RAHAT

Introduction

RAHAT is providing specialized care that is not available in ordinary hospitals of medical centers. RAHAT staff consisting of doctors, psychologists, psychotherapists, work as a team to assess and treat the multidimensional problems of torture victims. The salient features of RAHAT are:

  • It is the first centre of its kind in south Asia, where anyone suffering from the effects of torture may come for rehabilitation and health aid.
  • There is no discrimination of age, sex, religion, ideology, political affiliation, nationality or ethnic origin for treatment.
  • Treatment programmes aim at medical, psychological, psychological, physical and social rehabilitation of torture victims and their families.
  • Treatment is provided free of charge.
  • Doctors, other health professionals, hospitals and all types of organizations can refer torture victims for treatment.
  • Being Engaged in Research and educational work for the purpose of combating torture. It provides necessary information on different aspects of torture to health professionals, lawyers, human rights activists and other concerned persons.
  • Documenting and Popularizing Medical ethics for doctors and dentists, aiming at prevention of torture and bringing out the international publication, namely RAHAT Medical Journal, which exclusively addresses the subject of trauma of torture.

Primary Objectives

The primary objectives of RAHAT are to:

    • Ensure rehabilitation and health aid facilities through RAHAT in Islamabad, Pakistan.
    • Disseminate information to the general public about different methods and purposes of all forms of torture prevalent in society.
    • Make doctors realize that supporting torture is a serious violation of ethics for the medical professionals.

  • Make efforts to ensure that knowledge of torture, and knowledge of the methods for the treatment of people who have been tortured, is incorporated in the education of doctors, physiotherapists, stress reduction therapists, nurses, psychologists, lawyers, social workers and teacher.
  • Train health personnel in all aspects of torture and the treatment of torture victims.

The extent of rehabilitation services varies amongst the torture survivors since it may take months or even years to get to a point of normalization of the victim. The methodology of rehabilitation at RAHAT is a combination of institutional and community care. The institutional part of therapy integrates medical care, psychotherapy and physiotherapy. Social aspects of rehabilitation are especially cared for. Treatment is not only provided to the exposed person, but to the entire affected family.
Special attention is provided to the community care of torture survivors, who are facilitated in arranging gatherings, to discuss their problems, secondary to trauma. Suggestions are then communicated to RAHAT. From time to time, members of RAHAT also visit and revisit the homes or communities of torture survivors.

Rehabilitation & Treatment

The RAHAT rehabilitation methodology comprises a referral system in which survivors can come directly or via social services, NGOs working in the same humanitarian field, postal contact with RAHAT, general practitioners, hospitals and the UNHCR. The following treatment is offered to survivors: psychological assistance, medical therapy, psychotherapy, physiotherapy, stress tension reduction therapy, social counseling, follow-up visits, occupational therapy and acupuncture therapy.
All the particulars of the torture survivors revealed during consultation are kept strictly confidential. Any professional human rights organizations, or victims themselves can make a referral for survivors at RAHAT.
The extent of rehabilitation services varies from case to case. It could take from a month to years to rehabilitate a survivor. The methodology of rehabilitation at RAHAT is a combination of institutional and community care. The institutional part of therapy integrates medical care, psychotherapy, and physiotherapy. Any examination or therapy requiring movements or manipulations that may resemble torture to the survivor is avoided as much as possible.

Training

Since 1989, RAHAT has organised training seminars, workshops and symposiums on the rehabilitation of torture survivors and the issue of torture. Stress management training courses are also arranged. RAHAT organizes two specific educational programmes for torture survivors (a) an English course for refugee torture survivors to equip them with knowledge of English. Through this course, torture survivors develop better communication skills, and their learning process is increased to overcome the effects of violence and torture; and a school for children of torture survivors, which provides educational assistance and guidance to children whose parents have faced torture. The students are enrolled without any national, language or racial discrimination.

Research & Documentation

Research activities include a Documentation and Research Center. RAHAT sees research as an important step towards the rehabilitation of torture survivors. RAHAT is also actively involved in initiating and supporting research work.
VAT’s Documentation centre, a project of Voice Against Torture, works with multidimensional objectives. Being an interdisciplinary human rights organization, VAT’s Documentation Centre views human rights documentation as an important component of its work. The Documentation Center’s collection focuses primarily on the medical aspects of torture, medical ethics, post-traumatic stress disorder, cross-cultural psychiatry, disaster psychiatry, the Holocaust, as well as humanitarian, international and national human rights law. VAT’s Documentation Centre comprises the following sections: library, press clippings, audio/visual materials, a computer section and publications.

Prevention

Since 1989, VAT has been responsible for a series of public meetings, workshops and seminars. People attended these from various communities, doctors, local NGOs and the general public. VAT is engaged in various awareness projects, such as a children’s crisis centre and a women’s crisis centre. The social work team of RAHAT regularly visits prisons and police stations to collect data related to torture victims. VAT also organises awareness programmes for the police and prison authorities.

Networking & Advocacy

The publications of the VAT Documentation Centre include the quarterly RAHAT Medical Journal and a quarterly newsletter. RAHAT also organises various fundraising programmes for the general public to raise awareness of different aspects of torture and the rehabilitation of torture.
Rahat collaborates with local NGOs working on similar issues. RAHAT also cooperates with national and international human rights and rehabilitation organizations in order to exchange experiences and information regarding different aspects of torture. With the collaboration of different educational institutes, VAT organizes various programmes for promoting awareness of torture and rehabilitation among students and teachers.

Staff

A total of 22 staff members work at RAHAT, including medical doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists, stress management therapists, social workers, teachers, laboratory technicians, a computer instructor, nurses and a receptionist.