THEMATIC REPORT 2017 SEXUAL TORTURE Social impact The consequences of sexual torture reach far beyond emotional and bodily pain. They also affect the victim’s ability to maintain familial and social relationships and to pursue daily activities. An inability to do one’s job or to look after one’s children can lead to social isolation and economic instability. Sexual torture can cause a victim to lose their basic trust in society, as the guiding principles they believe in are not respected. These principles and moral systems define social behaviour by determining what is right and wrong. Torture is very often designed to destroy a person’s belief in the existence of any such principles. This can mean that when a person is tortured they lose their trust in the functioning of society, their assumptions are shattered and they find it very difficult to re-integrate, to re-define their place in the world, and to trust others and society as a whole. “Even at his parents’ house he would not talk to anyone. The only thing he did was to go out for long walks with his dog. He has the feeling that no one will ever understand what he went through and he says that he does not want to talk about it.” RCTV Memoria, Moldova “The reason behind what he suffers in his opinion is the destruction of his spirit that happened through the torture. They made him feel ashamed of himself without reason. In spite of his confession, they kept doing it again and again, with no justification or reason.” Stigma, the difficulty to disclose and feelings of guilt TRC Palestine Breaking their silence is often the first challenge for victims of torture. While reporting sexual torture can allow the healing process to commence and enable survivors to regain their health and claim justice, there may be several reasons why they do not want to speak about their experiences. In some circumstances to disclose their torture may even expose them to further risk. While these fears are very prominent, often the first hurdle is overcoming the fear of social stigmatisation. The torture they experienced has severely damaged their dignity. Reporting sexual torture, therefore, means exposing this knowledge to others. In smaller communities, relatives, friends, neighbours or acquaintances are likely to find out and this can be a daunting prospect for survivors. In many societies a person’s sexual life is a private issue and defined by social norms and taboos. In the experience of the care providers informing this report, survivors of sexual torture may be even less likely to seek help than other victims. Those who find the courage to approach a rehabilitation centre, often conceal the sexual aspects of their ordeal. Some disclose it only months or years later. “She did not want to expose herself. Victims always feel ashamed, and even guilty. And she knew that she would have to face this exposure and that there would be no other solution.” RCT Croatia “Especially when they live in small places in rural areas it is so difficult to tell even professionals what happened, because in a few days the whole village will know. So, they are hiding their stories and they are suffering in silence.” The following comments by IRCT service providers reveal, across countries and contexts, the powerful effect of stigmatisation. page 17 CTV Bosnia & Herzegovina