Good practice (Torture Victims)

Good practice (Torture Victims)

Contract Title	Promotion and dissemination of good practice in addressing specific needs of vulnerable groups – especially victims of torture and human rights violations – based on a transnational in-depth study and evaluation of working and treatment methods

Funding Period	01/06/2010 - 30/11/2011
Funding Agency	European Refugee Fund - European Commission
Total Cost	€44,104

Partners	BAfF, Germany Association Primo Levi, France Zebra, Austria ICAR Foundation, Romania Equator Foundation, the Netherlands Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute, Cyprus

Future Worlds Center, demonstrates extensive experience on the field of care for victims of torture, accommodating since 2006 the operation of the Unit for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture (URVT), which aims to support and promote the empowerment and rehabilitation of torture victims and victims of trafficking who are asylum seekers or persons granted with international protection status in Cyprus and to assist them in integrate into the local society.

Introduction

Promotion and dissemination of good practice in addressing specific needs of vulnerable groups - especially victims of torture and human rights violations - based on a transnational in-depth study and evaluation of working and treatment method project, or Good Practice (Torture Victims) project, runs under the German Association of Psychological Centers for Refugees and Victims of Torture (BAfF)and is funded by the European Fund for Refugees (ERF); CNTI is one of the six partners of the project through its Unit for Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture (URVT).

Over the last three decades, vulnerable refugees including victims of torture have been treated in psycho-social and medical treatment centres all over Europe. These centres take a holistic approach, offering medical and psychological care, legal advice and social assistance to torture survivors; they train health personnel in order to increase the quality of the treatment and rehabilitation services offered, as well as organising structures for mentoring and voluntary work to support their beneficiaries' integration into the host society. The centers are mostly organized as independent non-govermental organisations (NGOs) with a very broad range of available working methods and extensive experience, variety and knowledge. Unfortunately, through their often precarious financial situation rooted in insufficient public funding, the care of vulnerable victims puts high pressure on the staff concerned. The project is addressing the issue of ensuring staff remain able to contribute effectively to the work of the centres, in spite of those pressures, by avoiding burn-out, secondary traumatisation and so on.

Background

This project is being funded by the European Refugee Fund (ERF). It is a follow-up to the first European Project (Good Practice in Torture Care)^[1] which was completed in February 2010. It's principal aim was to develop a common approach within EU to the task of addressing the specific needs of vulnerable groups, especially those who have undergone torture or other severe human rights violations.

The project is based on the existing practical experience in the field. It combines this expertise with a participatory evaluation and research model that allows for the practitioners to share their expertise in a discourse with professional research, while addressing the specific needs of vulnerable groups among asylum seekers using the synergy effects of diversity. The project focuses on the development and dissemination of good practice by a)Introducing an inventory on care and treatment methods as well as staff care, b)setting an agenda for research based on the experience of practitioners in the field.

Objectives and Positive outcomes

Principal aim

The project is aiming at developing an inventory of working methods in the field of care for or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence. The project partners will link their expertise with current research and the ongoing discourse in the academic field by participating in training and teaching at various universities and professional training institutions.

The project partners intend to publish recommendations for those dealing with vulnerable refugees, which will include an inventory of good practice for care and treatment , as well as of good practice in staff care. The recommendations will be published. They will also be disseminated by staff of the partner organisations teaching at academic institutions.

Detailed objectives

In-depth research and study of care and treatment methods using our well-proved method of self-evaluation
Qualitative research study into care and treatment methods using a jointly developed questionnaire
Establishing an inventory of care and treatment methods]
Establishing good practices of staff care in centres working with vulnerable refugees via the self-evaluation tool
Develop recommendations on staff care
Deepening the cooperation with the already existing network of the partners of the previous project
Enlarging the network by seven new countries
Finding out about the different methods of care and treatment methods that are used across Europe
Strengthening the expertise of the practitioners in the field
Dissemination and promotion by collaboration with academic institutions
Dissemination of the results of the study of care and treatment methods

Positive outcomes

There are some additional outcomes from the project which are expected to be of value.

Better cooperation between the different centers across Europe
Exchange of experience
Training of practitioners in possible new methods on vulnerable groups' needs
Harmonisation in a European level of treatment methods
Creation of the inventory of care and treatment methods and using it as guideline to new or already functioning centers

Key Milestones

June - July 2010: Visit to new partner, Future Worlds Center Nicosia, Cyprus
July - September 2010: Research and development of a framework for the Inventory on Care and Treatment Methods
September 2010 - December 2010: Team day I in Self-evaluation method
January 2011: Interim partner meeting (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
January - April 2011: Team day II in Self-evaluation Method
September 2011: Final Symposium in Cyprus. Presentation of results and project findings. Survivors of Torture: Assistance, Care and Rehabilitation Conference organised by Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute