During his wake, his remains were taken by the police. He was tagged by the government as a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines Central Committee.
#NOTSAFEATHOME is the call of the Filipino people for justice for activists being hunted down and murdered in their own homes amidst a pandemic.
I’m going to start with an important and underappreciated point: the effects of torture are hard to research.
For a mixture of reasons, including shame and fear of reprisals, many people are uncomfortable admitting that they were tortured. Fewer still have the opportunity or are willing to participate in research. Sample sizes in studies are often ridiculously small, so small that it can be difficult to reach any conclusions.
On top of that, picking a control group can be difficult. If the majority of torture victims are depressed does comparing them to a health or depressed population make more sense? If the majority of torture victims suffered serious head injuries should they be compared to people with mild brain damage?
The research is hard. We’re only just beginning to get a clear picture of the short and long term effects of torture, on individuals and communities. Sometimes clear evidence just isn’t there.
Sometimes, for some techniques, it is. So long as you don’t call it ‘torture’. Information on sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, starvation, dehydration and extreme temperatures are all available.
What this means is that treatment is often a hit and miss affair. Studies trying to find better ways to treat torture victims often can’t find enough volunteers to get meaningful results.
All of that said, here is a non-exhaustive list of some of the things a character who has survived torture and physically healed might experience.
Much of the research on treating torture survivors focuses on PTSD which appears to be a more common response for torture than for other traumatising events.
It’s worth mentioning that although clear evidence on torturersis even more difficult to come by there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that torturers are often traumatised by carrying out torture.
Anecdotal evidence suggests torturers develop many of the same psychological symptoms as their victims, including PTSD, depression, addiction, social isolation and long term personality changes.
[Sources, ‘Mental health interventions and priorities for research for adult survivors of torture and systematic violence: a review of the literature’ Torture Journal vol 26 iss 1 2016 W M Weiss et al
‘Why Torture Doesn’t Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation’ Harvard University Press S O’Mara
‘Dysfunctional Pain Modulation in Torture Survivors: The Mediating Effect of PTSD’ The Journal of Pain vo 18 2017 R Defrin et al
‘Testimonial Therapy: Impact on social participation and emotional wellbeing among Indian survivors of torture and organized violence’ Torture Journal vol 25 iss 2 2015 M M Jorgensen et al]
‘National Style’ is a phrase Rejali coined to try and describe some of the patterns he saw in torture worldwide while he was researching his book.
It’s not so much a theory as an observation: particular countries and cultures seem to consistently favour particular torture techniques.
This doesn’t mean that torturers from these countries don’t use other techniques. It’s a general observation of the most common techniques and that which techniques are the most common varies between countries.
National Styles can change and unique tortures can still occur. What I’m hoping to do with this Masterpost is give an overview of the most common techniques in different countries.
This isn’t just for those of you setting your stories in a particular place. A lot of the sci-fi and fantasy asks I get are understandably vague about where exactly the story takes place. I’m hoping that a resource on National Styles will help you think about the cultures you’ve based your world on. Something set in the far future does not have to adhere to a particular National Style but it could serve as a useful starting point for thinking about the sorts of torture techniques that might exist in your world.
Just because I’ve excluded a country does not mean that the country is torture free. I don’t have adequate information on all countries to describe a National Style.
This is focused on the 1950s through to the present. I’m doing a separate post for World War 2 on the basis that when I tried to include it in the same post this was far too long. If I can find good sources in English for a variety of places in earlier time periods I’ll do some follow up posts on historical periods. Please keep in mind that there’s a trend towards non-scarring or ‘clean’ tortures currently, so most of these styles concentrate on techniques that rarely leave marks.
General Tortures that are common Worldwide
I’ve listed some of these in National Styles as well when I’ve felt it’s a particularly prominent feature of that country’s National Styles
-Beating
-Starvation
-Sleep deprivation
American Modern
American torture is incredibly similar to French. There isn’t any clear evidence about why exactly that is but one of the main theories is that Americans learnt at least some of these techniques during the Vietnam War. Previously, Vietnam was a French colony and there is considerable evidence that the French used these torture techniques there. Which doesn’t mean that is where the Americans got these techniques, just that it’s a possibility.
