ABSTRACT
Over the years there have been many efforts to classify torture methods. The most ambitious work to date is the 825-page Torture and Democracy by Darius Rejali (2007). Survivors have taught us that the torture method itself is inconsequential and simply represents the symbolic space in which the interaction takes place (see, for example, the testimonies of Villani and Liscano in Chapter 2). From their point of view, the method represents the way in which pain is produced, but does not encapsulate the full experience or impact of torture. Nevertheless, it is clearly important to study and understand torture methods, and to classify them as part of the process of defining psychological torture.
