health services and other measures to improve mental health in relation to refugees and individuals from comparable backgrounds. It was agreed that an assessment or survey may yield information on what the specific needs of torture victims are, including for example, the needs of victims of sexual torture, children, persons with disabilities and those marginalized for other reasons, and whether these needs are being met by existing rehabilitation services. The assessment should also include information on the capacities of current rehabilitation services and whether they are state-led or non-state services. It may also reveal the existing gaps in the delivery of rehabilitation services to torture victims Furthermore, participants discussed how to measure the impact of rehabilitation services provided in a country in order to include this information in the needs assessments conducted. Experts indicated that there are no fixed criteria and hence no fixed evaluation schemes available. However, some standard operating procedures could be developed. It is essential that all aspects, starting from psychological to social needs, are included bearing in mind that survivors are to decide the focus of their rehabilitation process to address their specific needs. The role of experts is to help them understand their own requirements. Finally, it would be important for any needs assessment to include information on how many persons were seeking rehabilitation services and were redirected to other services and for what reasons. Individual needs assessment and tools Regarding the individual needs assessment, it was found that the active role of victims in the rehabilitation process is key in order to adequately assess their needs. It was pointed out that it is extremely important that the rehabilitation system adapt to the needs of the victim and their experiences. Needs are different, according to the personal stories and acts of torture that were perpetrated. Only a needs-specific rehabilitation process will lead to full rehabilitation. Ideally, torture victims are active actors in identifying their own needs and have an active role in rebuilding their lives. Therefore, rehabilitation should entail the enhancement of social aspects and empowerment of the survivor (e.g. access to information, economic and social independence). Also in the context of the needs assessment, gender aspects of torture were discussed. It was observed that initial assessments show that torture survivors are mainly men. However, this may also be due to the fact that women are often redirected to other services, e.g. for victims of trafficking in human beings or sexual violence. In this context, participants agreed that rape and sexual violence can amount to torture. In order to adequately assess the needs of torture victims, the role of cross-dimensional team work was stressed. Expert teams for each survivor should be composed of a medical doctor, a psychiatrist, a social worker, and a cultural mediator, who deal respectively with physical pain and rehabilitation, emotions and mental health, social empowerment and legal support as well as bridging cultural gaps between the experts and the survivor. This team of professionals meets simultaneously with the survivor to assure him or her that their individual and complex needs can be met with different treatments through a holistic approach within the same framework. Moreover, this cross-dimensional team can help the survivors understand that they are more than just a body to be cured, but rather a complex person, with their own desires, plans and sense of human dignity. 13