THEMATIC REPORT 2017 SEXUAL TORTURE THE IMPACT OF SEXUAL TORTURE Sexual torture, like other methods of torture, causes traumatic consequences for survivors. It affects their lives on many levels, their physical health, their psychological stability, and their social confidence and behaviour. Usually, victims suffer both from immediate, transient effects on their health that require a prompt crisis intervention, as well as from persistent impairments or from symptoms that appear only later. It is for these reasons that rehabilitation has to not only immediately respond to the most urgent needs of victims, but it also may require a more long-term intervention until the survivor is able to go through their daily life without regular counselling. Due to the strong stigma attached to sexual torture, often many victims are afraid of disclosing their experience and as such only approach rehabilitation centres years later. Staff from EATIP Argentina explain, “Most of the victims of sexual torture whom we treat experienced their abuse many years ago. This means that today, the sequelae on a somatic level might not exist anymore, might not be visible anymore.” If the examination occurs even just a few days after torture, the physical marks and traces may have disappeared from the body of the victim. “After his torture, he was not provided with medical assistance in the prison. On the contrary, he was kept in solitary confinement for an additional forty-five days. And after these 45 days, the physical signs of his torture were not visible anymore, which also means that the most significant evidence for a medico-legal report was gone.” RCTV Memoria, Moldova What rehabilitation centres can still diagnose years later however, are the longterm psychosomatic and psychological consequences. According to staff at EATIP Argentina, “The effects that these victims experience are also more long-lasting than those of others, more profound. The traumatic attack on their sexuality causes long-term wounds and marks the victims, as well as the society, in a particularly intense way. This also has to do with the difficulty to speak about such experiences. Most of the victims start to speak about it only years later, and hence, start to process it only years later.” The psychological consequences of sexual torture are far-reaching and symptoms associated with PTSD can continue decades after the abuse. A psychologist at RCT Croatia remembers how agitated many of her patients were when they first told her page 14