is the first step to being recognized as a victim. In addition, speaking out is also said to be the first step in the healing process for the survivors, their families and their communities. Legal and socio-political initiatives that aim at condemning torture, bringing perpetrators to justice and providing reparation are essential factors in alleviating the impact of torture on its direct and indirect victims. 57. Understanding the various impacts that torture may have on its victims is necessary in order to identify the specific needs of the victims and to provide assistance that would adequately meet these needs. Assistance to torture victims requires urgent interventions to provide medical aid or attention and to denounce abusive situations with a view to preventing further torture or the deterioration of the state of health of the person concerned. But support to torture victims also requires a more long-term assistance, which must be multidimensional and interdisciplinary. It is the view of the Special Rapporteur that medical aspects, including psychological ones, must not be separated from legal and social assistance. Such assistance should also be provided to the families of torture survivors and, if need be, to their communities. 58. A combination of medical assistance, financial support, social re-adaptation, legal redress and, in some cases, public acknowledgement is, in the Special Rapporteur’s opinion, crucial. Only interdisciplinary assistance that integrates these various aspects can ensure adequate, effective and prompt reparation commensurate to the gravity of the violation and the harm suffered.26 In his previous capacity as a special rapporteur of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, the Special Rapporteur prepared a study on the question of the right to restitution, compensation and rehabilitation for victims of gross 16