Electricity- Generally using Tasers or stun guns that are officially issued though in the past magnetos were also used. Police departments in particular experimented with many different uses of electricity in the early 1900s with many different accounts existing from that period.
Waterboarding- Waterboarding is a form of near-drowning torture that was first recorded as a torture used by the Dutch in the 1620s. It usually involves covering the mouth and nose with a cloth and restraining the victim so they are lying down with their feet above their head. Water is poured over the face and this stops the victim from breathing. Americans have been using this torture for decades.
Standing Stress Positions,with restraints- The favourite American stress position is ‘Standing cuffs’. A victim’s hands are cuffed and raised above their head until they’re standing on their toes. This also serves to deprive the victim of sleep. In some places victims were made to wear adult diapers as this was seen as especially humiliating.
Solitary Confinement- Rejali doesn’t include this as a feature of American torture and barely discusses solitary confinement at all. I’m including it on the basis that it is: so normalised in American prisons and military facilities, is used for punishment, causes intense pain, causes systematic mental and physical health problems and is allowed to continue for time periods that are frankly ludicrous.
French Modern
Electricity- French electrical torture strongly favoured use of magnetos for many years. With the technological shift away from magnetos it now seems to favour Tasers and stun guns like most modern countries.
Waterboarding- France’s history of waterboarding may be longer than America’s. There are records of waterboarding in French colonies and records of French Nazi sympathisers using waterboarding extensively during the Vichy government.
Crouching Stress Positions- Most of the stress positions I’m aware of that are particularly ‘French’ were strongly associated with the military and the French Foreign Legion. I am unsure whether they are still commonly in use today but they were 40 years ago and I’ve chosen to include them.
English Modern
The UK has very rarely used electrical torture and instead has relied on a variety of stress positions. This is unusual as most countries have regularly used electrical torture at some point even if it is no longer a feature of their National Style. It’s worth keeping in mind as a feature, should you ever have characters who experience or witness torture from different groups.
English torture has also been more varied in some respects. Torture in different colonies during the colonial period could vary dramatically, possibly a feature of the decentralisation of administration throughout the empire. Practices in Kenya were different to practices in Aden, Cyprus and Ireland. I’ve tried to focus on the overall similarities rather than list cases that only occurred in one particular place.
Positional torture without restraints- Accounts of English torture in Ireland usually contain a description of ‘Walling’. The victims were made to stand close to a wall, leaning forward. Their finger tips touched the wall but they were prevented from putting their weight against it. England has a long history of stress positions, especially in the military and a great many different positions have been used. English use of stress positions in the modern age seems to avoid restraints and instead rely on guards beating prisoners who don’t hold the stress position. Other standing stress positions apart from Walling have been used and the only common feature seems to be the lack of restraints.
Beating
Sleep deprivation- Methods of sleep deprivation were not consistent. Stress positions and sleep deprivation were often combined, but sleep deprivation was also inflicted by continually waking prisoners, use of noise and light or near-constant interrogation as in 'sweating’ or 'relay interrogation’ practices.
Exhaustion exercises- These are the practice of forcing someone to exercise until they collapse. Running, cleaning and aerobic exercises such as crouching then jumping repeatedly have all been used. Obstacle courses and forced crawling have also been used. While worthy of a place here I feel it should be noted that exhaustion exercises seem to be particularly associated with the English military and I’ve never seen an account involving the police. The exact form varies widely in English torture.
Temperature torture- This is usually done through exposure and seems to be slightly less common then the previous three methods but I felt it was worth including. Freezing showers and standing in extremely hot or cold rooms seem to be the 'usual’ methods.
English 'Five Techniques’
These were used in Ireland during the 'Troubles’ and I felt they were worth inclusion. They’re a seperate category because I haven’t found any evidence of them regularly being used in conjunction by the English or British elsewhere.
Standing stress positions
Hooding
Starvation and dehydration
Sleep deprivation
White Noise- This seems to have been uniquely used in Ireland. I’ve found no evidence of regular use elsewhere.
