Editing Torture (section)

==Perpetrators==

[[File:AbuGhraibScandalGraner55.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Charles Graner]] poses over [[Manadel al-Jamadi]]'s corpse, after he was [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse|tortured to death by CIA personnel.]]]]
<!-- [[File:Abu Ghraib 17a (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.8|Abdou Hussain Saad Faleh (previously thought to be [[Ali Shallal al-Qaisi]]) being tortured by United States forces at [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse|Abu Ghraib prison]] in Iraq.]] -->
Since most research has focused on torture victims, less is known about the perpetrators of torture.{{sfn|Austin|2022|p=19}} Many torturers see their actions as serving a higher political or ideological goal that justifies torture as a legitimate means of protecting the state.{{sfn|Wisnewski|2010|pp=192–193}}{{sfn|Wolfendale|2019|p=92}}{{sfn|Evans|2020|loc=Political and Institutional Influences on the Practice of Torture}} Fear is often the motivation for torture, and it is typically not a rational response as it is usually ineffective or even counterproductive at achieving the desired aim.{{sfn|Einolf|2023}} Torture victims are often viewed by the perpetrators as severe threats and [[enemies of the state]].{{sfn|Wisnewski|2010|pp=194–195}} Studies of perpetrators do not support the common assumption that they are psychologically pathological.{{sfn|Einolf|2023}}{{sfn|Austin|2022|pp=29–31}} Most perpetrators do not volunteer to be torturers;{{sfn|Einolf|2023}} many have an innate reluctance to employ violence, and rely on [[coping mechanisms]], such as alcohol or drugs.{{sfn|Austin|2022|pp=29–31}} Psychiatrist [[Pau Pérez-Sales]] finds that torturers act from a variety of motives such as ideological commitment, personal gain, group belonging, avoiding punishment, or avoiding guilt from previous acts of torture.{{sfn|Pérez-Sales|2016|p=106}} 

Although it is often assumed that torture is ordered from above at the highest levels of government,{{sfn|Austin|2022|pp=22–23}} sociologist [[Jonathan Luke Austin]] argues that government authorization is a necessary but not sufficient condition for torture to occur, given that a specific order to torture rarely can be identified.{{sfn|Austin|2022|p=25}} In many cases, a combination of dispositional and situational effects lead a person to become a torturer.{{sfn|Pérez-Sales|2016|p=106}}{{sfn|Austin|2022|p=23}} In most cases of systematic torture, the torturers were desensitized to violence by being exposed to physical or [[psychological abuse]] during training{{sfn|Collard|2018|p=166}}{{sfn|Wisnewski|2010|pp=191–192}}{{sfn|Celermajer|2018|pp=173–174}} which can be a deliberate tactic to create torturers.{{sfn|Einolf|2023}} Even when not explicitly ordered by the government to torture,{{sfn|Wisnewski|2010|pp=193–194}} perpetrators may feel [[peer pressure]] due to competitive masculinity.{{sfn|Rejali|2020|p=90}} Elite and specialized police units are especially prone to torturing, perhaps because of their tight-knit nature and insulation from oversight.{{sfn|Wisnewski|2010|pp=193–194}} Although some torturers are formally trained, most are thought to learn about torture techniques informally.{{sfn|Austin|2022|pp=25–27}}{{sfn|Einolf|2023}}

Torture can be a side effect of a broken criminal justice system in which underfunding, lack of [[judicial independence]], or [[police corruption|corruption]] undermines effective investigations and [[fair trial]]s.{{sfn|Celermajer|2018|p=178}}{{sfn|Carver|Handley|2016|p=633}} In this context, people who cannot afford bribes are likely to become victims of torture.{{sfn|Celermajer|2018|p=161}}{{sfn|Carver|Handley|2016|p=633}} Understaffed or poorly trained police are more likely to resort to torture when interrogating suspects.{{sfn|Carver|Handley|2016|p=79}}{{sfn|Celermajer|2018|p=176}} In some countries, such as [[Kyrgyzstan]], suspects are more likely to be tortured at the end of the month because of performance quotas.{{sfn|Carver|Handley|2016|p=79}}

The contribution of bureaucracy to torture is under-researched and poorly understood.{{sfn|Einolf|2023}} Torturers rely on both active supporters and those who ignore it.{{sfn|Huggins|2012|pp=47, 54}} Military, intelligence, psychology, medical, and legal professionals can all be complicit in torture.{{sfn|Wolfendale|2019|p=92}} Incentives can favor the use of torture on an institutional or individual level, and some perpetrators are motivated by the prospect of career advancement.{{sfn|Huggins|2012|p=62}}{{sfn|Rejali|2020|pp=78–79, 90}} Bureaucracy can diffuse responsibility for torture and help perpetrators excuse their actions.{{sfn|Collard|2018|p=166}}{{sfn|Huggins|2012|pp=61–62}} Maintaining secrecy is often essential to maintaining a torture program, which can be accomplished in ways ranging from direct censorship, denial, or mislabeling torture as something else, to offshoring abuses to outside a state's territory.{{sfn|Huggins|2012|pp=57, 59–60}}{{sfn|Evans|2020|loc=Conclusion}} Along with official denials, torture is enabled by [[moral disengagement]] from the victims and [[impunity]] for the perpetrators.{{sfn|Evans|2020|loc=Political and Institutional Influences on the Practice of Torture}}  Public demand for decisive action against crime or even support for torture against criminals can facilitate its use.{{sfn|Celermajer|2018|pp=161–162}}

Once a torture program is begun, it is difficult or impossible to prevent it from escalating to more severe techniques and expanding to larger groups of victims, beyond what is originally intended or desired by decision-makers.{{sfn|Hassner|2020|pp=18–20}}{{sfn|Wolfendale|2019|pp=89–90, 92}}{{sfn|Rejali|2020|pp=89–90}} Sociologist [[Christopher J. Einolf]] argues that "torture can create a vicious cycle in which a fear of [[internal enemy|internal enemies]] leads to torture, torture creates [[false confession]]s, and false confessions reinforce torturers' fears, leading to a spiral of paranoia and ever-increasing torture"—similar to a [[witch hunt]].{{sfn|Einolf|2023|p=}} Escalation of torture is especially difficult to contain in [[counterinsurgency]] operations.{{sfn|Rejali|2020|p=90}} Torture and specific techniques spread between different countries, [[imperial boomerang|especially by soldiers returning home from overseas wars]], although this process is poorly understood.{{sfn|Collard|2018|pp=158, 165}}{{sfn|Rejali|2020|pp=75, 82–83, 85}}