HARARE - A United States-based organisation that works with torture victims has launched a programme to strengthen the capacity of Zimbabwean human rights groups to offer psychosocial support to survivors of state brutality. The Minnesota-based Centre for Victims of Torture has offered to provide two psychotherapists to work as part of a capacity-building project to strengthen the quality of psychological services provided at a locally-run torture treatment centre. “The project will build the capacity of the centre to better meet the mental health needs of torture survivors,” the organisation said.
The psychotherapists would, among other things, assess available mental health services at a proposed treatment centre and carry out training programmes for local mental health professionals. The American group’s initiative comes at a time Zimbabwe is experiencing a surge in torture cases, mainly perpetrated by law enforcement agents. Hundreds of political activists and human rights defenders have been tortured during interrogation by members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Central Intelligence Organisation, while thousands more have been raped, beaten, abused, burnt and made homeless by President Robert Mugabes youth militia and soldiers.
The Centre for Victims of Torture said its mission was to heal the wounds of torture suffered by individuals, their families and their communities and to stop torture worldwide. It provides services directly to torture survivors around the world as well as capacity-building support to professionals and organizations who work with torture survivors and refugees.
It currently operates healing centres in Jordan, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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