Russian Modern
I’m a little unsure of just how current my sources on Russia are. The following techniques were representative after the Cold War but may not all be currently in use.
Electricity- Russia like many countries that use electrical torture originally relied on magnetos but has since switched to more modern methods. I can’t find evidence for a preferred electrical source in Russia at the moment. The use of electricity is relatively recent, Soviet torture avoided electricity.
Dry choking- This was originally done using old fashioned gas masks. Manipulation of the air vent can be used to produce near-suffocation. Plastic bags are much more common now.
Beating
Suspension- Suspension by the wrists with the feet off the ground is a scarring torture that ruins hands and dislocates the shoulders. It causes permanent nerve damage on an average sized individual in around 15 minutes and acts more quickly when the victim is larger and heavier. Such practices are generally rare but this is still a common torture in Russian institutions. I am unclear on whether any sort of precautions are taken to avoid permanent damage to the victims or not.
Israeli Modern
Israel, like Britain, is notable for avoiding electrical torture. This is a relatively recent development with electrical torture and water based choking tortures being employed before the 1990s and not afterwards.
Positional torture using furniture- Use of child-sized furniture to deliberately cause discomfort in prisoners is, so far as I know, unique to Israel. An example would be making a victim sit in a child’s chair during a prolonged 'interrogation’. The size of the furniture makes it impossible for the victim to sit comfortably and has a similar effect to restraint torture, producing a prolonged discomfort but allowing enough movement to avoid the risk of kidney failure associated with stress positions. In some variants victims are shackled to child-sized chairs and this does seem to function as a stress position causing the tell-tale swelling in hands and feet.
Stress positions- Forced standing, including standing cuffs and forced squatting appear to be common.
Exhaustion exercises- I’ve seen reference to three specific forms of forced exercise which appear to have been in regular use since the 1980s. The first is making victims stand up and sit down repeatedly until they collapse from exhaustion. The second is the 'Bear Dance’, making victims run while holding a heavy object (sometimes a full bucket) in each hand. This exhaustion exercise is usually combined with a 'gauntlet’ of guards who hit or trip the victims as they run. The third was a sort of 'deep sit up’ performed on chairs while prisoners were handcuffed.
Hooding
Temperature torture- The Israeli style tends to use extremely hot or cold rooms rather than exposure to the elements.
Iran
Iran went through a period of using electrical torture but so far as I can tell after the 1990s it was no longer common. Electricity was used from at least the 1970s through to the 1990s.
I have not included punishments that are torture in the list but these include flogging, blinding and amputation.
Falaka- Beating the soles of the feet. This technique is common throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It has also been used historically in China. Different impliments cause different degrees of damage.
Beating
Stress Positions- My sources are unclear on what positions are favoured.
Turkish Modern
This basic combination of falaka and electricity is common throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa, though different countries add different techniques to this basic mixture. Israel and Iran stand out as distinct in the region.
Falaka
Stress positions- I don’t have any clear indication of which stress positions are common in Turkey currently
Electricity- As previously Turkey once used magnetos but has since switched to more modern implements such as Tasers and stun guns.
Indian and Pakistani Modern
I’ve chosen to put India and Pakistan in the same section due to the overwhelming similarities in their National Styles. This may be in part due to continued conflict between the two countries resulting in a constant exchange of torture techniques. As with the similarities between French and American Styles, there’s no proof this is the case, but it’s a possibility.
Stress positions, murgha- The victim is made to bend forward, putting their head between their knees. They are sometimes made to hold their ears. This is extremely painful and in some cases can cause bleeding from the mouth, nose and anus.
Pepper-In India and Pakistan this means insertion of irritants and spices into the nostrils, anus or vagina.
Electricity-The instruments used to generate electricity in Indian torture have varied widely since the 1950s. Magnetos, live wires, the mains and more conventional Tasers and stun guns have all been used in different regions. Pakistan has generally favoured electrical prods.
Ghotna-This is distinct to India and Pakistan. A large pestel, like a huge stone rolling pin used to grind spices, is rolled over the victim’s thighs. Sometimes police officers stand on the ghotna.
