Torture: Say It.

Torture. The word alone evokes unimaginable suffering.

Some people avoid using it altogether--often because the word makes them uncomfortable. Other times, perpetrators are covering up the truth. They rely on euphemisms to downplay the severity of its meaning.

Waterboarding, for example. Enhanced interrogation.

No matter which phrases society chooses to hide behind, these simple facts remain: Torture is happening. Torture’s pervasive. Torture needs to stop.

Avoiding the word “torture” enables torture--it doesn't make it go away. Confronting it, denouncing it and holding its perpetrators accountable does. 

So speak up.  Call it what it is. Say “torture,” say the truth.