scholarly journals Engaging torture survivors in the global fight against torture

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-92
Author(s):  
Berta Soley

Lived experience can be emancipating and also paralysing, but foremost, it is immensely valuable to combat what has been suffered in first person (Henry, 2021). How to recognise that contribution and engage torture survivors in the global fight against torture? What role do survivors play in society? How to involve survivors in advocacy and policy-making processes? What are the existing power (in)balances at play? Who gets to decide whether a survivor should speak up or not? Acknowledging that it can prompt some organisational, therapeutic, and professional considerations, what are the limits? How do we ensure that the survivor’s well-being is protected along the process? To what extend should survivors be engaged in our organisation’s decision-making? In front of the current on-going debate on the need of actively engaging torture survivors in the global fight against torture, IRCT held a webinar to explore this topic. The webinar examined torture survivor engagement in the rehabilitation process of rebuilding lives, seeking justice and torture prevention. This article summarises the discussion held during the webinar with the presentations from Léonce Byimana[1], Feride Rushiti[2], Kolbassia Haoussou[3] and Vasfije Karsniqi-Goodman[4] and further inputs from other IRCT-members. [1] Executive Director of Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC) [2] Executive Director of the Kosova Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims (KRCTV) [3] Director of Survivor Empowerment at Freedom From Torture [4] Survivor and member of the Kosovan parliament

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. e026960 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten McCaffery ◽  
Brooke Nickel ◽  
Kristen Pickles ◽  
Ray Moynihan ◽  
Barnett Kramer ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo describe the lived experience of a possible prostate cancer overdiagnosis in men who resisted recommended treatment.DesignQualitative interview studySettingAustraliaParticipants11 men (aged 59–78 years) who resisted recommended prostate cancer treatment because of concerns about overdiagnosis and overtreatment.OutcomesReported experience of screening, diagnosis and treatment decision making, and its impact on psychosocial well-being, life and personal circumstances.ResultsMen’s accounts revealed profound consequences of both prostate cancer diagnosis and resisting medical advice for treatment, with effects on their psychological well-being, family, employment circumstances, identity and life choices. Some of these men were tested for prostate-specific antigen without their knowledge or informed consent. The men felt uninformed about their management options and unsupported through treatment decision making. This often led them to develop a sense of disillusionment and distrust towards the medical profession and conventional medicine. The findings show how some men who were told they would soon die without treatment (a prognosis which ultimately did not eventuate) reconciled issues of overdiagnosis and potential overtreatment with their own diagnosis and situation over the ensuing 1 to 20+ years.ConclusionsMen who choose not to have recommended treatment for prostate cancer may avoid treatment-associated harms like incontinence and impotence, however our findings showed that the impact of the diagnosis itself is immense and far-reaching. A high priority for improving clinical practice is to ensure men are adequately informed of these potential consequences before screening is considered.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Convery ◽  
Gitte Keidser ◽  
Louise Hickson ◽  
Carly Meyer

Purpose Hearing loss self-management refers to the knowledge and skills people use to manage the effects of hearing loss on all aspects of their daily lives. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-reported hearing loss self-management and hearing aid benefit and satisfaction. Method Thirty-seven adults with hearing loss, all of whom were current users of bilateral hearing aids, participated in this observational study. The participants completed self-report inventories probing their hearing loss self-management and hearing aid benefit and satisfaction. Correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationship between individual domains of hearing loss self-management and hearing aid benefit and satisfaction. Results Participants who reported better self-management of the effects of their hearing loss on their emotional well-being and social participation were more likely to report less aided listening difficulty in noisy and reverberant environments and greater satisfaction with the effect of their hearing aids on their self-image. Participants who reported better self-management in the areas of adhering to treatment, participating in shared decision making, accessing services and resources, attending appointments, and monitoring for changes in their hearing and functional status were more likely to report greater satisfaction with the sound quality and performance of their hearing aids. Conclusion Study findings highlight the potential for using information about a patient's hearing loss self-management in different domains as part of clinical decision making and management planning.


