The original sponsors of Torture Victims Relief Act understood that torture is used to destroy leadership and civil society, and proposed a strategy to overcome torture's legacy. 

	FY 2008 Actual	FY 2009 Presidential Budget Request	FY 2009 CVT Request
Domestic-ORR	$9.8 M	$10 M	$10 M + $10 M for Iraqi Refugees
International- USAID	$8.5 M	No hard earmark	$10 M
US Contribution to UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture	$7 M	$5 M	$10 M

BACKGROUND
Introduced by U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger (R-MN) in 1994, the Torture Victims Relief Act (TVRA) authorized the U.S. Department of Human Services and its implementing agency, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), to fund U.S.-based treatment programs for survivors of politically motivated torture. Prior to the passage of TVRA, the United States had already been making modest contributions to the U.N. Voluntary Fund through the Department of State. TVRA also authorizes USAID to provide $13 million annually to treatment centers for victims of torture “for direct services to victims of torture” and “to provide research and training to health care providers” to enable them to provide services to torture victims. In addition, USAID awards direct grants to foreign centers and international NGOs from its Victims of Torture Fund.

Read the Torture Victims Relief Act Reauthorization of 2007.

Torture survivors need our assistance.
Survivors of this barbaric treatment, often at the hands of their own governments, number 500,000 in the United States. Currently, 19 programs in 15 states receive funding support through ORR. Demand for services far exceeds resources, and many other programs cope without any Federal assistance. Federally funded treatment centers like CVT bridge the gap between survivors and their communities by providing culturally sensitive and holistic healing services, ensuring that survivors of torture heal from their wounds and reclaim productive lives.

The Torture Victims Relief Act leverages a small amount of funds for maximum impact.
Training of physicians, social service professionals, and teachers in our communities builds the knowledge and skill of mainstream providers to care for torture victims. Foreign treatment centers often provide forensic documentation, testimony to courts and legislatures, and advocacy for the rights of oppressed religious, ethnic and minority rights.

Funding TVRA equals well-trained medical, social service, and education professionals
Treatment centers provide services beyond rehabilitation. Trained medical professionals have a better understanding about the effects of torture on their patients. Social service advocates understand how the experience of torture influences a person’s ability to get a job. Teachers understand the reasons why a student who has seen her homeland devastated by war may need special attention.

Funding must come from multiple sources
In some areas of the world, funding from the UN helps many centers feel more secure in the dangerous work of aiding victims that a regime has identified as its enemies. In the midst of the current crisis in Darfur, the UN Voluntary Fund is supporting the Amel Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims. This center operates two branches in the heart of the conflict – areas where international NGOs can’t go. They provide treatment to victims of the indiscriminate violence, rape and harassment in Darfur, and provide legal aid for victims making statements to police or filing cases against perpetrators. 

Treatment offers meaningful improvements to survivors and transforms communities
Survivors of torture can rebuild their lives successfully. CVT's clients show meaningful improvement between intake and 3-months for all classes of symptoms: Depression Symptoms, Anxiety Symptoms, PTSD Symptoms, Somatic Symptoms, and Quality-of-Life Indicators (i.e., Basic, Social, and Psych Needs)[1]. Over the period of year clients show an even greater reduction in PTSD, Anxiety and depression[2]. In addition, healing has the capacity to transform communities as well as lives.  During a recent two-year grant period, one torture treatment program reported that 56 percent of clients were employed during the first six months of their rehabilitation, and 71 percent were employed during the second six months of their treatment[3]. Investing in treatment helps survivors gain control of their lives and build confidence in their futures.  

The resettling of Iraqi Refugees requires additional funding
CVT is calling for an additional $10 million on top of the President's $10 million ORR request to address the unique mental health needs of Iraqi Refugees. The U.S. is committed to taking 12,000 Iraqi refugees in 2008 and in future years this number is expected to increase. A number of sources have indicated that the percentage of torture victims within the Iraqi refugee population will be considerably higher than that of other recent refugee flows[1]. UNHCR estimates that one in five of those registered with the agency in Syria since January 2007 are classified as “victims of torture and/or violence” such as rape, beatings and burns, most of which was perpetuated by militia groups. In addition, a recent American Friends Service Committee Report noted that: “Many of the refugee families that we interviewed, especially those in Syria, report terrible experiences of violence, with family members kidnapped and or killed.  Most refugees left Iraq because of the violence, after family members or friends had been killed, or after receiving direct threats. The amount of trauma they have experienced is vast, and there is a great need for trauma healing work[2].”

This vulnerable population requires our healing services if they are to rebuild their lives in the U.S.  ORR currently supports treatment programs in the eight states (Michigan, California, Arizona, Illinois, Texas, New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania) that receive the greatest numbers of Iraqis[3].  These centers have large waiting lists and will be overwhelmed with the increased need without additional funding.  Other areas where Iraqi’s are expected to settle; Idaho, Tennessee and upstate New York do not currently have treatment centers so established centers will have to train more clinicians to build capacity for these underserved areas. In addition, UN Voluntary Fund money and USAID torture victims fund money can be used to build torture treatment centers on the ground to aid refugees in Jordan and Syria.

History of TVRA

Senator Dave Durenberger (R-MN) introduced the first Torture Victims Relief Act in 1994. The TVRA (PL 105-320), enacted in 1998, had strong bipartisan support from Minnesota Senators Rod Grams and Paul Wellstone, and Congressmen Christopher Smith, R-NJ and Tom Lantos, D-CA. Congressmen Martin Sabo, D-MN and John Porter, R-IL helped obtain the appropriations.