Launch: Does Torture Prevention Work?
APT: Key insights from a global study on torture prevention

"The clearest finding is that detention measures, the practice of how somebody is treated when they are first brought into custody, is the most important thing in determining if they are at risk of torture."

Richard Carver, lead researcher


Torture prevention measures can effectively reduce torture. This is the overall conclusion of a global research study, commissioned by the APT in 2012.
 
For the first time, a team of researchers under the lead of Dr. Richard Carver and Dr. Lisa Handley, studied the impact of torture prevention measures, over three decades. The results were published in 2016 and include 14 country studies.

"Does Torture Prevention Work?" provides us with a better understanding of which measures are most effective in reducing the risks of torture. In our new briefing paper we extract the key insights from the study and provide further analysis on the need for a holistic approach to torture prevention and the role of monitoring bodies. 

The APT briefing paper is available in English. French and Spanish to follow shortly. 
Results of four years of research in 16 countries
The book "Does Torture Prevention Work?" by Richard Carver and Lisa Handley is based on four years of research. It analyses the experiences over a 30-year period in 16 countries - 14 of which have their own country chapters in the book: Chile, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
 
The research combines quantitative and qualitative methods to examine torture prevention measures within four broad groups - detention safeguards, prosecution, monitoring and complaints mechanism. For each of these, the researchers looked at both law and practice.
Mark Thomson: Now we know that torture prevention works!
"We hope that the research can now become a source of reference and information for debate and an inspiration for all actors contributing to a torture free world."

Read APT Secretary General Mark Thomson's blog on the implications of the research findings.
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