Center For Victims Of Torture

TO HEAL THE WOUNDS OF TORTURE AND TO STOP TORTURE WORLDWIDE.

INTERNATIONAL SERVICES CVT'S INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS UTILIZE GROUP COUNSELING/THERAPY, SOCIAL SERVICES, AND PHYSICAL THERAPY AS WELL AS NON-INTENSIVE RESILIENCE-FOCUSED INTERVENTIONS. IN ETHIOPIA, CVT WORKS IN REFUGEE CAMPS NEAR SHIRE IN THE COUNTRY'S NORTH, AND IN GAMBELLA IN THE WEST. IN JORDAN, CVT CARES FOR URBAN REFUGEES IN AMMAN AND MAFRAQ. CVT WORKED IN THREE LOCATIONS IN KENYA, INCLUDING NAIROBI AS WELL AS IN TWO REFUGEE CAMPS: DADAAB AND KAKUMA. IN UGANDA, CVT HAS A LONGSTANDING CENTER IN GULU WHERE SURVIVORS OF THE LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY ATROCITIES RECEIVE CARE. CVT ALSO IS A SUB-GRANTEE TO ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION IN A REFUGEE SETTLEMENT IN THE COUNTRY'S SOUTHWEST. IN IRAQ, CVT BUILDS THE CAPACITY OF LOCAL SERVICE PROVIDERS TO TREAT IRAQI SURVIVORS OF TORTURE, WAR TRAUMA, AND SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE. THE PARTNERS IN TRAUMA HEALING PROJECT, FUNDED BY USAID, CONCLUDED IN JANUARY 2021; ITS SUCCESSOR, THE HELPING SURVIVORS HEAL PROJECT, LAUNCHED IN OCTOBER 2021.

CLIENT SERVICES RESPONDING TO THE LASTING PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE DONE BY TORTURE, CVT'S CLIENT SERVICES PROGRAM ANNUALLY TOUCHES THE LIVES OF NEARLY 921 TORTURE SURVIVORS AND FAMILY MEMBERS. THE PROGRAM OFFERS SERVICES IN MINNESOTA IN ST. PAUL AND ST. CLOUD, AS WELL AS IN THE GREATER ATLANTA AREA, GEORGIA. WHILE EACH SERVICE PROGRAM IS ADAPTED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE PARTICULAR COMMUNITY AND SETTING, THE CORE INTERVENTION AT ALL DOMESTIC SITES IS PSYCHOTHERAPY AND CASE MANAGEMENT TO CONNECT SURVIVORS WITH RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITY.

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT CVT TRAINING OPERATIONS CONSIST OF THREE CAPACITY-BUILDING PROJECTS: THE NATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING (NCB) PROJECT ORGANIZES TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE US-BASED NETWORK OF 43 TORTURE SURVIVOR CENTERS AND PROGRAMS IN 25 STATES, AND OTHER REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS. NCB PROVIDES DIRECT TECHNICAL TRAINING, CONSULTATIONS AND OTHER LEARNING RESOURCES TO STRENGTHEN THE DELIVERY OF INTEGRATED, SUSTAINABLE CARE FOR SURVIVORS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING: MEASURED-IMPACT WEBINARS; ON-SITE AND REMOTE CONSULTATIONS; ELEARNING; AND THE HEALTORTURE.ORG WEB SITE, WHICH AVERAGES 5,460 WEB HITS PER MONTH. THE NEW TACTICS IN HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAM PROMOTES ENHANCED STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL PLANNING AND ACTION AMONG THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMUNITY. THE NEWTACTICS.ORG WEBSITE FEATURES A DATABASE OF 250 TACTICS IN ENGLISH AND 230 IN ARABIC AND REACHES OVER 253,000 USERS ANNUALLY FROM 220 COUNTRIES. NEW TACTICS TRAININGS HAVE BEEN HELD IN MORE THAN 25 COUNTRIES, WITH RESOURCES TRANSLATED INTO 26 LANGUAGES. IDREAM IS AN INTERNATIONAL CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THAT WORKS WITH HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AROUND THE WORLD WHO HAVE BEEN FORCED INTO EXILE DUE TO THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY WORK. IDREAM SUPPORTS EXILED HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER THROUGH PROVIDING TRAINING, MENTORING, AND OTHER CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IN THESE THREE AREAS: MENTAL HEALTH RESILIENCE; EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY; AND INTEGRATED SECURITY. IN FISCAL YEAR 2021, IDREAM CONTINUED WORK WITH ITS FIRST COHORT OF 10 HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER ORGANIZATIONS. ADDITIONALLY, THE SECOND COHORT OF 10 HUMAN RIGHT DEFENDER INDIVIDUALS WERE IDENTIFIED AND WELCOMED AFTER AN EXTENSIVE APPLICATION, INTERVIEW, AND VETTING PROCESS.

PUBLIC POLICY/EDUCATIONPOLICY ADVOCACY CENTERS AROUND THREE PRIMARY AREAS: MAINTAINING AND WHERE FEASIBLE INCREASING BOTH U.S. AND OTHER GOVERNMENTS' FUNDING FOR TORTURE SURVIVOR REHABILITATION PROGRAMS IN THE U.S. AND ABROAD; PRESERVING ACCESS TO ASYLUM AND REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR SURVIVORS OF TORTURE SEEKING PROTECTION IN THE UNITED STATES; AND ENSURING HUMANE DETENTION, INTERROGATION, AND PRISONER TREATMENT POLICIES IN U.S. COUNTERTERRORISM OPERATIONS. CVT'S WORK ON U.S. APPROPRIATIONS TO TORTURE SURVIVOR REHABILITATION WORK RESULTS IN FUNDING OF $37.5 MILLION ANNUALLY: $17 MILLION FOR DOMESTIC TORTURE SURVIVOR PROGRAMS THROUGH THE U.S. OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT; $12 MILLION TO PROGRAMS WORLDWIDE THROUGH THE VICTIMS OF TORTURE FUND AT U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT; AND $8.5 MILLION IN FUNDS FOR TORTURE SURVIVOR PROGRAMS WORLDWIDE THROUGH A STATE DEPARTMENT CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTARY FUND FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE.RESEARCHMONITORING, EVALUATION, AND RESEARCH ARE FOCUS AREAS FOR CVT. IN DIRECT SERVICES PROGRAMS, CVT MEASURES SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN CLIENTS' MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS AND EQUALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN ADAPTIVE SOCIAL FUNCTIONING THEIR ABILITY TO RECOVER FROM EXTREME PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL TRAUMAS AND TO FUNCTION INDEPENDENTLY IN THE WORLD. RESEARCH STAFF PROVIDE TRAINING AND SUPPORT FOR CVT'S DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL SERVICES. IN CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT WORK CVT MEASURES CHANGES IN KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CLINICIANS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS WORKING WITH OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERS AROUND THE WORLD.