International days provide an occasion to educate the public on issues of concern, mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. In 1997, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed June 26th the “International Day in Support of Victims of Torture,” condemning torture from the outset as one of the vilest acts perpetrated by human beings on their fellow human beings, and calling UN Member States, civil society, and individuals everywhere to unite in support of the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have been victims of torture and those who are still tortured today.

What is Torture?

Torture is a crime against humanity, by seeking to annihilate a victim’s personality and denying the inherent dignity of a human being. Under international law, torture is prohibited and considered a crime; however, torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment persist in all regions of the world. Torture has pervasive consequences that often go beyond the isolated act on an individual and instead can be transmitted through generations and lead to cycles of violence.

"[T]he term 'torture' means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions."

— Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984, art. 1, para.1)

Torture is a type of trauma intended at damaging the body as well as the mind in a repeated and pervasive nature. It affects survivors’ self-identity and autonomy as well as their personal sense of survival and safety. Further, torture has significant and pervasive impacts on the biological, psychological, spiritual, and physical elements of self, and reaches beyond the individual to impact social and familial networks, often resulting in intergenerational trauma.

Prevalence of Torture in Colorado Refugees 

Between 1980 and 2020, Colorado welcomed 63,000 refugees, asylees, and similar populations. One-third arrived in the past 10 years and 87% come from countries with a high prevalence of torture among refugees referred for resettlement. Research showed that of resettled refugees at least 44% are survivors of torture. Thus, more than 25,000 of the 63,000 refugees resettled in Colorado are likely to have experienced torture.

Recovering from Torture

Recovering from torture is a complicated process and requires timely and specialized programs. Therefore, the IRC in Denver founded the Survivor Wellness Center (SWC) in 2018 as part of the Survivor of Torture (SOT) program, providing specialized case management services for clients who survived torture and are starting their journeys from horror to healing. 

“Just throughout the last year, we assisted 100 clients, of which 86% showed significant improvements in physical health and 88% in mental health. We are in the process of implementing a new approach to services in order to reach an even higher number of clients in a more sustainable and impactful way,”

says Shelby Sullivan, SWC’s Survivor Services Supervisor.  

Last year alone, Denver's clients arrived from 37 countries (with the largest numbers from Belarus, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Uganda, and Venezuela), identified as 30 different ethnicities, and used 16 different languages to access services. Given this breadth, torture experiences differ immensely and IRC in Denver's SWC has to offer a wide array of core service domains, such as case management, clinical care coordination, basic needs assistance, and psychosocial support in-house. 

“We are constantly expanding, trying to integrate into the fabric of local networks of resettlement and refugee service providers, broader community providers, and ethnic community-based organizations,”

explains Shelby Sullivan.

“We always try to provide wraparound services, such as job training and placement, career counseling, adult education, social-emotional and academic learning for children and youth, financial education and coaching, and credit- and asset-building services.”

Research clearly supports this approach and Shelby gives several examples, such as the impact of safe and affordable housing and secure transportation on the health and well-being of her clients. Likewise, reliable and secure employment is an important factor when it comes to accessing health services and a higher quality of life. The SWC’s Clinical Case Managers therefore work tirelessly to support clients in securing jobs that cover medical care and provide flexibility to attend medical appointments. Other wrap-around services include support in English language acquisition, access to advanced education and trainings to expand clients' professional lives and access to job opportunities, as well as legal advice.

“We are fortunate to partner with Denver Health as our medical lead, and the University of Denver (DU) Trauma and Disaster Recovery Clinic (TDRC) as the mental health lead. Both deliver direct services and lend their expertise to efforts expanding service access through outreach, education, training, case consultation, and service coordination with other providers.”

SWC's Challenges and Solutions

“I think the biggest current challenges we are facing at the SWC can be grouped into transportation, housing, gender norms and caregiving, capacity constraints, legal immigration processes, and the current workforce,”

states Shelby.

“It can be difficult, time-consuming, costly, and quite frankly scary for newly arrived clients to navigate Denver by bus or rail."

Therefore, the IRC in Denver provides bus tickets, offers rides, arranges ride sharing services, provides bus orientation, and teaches clients to read maps, identify landmarks, and the usage of smartphone apps.

"Likewise, gender equity is a consideration for women and girls," 

Shelby explains and outlines how specific cultural norms and caregiving needs can hinder meaningful participation in services leading to isolation, increased vulnerability, and even safety concerns for some. However, the IRC in Denver's SWC's virtual services have significantly eased these challenges, and so has pairing women’s programs with parallel children’s programs. 

"When the SWC launched in 2018, IRC expected most clients to be refugees referred by resettlement and refugee service providers,"

Shelby further explains the center's challenges.

"However, the IRC in Denver also received a steady influx of asylum seekers and the SWC needed to develop specialized pro bono services in-house, as asylum-seeking torture survivors generally lack access to services available to refugees and require more intensive services over a longer duration of time, straining capacity."

Finally, the impact of ‘the Great Resignation’, and the specific hardships faced by nonprofits have challenged the SWC.

"The IRC in Denver suddenly saw a caseload increase of 750% in a period of weeks with around-the-clock arrivals of Afghan humanitarian parolees,"

explains Shelby. 

"As you can imagine, this put enormous strain on staff who were eager to respond to the historic crisis but also operating in extraordinarily challenging circumstances that led to high levels of burnout and turnover. Plus, recruitment takes longer as the market is highly competitive, particularly for social work and other clinical positions."

Thus, the IRC in Denver works hard to maintain healthy work-life balance, expand staffing, increase compensation, offer flexible working policies, provide coaching and mentoring, and invest in staff care and recognition.

"It hasn't been easy,"

concludes Shelby, 

"But we are proud of what we do!"

If you are interested in learning more about the IRC in Denver's Survivor Wellness Center or want to support our work, click here.

Written by: Hanna Simmons