Falaka-Slightly more common in Pakistan but also used throughout India, falaka is the practice of beating the soles of the feet.
Choking-More common in India than Pakistan, dry choking is near strangulation or near suffocation.
Chinese Modern
I’ve had some difficulty with this one. What I’m reading suggests that Chinese torture is either not consistent across the country (which would be understandable in such a large and varied country) or that Chinese torture is changing.The result is that this is a bit vague, may be edited later and some of these practices may not be current or used everywhere in China.
Restraint tortures- I’ve seen several accounts of political prisoners being kept in retraints long term (ie for days, weeks or in some cases months). The favoured device is a combination hand and leg cuff, with a chain connecting the hands, another connecting the feet and a longer chain linking them together. This keeps the victim hunched over in an extremely uncomfortable position but allows enough movement that they do not die of kidney failure (a difference from stress positions which allows the torture to continue for much longer)
Positional torture using furniture- These include devices such as 'tiger chairs’ which are essentially restraint devices victims are strapped into and left in for prolonged periods (over 24 hours). I am unclear on whether these could have the same effect as a stress position and suspect it depends strongly on the piece of furniture and how the victim is restrained. Chairs which strap down the victim’s arms, legs and chest seem to be the most common but boards which restrain victims so they’re laying downhave also been used.
Sleep deprivation
Restriction of circulation- I’ve mentioned the old Chinese practice of 'finger-milking’ on the blog before. I’m unsure if the current practice is finger-milking but it shares similarities. Currently the victim’s hands or feet are restrained and the cuffs are deliberately made too tight, cutting off circulation and causing painful swelling in the hands or feet. In finger-milking this is accompanied with attacks to the swollen hands or feet. This is not always the case today.
Japanese Modern
Beating-One thing that I’ve seen particular reference to in Japanese cases that I haven’t seen elsewhere is hair pulling. There also appears to be higher use of furniture to beat suspects then in other countries.
Crushing hands with flat objects- Placing a stuff, hard, flat object like a rulerover the back of the hand and applying pressure. This produces intense pain but rarely leaves any lasting marks.
South Africa
This is predominantly focused on the post-Apartheid period. During Apartheid scarring torture was much more common and in addition to the techniques I’ve listed falaka, whipping, and pumping (forcing liquid into the stomach until it flows out of most orifices causing intense internal pain) were all used. Targeted sexual violence was and remains extremely common.
Electricity- Prods and stun guns seem to be the implements of choice.
Dry Choking- This was previously done using gas masks but now seems to be done with some sort of hooding. Plastic bags now seem to be the most common method.
Stress Positions- Predominantly forced standing.
Nigeria
Unusually for a modern state most torture in Nigeria is scarring. This may be because there is more or less complete impunity for torturers and torture is often justified by people in positions of power, citing the unrest in the north. Targeted sexual violence against women, queer people and people perceived as either is common.
Scarring beating- Using batons, gun butts, machetes, sticks, rods or cables.
Shooting extremities- Such as the leg, feet and hands.
Extraction of nails and teeth with pliers
Suspension by the feet- Another scarring torture.
Electricity-Amnesty describes this as using ‘battery powered objects’.
Near-strangulation- Using a rope around the neck.
Being forced to sit of lie on sharp objects- Broken glass appears to be a favourite.
Stress positions using implements- The ‘Parrot’s perch’ and a position called ‘Tabay’ are both used. The parrot’s perch has the victim’s hands tied together and their feet tied together. Their limbs are bent and a stick is inserted under the knees and over the elbows. They’re then lifted by the stick, exposing the buttocks and leaving them dangling upside down. In ‘Tabay’ the victim’s elbows are tied together and the arms are raised using a stick.
Sources:
Torture and Democracy by D Reajli, Princeton, 2009
Medicine is a privilege, and it’s a shame and disgrace to doctors everywhere for other members of the profession to be taking part in torture. First do no harm.
Do you have any thoughts on this? How about other forms of medical torture? Send them to be printed for the “Justice in Medicine” issue coming out this December!
