Synergy for Justice, in partnership with STEWARDWOMEN, highlights the voices and perspectives of 45 women survivors of sexual and gender-based violence from South Sudan.
This report is a call to action for all actors within the justice system to correct the course and experience of justice for survivors in South Sudan and help heal their pain.
Synergy for Justice and Lawyers and Doctors for Human Rights present the lived experiences of 80 women arbitrarily detained in Syria. This report documents and brings to light the inhumane treatment and violence they endured and the effect of this treatment on these women and their well-being.
This report by Synergy for Justice and Lawyers and Doctors for Human Rights focuses on the issue of arbitrary detention of women in Syria, by looking at 100 arrest cases of 80 women, where some were arrested multiple times.
This report by Synergy for Justice and Lawyers and Doctors for Human rights explores and summarises the impacts of social stigma on individual survivors, their rights and prospects, their families, and their acceptance and reintegration into their communities.
This report by our partners, Lawyers and Doctors for Human Rights, documents the scale, scope, and severity of conflict-related sexual violence perpetrated on men and boys. It also details the devastating effects of these crimes on survivors, their families, and communities.
This report by our partners, Lawyers and Doctors for Human Rights, features the stories of eight women arbitrarily detained by Syrian forces who survived torture and sexual violence perpetrated by Assad’s Regime.
This report by our partners, Lawyers and Doctors for Human Rights, uncovers the arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence perpetrated on children in Syrian detention centres.
This report by our partners, Lawyers and Doctors for Human Rights, documents the lack of health and medical care in Syrian detention centres that constitutes a flagrant violation of international standards and international law.
Synergy Contributors:
Erin Gallagher, Dr Ingrid Elliott, Stephanie Barbour
Synergy Contributors: Stephanie Barbour,
Dr Ingrid Elliott
Synergy Contributor:
Dr Ingrid Elliott
Synergy Primary Authors:
Dr Ingrid Elliott, Stephanie Barbour, Joumana Seif
Synergy Contributors: Stephanie Barbour,
Dr Ingrid Elliott
Synergy Contributor: Stephanie Barbour
Synergy Contributor: Stephanie Barbour,
Primary Author
Synergy Contributor: Stephanie Barbour,
Primary Author
Synergy Primary Authors:
Dr Ingrid Elliott,
Dr Coleen Kivlahan
Synergy Primary Author: Stephanie Barbour
Synergy Contributor:
Dr Ingrid Elliott
Synergy Contributor:
Christy Fujio
Synergy Contributors:
Dr Ingrid Elliott,
Erin Gallagher
Synergy Contributor: Stephanie Barbour,
Primary Author
Synergy Contributors:
Dr Ingrid Elliott, Erin Gallagher, Stephanie Barbour
Synergy Contributors:
Christy Fujio,
Dr Ingrid Elliott, Dr Coleen Kivlahan
Synergy Contributor: Stephanie Barbour – Member, Core Drafting Team
There are many ways sleep deprivation is created in detention or as part of an intentional pattern of torture and ill-treatment.
Electrical injury is a physiological reaction caused by electric current passing through the body. The injury depends on the density of the current, tissue resistance and duration of contact.
Victims may be placed in painful and degrading positions during interrogations or while detained.
Cigarettes do not always leave the same scar appearance. The typical appearance of an intentionally inflicted cigarette burn is a sharply defined lesion of about 1 cm, circular, and can be hypopigmented or hyperpigmented (darker or lighter than skin color).
Self-harm may also be described as self-injury, self-poisoning, self-mutilation and suicide attempts. It is a repetitive pattern of behavior in response to stress, pain, ambiguity, or emotional trauma.
Most people engaging in self-harm behaviors are doing so to manage and cope with intense psychological and emotional pain from torture, sexual violence, forced displacement, and other traumatic events.
The highest prevalence injuries related to torture and ill-treatment are blunt impact trauma which may be caused by elongated rigid or semi-rigid implements such as whips (wires, cords, leather, sticks), rods, hoses, cables, tubing and rods.
The appearance of healed gunshot wounds can range from round to circular scars which are typically flesh-colored, with raised borders and depressed centers. Their size and shape vary. Details regarding the mechanism of injury are essential to develop conclusions about the correlation between the history of the events and the physical findings, often years later.
Persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is not new; there is a long history of hate-motivated violence. Discrimination and human rights violations against LGBTQI persons appear in a variety of egregious ways.
High risk settings include those where women and men are detained in the same center, where guards are mostly men, when women remain in police custody, when they are detained in the pre-trial custody, are in transit, are in solitary confinement or restrained, and those who are detained without charges or with the pretense of protecting them.
The mental, physical, and social effects of solitary confinement are impacted by the duration, degree of isolation, purpose, pre-existing health problems, and physical conditions of the space including light, sound, food, water and medical care.
Sexual dysfunction ranges from aversion to touch and lack of interest in consensual sexual acts, to body image distortions and shame, to acute and chronic pain, and finally, the inability to experience satisfaction from healthy sexual activity.
Follow this checklist to ensure that you are ready and you have everything you need to complete the evaluation.
It is the patient's right and the patient's choice to document. Be sure to obtain informed consent first.
Doctors do these evaluations all the time. But for the patient, it may be their only time. Prepare to put the patient at ease and build rapport.
Preparing, writing, and ensuring quality control of written documentation is important. Typos, poor grammar, and other mistakes reflect poorly on the expert.
People respond differently to medical evaluations, and special accommodations should be made for those with prior trauma.
Getting the history in a manner that is usable for court and avoids doing harm.
A picture is worth 1000 words - if it's well done. Follow these guidelines to improve the quality of photographic evidence.
You should not not collect anything if you cannot safely store it. Learn what to do and what not to do.
Finishing evaluations properly and with warmth and clarity is essential.
Doctors will start to forget details immediately no matter how experienced they are. Follow this checklist to ensure you have taken all the proper steps.
The report alone might be relied upon by the judge, without your testimony or explanation, so the report must stand on its own.
Highlighting and making the most of your professional experience and qualifications to demonstrate credibility is important.
The overriding duty of an expert witness is to provide independent, impartial, and unbiased evidence to the court or tribunal.
Preparation is essential. Your court testimony may occur years after the evaluation occurred.
Understanding the order of witnesses and ways attorneys may question expert witnesses. Learn what to expect in court.
Prepare in advance, tell the truth, and stay calm. Testimony can last for many hours or even days.