Testimony to improve

psychosocial wellbeing and

promote advocacy for survivors
of torture and organized
violence

Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi

Convener PVCHR
Ms. Shirin Shabana Khan
Project Coordinator, PVCHR
 A collaborative project of
• Rehabilitation and
Research Centre for
Torture Victims (RCT),
Copenhagen
&
• Peoples’ Vigilance
Committee on Human
Rights (PVCHR), Varanasi
Testimony as a Brief Therapy
Intervention
 First project in Varanasi, India with the
human rights organization:
 Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human
Rights (PVCHR):
“Capacity building project on
testimonial therapy for Human
Rights Organizations in India”
The objectives of the
project
 Context specific manuals for using the
Testimony Method developed
 Capacity built in using the Testimony Method
among human rights defenders
 Psychosocial wellbeing of survivors enhanced
 Impact and outcomes analyzed through an
M&E system
Interpretation of Testimony
(Dr. Jhawar , clinical
psychologist, Varanasi)
 T- Truth
 E- Emotions
 S- Sentiments
 T- Tortured
 I – Individual
 M- Magnifiable
 O- Operations
 N- Never
 Y- Yielding their rights
Testimony Model
Developed
Four sessions:
1. Session one: Opening the story
2. Session two: Closing the story
3. Session three: Delivery ceremony
4. Session four: Follow up
PVCHR Human Rights
Work
 Investigate & Document Violations
 Advocacy
 “Folk Schools” in “People Friendly” model
Villages
 People can give testimonies and receive
support from the group
 Concerns of health and education
Manual
A manual on testimony therapy for community workers
and human rights defenders was developed (published
both in English and Hindi)

Giving Voice
“Using Testimony as a Brief Therapy: Intervention in
Psychosocial Community Work for Survivors of
Torture and Organised Violence”
Testimony Workshops
 Three two-week training-of-trainers
workshops conducted:
1. May 2008: 12 human rights defenders from PVCHR
2. January 2009: 14 Human rights defenders from four states:
Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
3. February-March 2009: 14 Human rights defenders from
three states: Jharkhand, Manipur and Chattisgarh
Schedule of Workshops
Two parts:
1. First week:
 Theory and exercises (through role plays)

2. Second week:
 Practice: Participants take testimonies with
survivors under supervision
Testimonies collected
 Period of data collection:12 months (May
2008 to April 2009)
 On average the interview is held 1 year and
5 month after the date of the most stressful
event
Background of survivors
 A total of 85 primary and secondary victims of
which:

 Male: 65 (76 %)
 Female: 20 (24 %)

 Average age: 39.2 yrs;

 Age - ranging: 18 -70 yrs
Background of survivors
 Category of survivors
 Primary Victim: 61

 Secondary Victim: 24

 Secondary victims most often reported relation

to primary victim as either wife (29 %), father

(14 %) or brother.
Religion:
 Vast majority are Hindus (86 %, n= 72) followed by

christian (7 %, n=6).
Background of survivors
 Caste
 Upper Caste: 9 % (n = 8)
 OBC: 46 % (n = 39)
 SC: 21 % (n = 18)
 ST: 24 % (n = 20)
Background of survivors
 Education
 No education: 28 % (n= 24)

 Primary education: 19 % (n=16)

 Secondary education: 19 % (n= 16)

 BA: 11 % (n=9)

 Other 24 % (n =20)

 high school, intermediate, BAMS

Background of survivors
 Occupation:
 Agriculture: 37 % (n =31)

 Business: 6 % (n =5)

 Household: 6 % (n =5)

 Public service, journalism, teacher: 6 % (n=5)

 Lawyer, doctor: 2 % (n=2)

 Government or political position: 2 % (n=2)

 Other 40 % (n = 34),

 Primarily landless labour, such as haker, tea stall,

making plates or rickshaw driver

 Not working 2 % (n =2)
Background of survivors

 Activities:
 Humanitarian/ Solidarity: 29 % (n =25)
 Political: 6 % (n=5)
 Religious: 6 % (n=5)
 Trade Union: 2 % (n=2)
 Press: 1 % (n=1)
 No activities: 49 % (n=42)
Type of Violations

