Justice as a Healing Factor: Psycho-Legal Counseling for Torture Survivors in an Indian Context
Authors: Inger Agger
a; Faritha Ansari
b; Sandhya Suresh b;
George Pulikuthiyil b
| Affiliations: | a Rehabilitation and Research Center for Torture Victims, |
| b Jananeethi: People's Initiative for Human Rights, |
DOI:
10.1080/10781910802229116
Publication Frequency: 4
issues per year
Published in:
Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace
Psychology, Volume 14, Issue 3 July 2008 , pages 315 - 333
Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace
Psychology, Volume 14, Issue 3 July 2008 , pages 315 - 333
Formats available: HTML
(English) : PDF (English)
AbstractAmong professionals working
with the rehabilitation of torture survivors,
discussions are ongoing about the most
appropriate methods for psychological assistance
to the survivors in different geopolitical
contexts. This article is a preliminary
descriptive and exploratory study of
psycho-legal counseling—a counseling
method employed by the Indian human rights
organization, Jananeethi, in its assistance to
survivors of torture. “Justice” is the entry
point in psycho-legal counseling where the law
is used as a therapeutic agent. Phases in the
psycho-legal counseling process are identified
(reaching out to survivors, being with
survivors, empowerment through legal education,
mediation, seeking justice, and advocacy). A
preliminary inquiry into the impact of this
counseling method was made through interviews
with 13 survivors of police torture who had
received psycho-legal counseling. Strengths and
limitations of the psycho-legal counseling
approach are discussed, and recommendations for
further development of this method are made.
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