Europe EU countries: All the EU Member States participating in the questionnaire use the asylum interview and/or the application form to identify VoTs, apart from Italy and France. The member centres from France and Ireland confirmed that VoTs are not identified at all through national legislation. In Ireland, the measures that are in place to identify VoTs are according to custom and practice and have no basis in law. It is the asylum applicant’s own responsibility, via their legal representative, to approach a centre for a medico-legal report to support their claim. Only Finland, Italy, Hungary and the Netherlands currently use medical screening as a method for identifying VoTs. The changes to the Reception Conditions Directive — formally adopted in July 2013 — place an obligation on Member States to assess whether an asylum applicant has “special reception needs”, which could include a need for appropriate mental health care. It is hoped that the obligation on Member States to identify vulnerable asylum-seekers will encourage more states to use medical screening as a method of identification early on in the asylum process.51 Some Member States are already piloting schemes in which medical screening is used. For example, one of the member centres in Germany (bzfo) highlighted that asylum-seekers normally fill out a short application form and have an interview in which they are able to raise allegations of torture. In addition, there is a pilot project being conducted in some areas of Germany that introduces medical and psychological screening of vulnerable groups, including VoTs. However, the pilot project is not currently part of the national legislation. Rest of Europe: The asylum interview is also the most common method of identifying VoTs in non-EU countries that participated in the survey. Centres in Armenia and Moldova indicated the most possible methods for identification. In Armenia, there is no special procedure set out by the national legislation on who is in charge of the early identification of VoTs. However, there is a general procedure in place for the designating bodies to conduct health checks.52 In Kosovo, the reception centre sends all asylum-seekers for the first general medical screening within 24 hours of their arrival. In addition, psychological reports provided by the IRCT member centre (KRCT) are also used to identify VoTs. North America and the Pacific All four countries in these regions use the asylum interview to identify VoTs. All, except New Zealand, also use the application form. Only Australia provides in its national legislation for the use of medical screening to identify VoTs. In the USA, medical and psychological evaluations are not part of the standard asylum process. An applicant will only obtain an evaluation if they are able to access a rehabilitation centre that is able to provide one. Asylum-seekers may provide proof (medical and psychological reports, for example) to support their asylum claims. In Australia, the method used for identifying vulnerable asylum-seekers depends on how they have entered the country. Asylum-seekers who enter the country without a visa are automatically detained and are given an initial health interview as part of the detention screening process, during which any allegations of past torture or ill-treatment should be picked up. For persons making a protection claim after they have entered the country on a valid visa, identification as a VoT will depend on the applicant disclosing the allegations as part of the asylum claim, i.e. in the application form or at the interview. Recognising victims of torture in national asylum procedures / 25