Helping Hands Because torture is designed to destroy the human spirit and make people lose faith in themselves and in others, torture survivors face unique challenges as they learn to trust again. TASSC works to assist survivors in their quest to reintegrate themselves into society through the Helping Hands program. The program responds to the immediate social, medical, psychological and legal needs that survivors have as a result of torture. Helping Hands supports survivors in their asylum process, in their transition to
self-sufficiency, and in their journey towards healing. It also aims to foster the re-establishment of trust in self, others, and the world.
Truth Speakers Truth Speakers is TASSC's public speaking network. Survivors of torture speak out publicly about their experiences to promote the campaign against torture. Truth Speakers is one of TASSC's three education and advocacy programs through which it fulfills its mission to educate the public about the increased use of torture today by the United States and 150 other governments. The mission of TASSC's Truth Speakers is to educate the public about the fact that governments today use torture despite nearly every state's legal responsibilities to desist from torture under the
Geneva Conventions, the
Convention Against Torture, and in the United States, the
Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. Truth Speakers give presentations to church groups, nongovernmental organizations, community forums, advocacy groups, high school classes and universities in cities across the United States and abroad. TASSC promotes public understanding of crucial facts about torture, including: that torture does not produce truth during interrogation; that torturing detainees may increase the probability of the torture of U.S. personnel when captured; and that torture brutalizes the torturer and all persons responsible for it, no matter their standing in the chain of command. The topics on which the speakers engage include issues of torture related to
women's or
children's rights,
refugees,
slavery, impunity,
economic globalization, and
international law. All presentations incorporate the authentic voices of those who have survived torture and speak of it from personal experience.
Communities of Healing Despite the Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) banning the practice of torture, the prevalence of this egregious human rights abuse persists. While many organizations and efforts are continuously brought forth to hold perpetrators of torture accountable, many do not address the needs of those most afflicted by this abuse: the survivors. Working to fill this gap, TASSC International uses the International Communities of Healing to focus specifically on the rehabilitation of survivors of torture by healing themselves through mutual support, recognition, and validation. TASSC's International Communities of Healing (ICOH) are spaces where survivors gather and work together to help each other heal. Community self-empowerment is an important part of overcoming the experience of torture. TASSC provides a forum to support that process through the International Communities of Healing. Communities of Healing has ten locations inside of the United States, and eight in other countries, including
Argentina,
Canada and
Mexico. ==See also==