Putting this out there for those of you who write about torture. Sadly, the medical professions do not have clean hands when it comes to these sorts of things.
Please tag me or give credit if you use this prompt.
Live whump performances for an audience. Whumpee is the star and Whumper is the co-star. There are two assistants: one to hand Whumper the tools and weapons, the other to take them away. An MC serves as the announcer/host, introduces Whumpee and Whumper, and provides commentary. The audience can make bids and vote for what happens to Whumpee. The audience can also vote on whether or not Whumpee lives. If it’s a tie, the highest bidder decides Whumpee’s fate.
Please tag me or give credit if you use this prompt.
Whumper injects Whumpee with two drugs. The first drug makes them incapable of anything except thinking and automatic bodily functions (breathing, heart beating, blood pumping). The second drug heightens their awareness and enhances their senses. Whumper also inserts a chip in Whumpee’s brain that translates their brainwaves and projects them through speakers in real time. After all, what fun is torturing someone if you can’t hear them scream?
OK, so this is a real good one. It’s a Percy Jackson/Dresden Files crossover, and it’s written by a really amazing author too, so you should check out their other works as well! (Though they mostly write for Worm)
Ceaseless Flow
by Ryuugi
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️ Warning for cannibalism, torture, and implied noncon! ⚠️
Author doesn’t have a fic summery, so I’ll improvise.
Percy either eats and/or gets eaten by Tartarus, and this kills him ofc. He gets reincarnated as a minor fae, along with Tartarus and all his memories for some reason. Features Percy interacting with the supernatural side of NYC, so doesn’t have very many cannon characters from either series, but the OCs are all easy to swallow and well written, so don’t let that put you off. Highly recommended fic!
This might be a long shot but when I first heard foundations of decay and the line about how we’ll press and press till you can’t take it anymore, I thought about the Salem witch trials and how Giles Corey, the only man executed in them, was pressed to death, and then I remembered that Gerard Way has recently become a witch
Finally some quality father-daughter bonding in this wholesome fanfic. Leia really pulled the uno-reverse card on this interrogation.
Not going to joke around, this has been the most complex update I’ve made so far. I would say it’s two updates in one with five additional panels for both the Padme Flashbacks and Leia’s kidnapping.
Some of the inspirations for this update are the Vader comics. I love the idea of Force-projections. Leia has the garb and appearance from before her kidnapping, and Anakin is depicted as her age, mirroring her influence on the force. I was also inspired by Ben’s interrogation of Rey in Episode 7.
wasn’t sure if i was going to upload this one but uhhh fuck it
Feitan x reader x Chrollo (or at least the beginnings of it)
Warnings: torture, mentions of torture, implied violence, mentions of death, threats of violence, possessive behavior
It wasn’t terribly unusual to hear more than one pair of footsteps coming down the stairs. However, it was strange to hear them coming at such a calm, steady pace.
Usually it was Feitan dragging down another unfortunate victim of his to be tortured, and that would be accompanied by their panicked yells for help as they attempted to escape their captor’s grip. That never worked, as Feitan was much, much stronger than he looked. Something that you knew very well from experience.
The sounds of Feitan bringing down his soon-to-be torture subjects signaled you to prepare yourself in your spot next to the wall, your wrists in cuffs and your hands pulled up by chains that lifted you so high you needed to balance on your toes. If you didn’t do that, you’d be forced to hang by your arms, something that was incredibly painful to do for long periods of time as it would eventually feel like your arms were going to pop out of their sockets. But it was impossible to get any sleep while trying to focus on keeping your weight on your toes, so the only times you could get any rest was when you couldn’t keep going and you were granted a bit of a reprieve as your body attempted to catch up on much needed sleep that would only last for a few minutes before the pain in your arms would force you back awake. The only real break you got was when Feitan would unchain you and allow you to go to the bathroom, making you walk up the stairs on your own so your muscles wouldn’t atrophy.