 Types of Human Rights violations:

 Psychological torture: 82 % (n=70)
 Physical torture: 48 % (n=41)
 Sexual torture: 4 % (n=3)
 Custodial death of primary victim: 2 % (n =2)
 Extra-judicial killing of primary victim: 1 %
(n=1)
Identity of Perpetrator
 Identity of perpetrator:
 Police: 80 % (n =68)
 Armed forces: 5 % (n =4)
 Intelligence Service: 2 % (n =2)
 Prison authority: 1 % (n =1)
 Other: 34 % (n =29),
 Primarily neighbours, Village leader and Upper
caste
Injured Part of Body
 Most frequently injured parts of body
 one or both legs 25 % (n =21)

 back 24 % (n =20)

 one or both arms 20 % (n =17)

 one foot or both feet 15 % (n =13)

 face 13 % (n =11)

 head 9 % (n =8)

 chest/breast 8 % (n =7)

 not injured: 28 % (n =24)

 On average primary victims report 2.4 injured body parts

Nature of Injury
 Most frequently types of physical injuries:
 Pain 26 % (n=22)
 Loss of function 26 % (n =20)
 Loss of sensation 20 % (n= 17)
 Open wound 20 % (n =17)
 Loss of strength 18 % (n =15)
 Bruise 11 % (n=8)
 Fracture 9 % (n =8)
 Not injured 24 % (n=20)
Treatment before Testimonial
Therapy
 Legal aid: 33 % (n=28)
 Testimony before tribunal: 31 % (n=26)
 Public hospital: 19 % (n=16)
 Counselling: 19 % (n=16)
 Medication: 17 % (n=14)
 Private hospital: 11 % (n=9)
 Physiotherapy: 4 % (n=3)
 Surgery: 2 % (n=2)
 None: 29 % (n=25)
Use of Testimony

 Survivor wants:

 80 % want it published or used for human rights work

 Other interventions by PVCHR or other actors:

 Medical: 8 % (n=7)
 Social: 55 % (n=47)
 Legal: 60 % (n=51)
 Reading of testimony at Folk School Meeting: 53 % (n=45)
Types of Delivery Ceremonies

 At public demonstration in front of Government

Head Quarters
 At “Folk School” meetings
 At community meetings
 At street plays & singing
Demonstration in front of
District Headquarter
Folk School Meeting
Community Meeting
Street Play
Out come of Professional
Consultation
 Interesting part of this therapy is that it has both
Western element of Anger Management, Classical
Conditioning and Eastern approach of relaxation
methods and Meditation.
 It’s a cost effective model of psychotherapy which
don’t require clinics or hospitals but, directly one
can do this intervention at the doorsteps of the
victim. For ex. His house, community, in a forest
etc.
 The economic cost of the whole approach seems to
be very less than regular psychotherapy session in a
clinic or hospital.
Facts
 There are around 3,000 adequately qualified
psychiatrists and 1000 clinical psychologist
in the entire country of more than a billion
populations.

 In U.P itself there may only be less than 100

psychiatrists and 100 psychologists. The
ratio of doctors is very less.
Advocacy
Web Advocacy:

 Web News: www.mynews.in

 You Tube: www.youtube.com

Legal:
 Meta Legal: (Cases in Human Rights institutions, allied
system, police departments, policy makers and UN)
 Legal: (which are in the court)
Aims of this Consultation
 To increase the awareness of how torture engenders psychological symptoms
in survivors and how it affects their daily life. To discuss the experiences
gained after taking testimonies of 80 survivors of TOV.
 To integrate testimony into political campaigns, contributing to the national
campaign for the ratification of CAT and the national domestic law against
torture.
 To explore the possibility of creating alliances with different political
organizations and stake holders in India concerning the fight against TOV.
 To promote the psycho-social well-being of the survivor of TOV.