Editing Torture (section)

==Effects==
[[File:Lauritz Sand recovering after his release, May 1945.jpg|thumb|[[Norwegian resistance]] fighter [[Lauritz Sand]] recovering after his release from the [[Gestapo]], May 1945]]
Torture is one of the most devastating experiences that a person can undergo.{{sfn|Pérez-Sales|2016|p=274}} Torture aims to break the victim's will{{sfn|Pérez-Sales|2016|pp=60–61}} and destroy the victim's agency and personality.{{sfn|Wisnewski|2010|p=73}} Torture survivor [[Jean Améry]] argued that it was "the most horrible event a human being can retain within himself" and that "whoever was tortured, stays tortured".{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|p=51}}{{sfn|Shue|2015|p=120}} Many torture victims, including Améry, later die by suicide.{{sfn|Wisnewski|2010|pp=121–122}} Survivors often experience social and financial problems.{{sfn|Hamid ''et al.''|2019|p=3}} Circumstances such as [[housing insecurity]], [[family separation]], and the uncertainty of applying for [[Right of asylum|asylum]] in a safe country strongly impact survivors' well-being.{{sfn|Williams|Hughes|2020|pp=133–134, 137}} 

Death is not an uncommon outcome of torture.{{sfn|Quiroga|Modvig|2020|p=428}} Understanding of the link between specific torture methods and health consequences is lacking.{{sfn|Milewski ''et al.''|2023}} These consequences can include [[peripheral neuropathy]], damage to teeth, [[rhabdomyolysis]] from extensive muscle damage,{{sfn|Quiroga|Modvig|2020|p=413}} [[traumatic brain injury]],{{sfn|Quiroga|Modvig|2020|p=412}} [[sexually transmitted infection]], and [[pregnancy from rape]].{{sfn|Quiroga|Modvig|2020|p=422}} [[Chronic pain]] and pain-related disability are commonly reported, but there is scant research into this effect or possible treatments.{{sfn|Williams|Hughes|2020|pp=133–134}} Common psychological problems affecting survivors include [[traumatic stress]], [[anxiety]], depression, and [[sleep disturbance]].{{sfn|Williams|Hughes|2020|p=136}}{{sfn|Hamid ''et al.''|2019|p=3}} An average of 40 percent have long-term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a higher rate than for any other traumatic experience.{{sfn|Pérez-Sales|2016|p=274}} Not all survivors or rehabilitation experts support using medical categories to define their experience,{{sfn|Pérez-Sales|2016|pp=135–136}} and many survivors remain [[psychologically resilient]].{{sfn|Pérez-Sales|2016|p=130}}

Criminal prosecutions for torture are rare{{sfn|Carver|Handley|2016|pp=84–86, 88}} and most victims who submit formal complaints are not believed.{{sfn|Weishut|Steiner-Birmanns|2024|p=88}} Despite the efforts for evidence-based evaluation of the scars from torture such as the [[Istanbul Protocol]], most physical examinations are inconclusive.{{sfn|Weishut|Steiner-Birmanns|2024|p=89}} The effects of torture are one of several factors that usually result in inconsistent testimony from survivors, hampering their effort to be believed and secure either refugee status in a foreign country or criminal prosecution of the perpetrators.{{sfn|Weishut|Steiner-Birmanns|2024|p=94}}

Although there is less research on the effects of torture on perpetrators,{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|pp=53–55}} they can experience [[moral injury]] or [[perpetrator trauma|trauma symptoms similar to the victims]], especially when they feel guilty about their actions.{{sfn|Rejali|2020|pp=90–91}}{{sfn|Wisnewski|2010|pp=195–196}} Torture has corrupting effects on the institutions and societies that perpetrate it. Torturers forget important investigative skills because torture can be an easier way than time-consuming police work to achieve high conviction rates, encouraging the continued and increased use of torture.{{sfn|Hassner|2020|p=23}}{{sfn|Rejali|2020|pp=90–91}}{{sfn|Wisnewski|2010|p=166}} Public disapproval of torture can harm the international reputation of countries that use it, strengthen and radicalize violent opposition to those states,{{sfn|Saul|Flanagan|2020|p=370}}{{sfn|Blakeley|2007|pp=390–391}}{{sfn|Hassner|2020|p=22}} and encourage adversaries to themselves use torture.{{sfn|Hassner|2020|p=21}}