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The Swedish Red Cross Centre for the rehabilitation of tortured refugees

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2010

Britt Wikberg
Britt Wikberg*
Affiliation:
Information Officer Swedish Red Cross
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Extract

In 1985 the Swedish Red Cross opened a Centre for the Rehabilitation of Tortured Refugees in Stockholm. It did so on the bases of a thorough study of what had been done elsewhere in the world, especially in Denmark where the first centre of this kind was established.

Sweden accepts about 15,000 refugees each year. The largest groups come from Chile, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Turkey. Many of them have been exposed to different forms of torture. Hospitals, the social welfare system, lawyers, immigration officers — none of these has any experience in dealing with the consequences. Now all sectors of Swedish society have to meet the needs of these new citizens. Lack of knowledge and understanding can, unintentionally, lead to callous treatment. It was therefore natural for the Swedish Red Cross to start collecting and developing existing knowledge on how to deal with the effects of torture.

Type
The Struggle Against Torture
Information
International Review of the Red Cross (1961 - 1997) , Volume 29 , Issue 268 , February 1989 , pp. 38 - 41
Copyright
Copyright © International Committee of the Red Cross 1989

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