This might be a long shot but when I first heard foundations of decay and the line about how we’ll press and press till you can’t take it anymore, I thought about the Salem witch trials and how Giles Corey, the only man executed in them, was pressed to death, and then I remembered that Gerard Way has recently become a witch
I don’t think grrm treated any character as badly as he treated Jeyne Poole. She bullied Arya because she was Jealous of her and wanted what Arya would get easily - a good marriage to a lord and he gives that to her in the worst way and it feels kind of like some kind of twisted punishment. After being kept in a brothel and being “trained” for two years from the age of eleven she gets to have Arya’s life, return to her home and marry a lord but that lord is Ramsay Bolton, the biggest sadist in westeros who puts her through unimaginable torture and she’s forced to keep being Arya even after her escape because as Jeyne she’s worthless to the northern lords who aided in her rescue and she can’t get her identity back without suffering severe consequences, a reminder that Jeyne Poole has no value unlike Arya Stark. Not only that, but she becomes disfigured and her body is permanently scarred which again feels like punishment for making fun of Arya’s looks so she essentially loses her own looks. Her abuse is described in horrible detail but we never get her POV not even one small chapter to give her some agency in the story where she has none. It all really rubs me up the wrong way especially when I see people say that she deserves it or that they don’t care about what happens to her because she was a bully as a child (did jon deserve to die by the hands of the men of the nights watch for bullying them? No? But Jeyne’s suffering is deserved apparently) or because she’s simply an unimportant character. GRRM has written a lot of disturbing shit and it is what we readers expect but he really went too far and crossed the line with his cruelty towards Jeyne Poole.
Can you handle violence, sex, and other adult stuff? Yup, for sure. Are you above the legal age of consent (eighteen)? Nope, but I will be pretty soon. Time Zone and Activity Level (1/10): I’m really active, I’d say 8 or 9 out of 10. GMT Previous RP experience: I roleplay a lot on tumblr, and have done for the past year now. Why are you interested in/what experience do you have with the 20s? I did my depth study in history on it, so I’d like to claim to have some knowledge on it, just not really in depth knowledge on it. I read a lot of F.Scott Fizgerald too if that helps, Character Desired: Philip Wakefield Writing Sample: (3+ paragraphs, third person, past tense, in character—meaning not from another RP)
The forest was ablaze with the silence that only early mornings can cast. Philip could hear every crunch of noise his falling feet made, every sigh of his expelled breath; he wondered if the silence would echo the cracks of his victim’s bones and their last pleading gasps in a similar way. The thought excited him, and he sped up his pace a little, clenching his fists in anticipation.
Finally he arrived at his destination, a complex trap made of wood and steel. It was a pretty ingenious trap actually, Philip complimented himself as he examined it. Whenever he was sat in class, long finished the work he had been set and waiting for the dunces to catch up, he would invent traps or daydream hungrily about the bloody deaths that came about to the things foolish enough to get stuck in them.
He walked slowly around the prison, and peeked in through the top. “There now.” He said comfortingly, stroking the creature gently with a gloved hand. “Don’t be scared, I just want to get a look at you.” Curled up against one of the damp walls was a large, almond coloured mouse. It nipped him fiercely on his finger and he laughed warmly. “A fighter are you? I’ll soon see to that.” He lifted the mouse out of it’s cage with one hand and took a look at it. “The Doctor will see you now.” Philip proclaimed with a sneer, thinking of his father in amusement. “I wonder what he’d do if only he could see me now.” He murmured to himself as he squeezed the mouse roughly, smirking a little at it’s frantic attempts to escape and bite him. “Now, now.” He warned, mockingly waggling his finger at the mouse. “That’s not very nice.” Philip slowly brought out a pen knife and raised it next to the fist holding the mouse, admiring the way it gleamed with the light cast by the early-morning sun. Slowly, ever so slowly, he brought the tip to the mouse’s left eye and began to push. The squeals of the mouse delighted him, and he decided to leave the other eye unblemished as a reward.
