“June 26 is recognized internationally as United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. On this day in 1987, the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment went into effect. “[T]he term ‘torture’ means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”
As staff, we emphatically stand against torture at PTV and envision a world without torture in the future. To us, a world filled with beauty, justice, safety, joy, love, freedom, hope, peace, kindness, accountability, acceptance, respect, and harmony.
2020 also marks PTV’s 40th anniversary of helping asylum seekers who have been tortured or persecuted abroad to rebuild their lives in Southern California. PTV was founded in 1980 by asylum seekers Dr. José Quiroga and Ana Deutsch as the first torture rehabilitation center of its kind, before torture was legally defined. Over the years, we have helped countless asylum seekers on the journey to safety and freedom to express themselves politically, religiously, and openly by the gender and sexual orientation that they identify as. Our survivors show incredible resilience and strength; we continue to be inspired by them everyday. We also want to take this time to recognize the systemic racism, the lynchings, and police brutality that our Black brothers and sisters have faced and continue to face which are akin to torture.
This moment in time is historic. Many people are learning and educating themselves about oppression even in the United States, a country long seen as a safe haven. We hope that people continue to educate themselves about the issues from torture to police brutality and take action to address the issues by signing petitions, protesting, voting, and calling or writing to elected officials. Let’s be on the right side of history .“