Climate change is a profoundly social and political challenge with many social justice concerns around every corner. A global issue, climate change threatens the well-being, livelihood, and survival of people in communities worldwide. Often, those who have contributed least to climate change are the most likely to suffer from its negative consequences and are often excluded from the policy discussions and decisions that affect their lives. This book pays particular attention to the social dimensions of climate change. It examines closely people’s lived experience, climate-related injustice and inequity, why some groups are more vulnerable than others, and what can be done about it—especially through greater community inclusion in policy change. A highlight of the book is its diversity of rich, community-based examples from throughout the Global South and North. Sacrificial flood zones in urban Argentina, forced relocation of United Houma tribal members in the United States, and gendered water insecurities in Bangladesh and Australia are just some of the in-depth cases included in the book. Throughout, the book asks social and political questions about climate change. Of key importance, it asks what can be done about the unequal consequences of climate change by questioning and transforming social institutions and arrangements—guided by values that prioritize the experience of affected groups and the inclusion of diverse voices and communities in the policy process.


1984 ◽  
Vol 78 (10) ◽  
pp. 473-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arlene Dumas ◽  
Alan D. Sadowsky

The family training program at the Western Blind Rehabilitation Center is an integral part of the rehabilitation process for adventitiously blinded and low vision adults. An exploratory study was conducted to assess which aspects of the training were most outstanding and to inquire how the program affected interpersonal relations and attitudes towards sight loss. Results showed a marked reduction in stated problems immediately after the training and over a three-and-a-half-year period of time. The study demonstrates similar benefits for older family members, those receiving shortened programs, and those who have been living with sight loss for many years.


Human Affairs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-164
Author(s):  
Dmytro Mykhailov

Abstract Contemporary medical diagnostics has a dynamic moral landscape, which includes a variety of agents, factors, and components. A significant part of this landscape is composed of information technologies that play a vital role in doctors’ decision-making. This paper focuses on the so-called Intelligent Decision-Support System that is widely implemented in the domain of contemporary medical diagnosis. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, I will show that the IDSS may be considered a moral agent in the practice of medicine today. To develop this idea I will introduce the approach to artificial agency provided by Luciano Floridi. Simultaneously, I will situate this approach in the context of contemporary discussions regarding the nature of artificial agency. It is argued here that the IDSS possesses a specific sort of agency, includes several agent features (e.g. autonomy, interactivity, adaptability), and hence, performs an autonomous behavior, which may have a substantial moral impact on the patient’s well-being. It follows that, through the technology of artificial neural networks combined with ‘deep learning’ mechanisms, the IDSS tool achieves a specific sort of independence (autonomy) and may possess a certain type of moral agency. Second, I will provide a conceptual framework for the ethical evaluation of the moral impact that the IDSS may have on the doctor’s decision-making and, consequently, on the patient’s wellbeing. This framework is the Object-Oriented Model of Moral Action developed by Luciano Floridi. Although this model appears in many contemporary discussions in the field of information and computer ethics, it has not yet been applied to the medical domain. This paper addresses this gap and seeks to reveal the hidden potentialities of the OOP model for the field of medical diagnosis.


2021 ◽  
pp. 239965442110025
Author(s):  
Claire Hancock

This paper questions the ‘seeing like a city’ vs. ‘seeing like a state’ opposition through a detailed discussion of urban politics in the city of Paris, France, a prime example of the ways in which the national remains a driving dimension of city life. This claim is examined by a consideration of the shortcomings of Paris’s recent and timid commitment local democracy, lacking recognition of the diversity of its citizens, and the ways in which the inclusion of more women in decision-making arenas has failed to advance the ‘feminization of politics’. A common factor in these defining features of the Hidalgo administration seems to be the prevalence of ‘femonationalism’ and its influence over municipal policy-making.


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