“Let’s see.” Philip muttered, moving forwards and rummaging in his bag. He brought out a small plank of wood, and four sharp nails. “I think this’ll do nicely, don’t you?” The mouse didn’t respond in any remarkable way and Philip shrugged. Pinning the mouse to the board was difficult, as it kept squirming despite Philip specifically asking it not to. He tutted, as he brought the knife down to chop off it’s limbs. That’s what punishment rude things got. Unsurprisingly he got little trouble after that, but that made the whole experience a lot less fun. An exasperated sigh escaped his lips as he looked down at the still body of the mouse, this was getting dull and he itched to go find something better to do to ease his painful boredom. He placed the corpse of the mouse, now empty of organs, in the trap as bait. Maybe he’d catch something a little bigger next time.
the real martial law: 70,000 illegal detentions/ wrongly imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, at least 3,200 innocent people were killed.
Shared by Sydney Lopez in Anyone by Bongbong: Remastered , illustrations by Rappler
Electric shock – Electric wires are attached to the victim’s fingers, arms, head and in some cases, genitalia.
San Juanico Bridge – The victim lies between two beds and if his/her body falls, he/she will be beaten.
Truth serum – An injection administered in hospitals and used for interrogation, making a victim “talk drunkenly.”
Russian roulette – Loading a bullet into one chamber of a revolver, spinning the cylinder, and then forcing the victim to pull the trigger while pointing the gun at his/her own head.
Beating – Victim is beaten by a group of soldiers.
Pistol-whipping – The victim is beaten with a rifle butt.
Water cure – Water is forced through the victim’s mouth and then forced out by beating.
Strangulation – Constriction of the victim’s neck done by hand, electric wire, or steel bar.
Cigar and flat iron burns – Victims of torture are inflicted with burns using cigarettes, and even a flat iron.
Pepper torture – A “concentrated pepper substance” is put on the victim’s lips or rubbed on his/her genitalia.
If you want to help the #StopTheShock campaign and end the torture of disabled people at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, MA, this is how. If you are in the US you can now sign an open letter to US Congress by following the link below. The letter calls for an amendment to the Keeping All Students Safe Act (KASSA) which would prohibit the use of aversives on disabled students, including the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED) which is the device used at the JRC to administer painful electric shocks for behaviours such as talking out of turn, stimming or even for taking too long to remove a coat.
Once you follow the link it’s as simple as sending a text to the number shown. You can also print the page with the QR code and put it up on bulletin boards to raise awareness!
If you are not living in the US there are other ways to help, see this previous post, the AuTeach website and the rest of this blog for details. Share this message far and wide, and hopefully we can make a difference to the students at the JRC. Thank you.
This blog will be dedicated to the #StopTheShock campaign and will include survivors’ stories and action points to help fight this decision and stop the torture of autistic people.
For a current list of action points, head over to the AuTeach website.PLEASE REBLOG and spread the word, even if you are not autistic, and follow this blog for updates.
Just to clear up some misconceptions I have seen elsewhere: This is not the same as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This is a device called a graduated electronic decelerator (GED) worn on the ankle which is used to administer remote electric shocks as a form of corporal punishment.
There is a group of people who are fighting a legal battle to be allowed to shock disabled children simply for displaying traits related to their disability. And they are winning.
This is a clear violation of human rights. Hell, we don’t even use shock collars on dogs because of its cruelty, yet these people want to use this on human beings.
Stop the shock!
I’m angry that we live in a world where I actually need to say this
OH COME FUCKING ON! JEEZ! SOMETIMES I WONDER IF PEOPLE ON THE SPECTRUM ARE EVEN CONSIDERED PEOPLE TO LAW PEOPLE! I mean look at Austism speaks! Their still legally running AND THEY KILLED A KID!
No, the students at the Judge Rotenberg Center are most certainly not considered people. They are considered subhuman because they are disabled and because the vast majority of them are children of colour. They are considered as nothing more than a list of “problematic” behaviours and I cannot emphasise enough that this is not unique to the JRC, although it is an extreme place even by ABA standards.
Six students have died at the JRC. Food deprivation, physical restraint and seclusion are all commonplace there, and indeed are written directly into students’ care plans.
I would strongly encourage you to seek out Jennifer Msumba’s interviews, she is a survivor of the JRC and I have linked some on this blog.
