ABSTRACT
The psychological assessment and documentation of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees should be considered essential to any investigation to ensure justice and reparation and, essentially, legal protection from further harm and health protection to ensure access to timely, appropriate rehabilitation for the detainee. This chapter considers the conditions of detention and the treatment in detention, including torture or other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment (CIDT) or punishment, can have devastating psychological consequences, specifically with a focus on civil, military, or other armed conflict places of detention. Many practices and conditions of detention may amount to torture, although they may be considered, including by detainees, as routine practice and indeed seen as "normal" in particular contexts. Numerous factors influence the meaning-making process and, therefore, the psychological responses and outcomes for each person. The wider social context in which detainees are held and subjected to torture is essential to consider in a psychological assessment.
