There is growing acknowledgement that torture is too narrowly defined in law, and that psychological and/or sexualised violence against women is not adequately recognized as torture. Clearly conceptualising torturous violence, Torture and Torturous Violence offers scholars and practitioners critical reflections on how torture is defined and the implications that narrow definitions may have on survivors. Drawing on over a decade of research and interviews with psychologists, practitioners and women seeking asylum, it sets out the implications of the social silencing of torture, and torturous violence specifically. It invites us to consider alternative ways to understand and address the impacts of physical, sexualized and psychological abuses.

This event brings together leaders in the fields of torture intervention, gendered and sexualised violence, and migrant rights to critically consider how we move forward discussions on violence interventions, and support provision for refugee survivors of violence.

Link to the book: Torture and Torturous Violence

Discussants:

Bridget Anderson, Professor of Migration, Mobilities and Citizenship and Director of Migration Mobilities Bristol

Victoria Canning, Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Bristol; Associate Director at Border Criminologies, Oxford University; Head of the Centre for the Study of Poverty and Social Justice.

Aisha Gill, Professor of Criminology at University of Bristol and Co-Chair of End Violence Against Women Coalition.

Andrew M. Jefferson, Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute Against Torture (DIGNITY).

Representatives from Freedom From Torture (Bristol and Bath) will also be in attendance to present their work, with information available for attendees interested in addressing the impacts of torture. 

Reviews of the book:

“Canning’s account of endemic torturous violence is expansive. She lays bare the gendered experiences and impacts of torture, and exposes the fragility of law, the burdens of shame and the struggles against trauma. A compelling book.” Elizabeth Stanley, Victoria University of Wellington

“A searing and sophisticated socio-legal treatment of the complexities of torture and violence. This accessible book is a call to action: practitioners must not only understand who does what to whom under what circumstances but must interrogate the stigma, shame and silence surrounding these forms of violence and their impacts.” Aisha K. Gill, University of Bristol

Copies of Torture and Torturous Violence will be available to buy at a discount rate on the day, thanks to colleagues from Bristol University Press.