The human legacy of torture

A quick glance at the countries of origin of the Medical Foundation's clients is a grave reminder that torture is a global problem. In 2007, nearly 2000 new cases from 95 countries were referred to our four UK centres, with a record high of 28,188 appointments offered.

The ten countries from where referrals mostly originated were Iran (233), the Democratic Republic of Congo (181), Sri Lanka (137), Iraq (102), Somalia (99), Afghanistan (91), Cameroon (91), Eritrea (83), Turkey (83) and Zimbabwe (63).

After checks to ensure these cases fell within our remit, they were given, as appropriate to their needs, practical, medical and/or psychological assistance, in keeping with our holistic approach. Almost all of these new clients were refugees or asylum seekers, coping not just with past trauma, but with the pain of exile too.

The largest client group were males, making up 57% of new referrals, followed by women (35%) and children (8%). Most clients were aged between 25 and 34.

After individual casework-counselling, group work for adults and children formed a significant proportion of our work, accounting for 31.2% of appointments offered.