One way of looking at torture is as an attempt to ‘obliterate the personality of the victim’ — to turn the victim into an object. It happens far too frequently in South AfricaFun fact. In Kyrgyzstan, criminal suspects are more likely to be tortured at the end of the month because of performance quotas. Isn’t that a frightening thought? Torture is just a means to a bureaucratic end, a way to make the balance sheet come out right.
This is according to a 2016 study, “Does Torture Prevention Work?”, which sets out to determine whether the “ever-lengthening list of measures that states are required to adopt in order to prevent torture” actually work. Spoiler alert for those of you who might decide to read the study for yourselves: “Prevention measures do work, though some are much more effective than others.”..If you have already registered or subscribed, please sign in to continue.