It is not a place that humans should be sent to. But they are.
This blog will be dedicated to the #StopTheShock campaign and will include survivors’ stories and action points to help fight this decision and stop the torture of autistic people.
For a current list of action points, head over to the AuTeach website.PLEASE REBLOG and spread the word, even if you are not autistic, and follow this blog for updates.
Just to clear up some misconceptions I have seen elsewhere: This is not the same as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This is a device called a graduated electronic decelerator (GED) worn on the ankle which is used to administer remote electric shocks as a form of corporal punishment.
There is a group of people who are fighting a legal battle to be allowed to shock disabled children simply for displaying traits related to their disability. And they are winning.
This is an image drawn by Jennifer Msumba, a patient at the Judge Rotenberg Centre. A literal child.
A child like Andre McCollins who was restrained on a 4 point board and shocked 31 times over seven hours. His supposed crimes that justified this abuse? Refusal to take his coat off. Then tensing up and screaming when he was shocked. He required hospitalisation for the 3rd degree burns on multiple body parts he received from the ordeal.
This is torture. The UN calls it torture. The only reason the ban is getting overturned is because of a loophole exploiting lawsuit from the Judge Rotenberg Centre. The GED was initially banned for use as a behaviour modification device. According to the lawsuit the FDA does not have the power to ban a device for a specific use so either has to ban the GED outright or let the JRC continue as they please.
Michael Israel, the founder of the JRC and inventor of the GED, has stated
“ [The GED] could be used everywhere… It could and should be used—not as a last resort, because it has no side effects. I think it should be used in the schools. Prisons have the problem that people see that as coercion. But if it works here, why shouldn’t it be used elsewhere? “
So not only does he not see disabled kids as human, he wants to torture them more globally for minor infractions so he can profit.
TheJudge Rotenberg Center is a special needs day and residential school located in Canton, Massachusetts which accepts ages 5 to adult.
They use behaviour modification to control their residents such as Applied Behaviour Analysis. But in some cases, they also use extreme and torturous forms of punishment such as prolonged restraint, food deprivation and electric shocks.
Theskin shock is not to be confused with ECT, which is done for very different reasons and also under anesthesia, so that the person doesn’t feel any pain.
No, Electric Skin Shock, also known as the Graduated Electronic Decelerator, is MEANT TO CAUSE SEVERE PAIN in order to punish undesired behaviours in actual children and adults.
This is Jennifer Msumba’s story of how she escaped the Judge Rotenberg Center. If you have 14 minutes to spare, please watch this video (or save it to come back to it when you have time).
She describes what her life was like at the JRC and what it felt like to be shocked by one of these devices. She was under court-appointed guardianship so her parents had no say in where she stayed or what therapy she underwent.
After her first escape attempt, she was secluded for two months and kept in restraints in a cold isolation room. Her home visits had already been taken away from her and if staff members heard her say anything negative about the JRC on the phone to her mom, the call would be terminated instantly.
This is what the #StopTheShock campaign is really about.
WARNINGS.fem!reader, dark content, restraints, torture, gagging, noncon, fingering (f!receiving), feitan keeps you prisoner and fucks you with his fingers
WORDCOUNT.1.450
NOTE.oop first feitan fic where are the feitan fuckers :o also there may or may not be a part two
THE FIRST TIME feitan porter puts his hands on you, there’s a rhythmic drip of leaky water that echoes through the room, deepening the emptiness in that rattles in your chest as you struggle to breathe. your wrists are bound by cold metal cuffs attached to chains embedded in the stone wall behind you— cuffs that jingle and screech the more you pull for freedom.
from across the room, feitan sits with one leg crossed over the other, and a cold, almost bored expression sits on his face as he watches you struggle against the restraints.
“they not break” he mumbles, though his voice sounds almost taunting behind the collar of his jacket.
logic tells you he’s right— that you stand no match for steel that’s practically cemented into the wall behind you, but instinct wont let you give in, at least until you’ve exhausted your mind, body and spirit to it’s very brink.
the more you struggle, refusing to acknowledge his existence in the room, the more feitan craves your pain. he watches the way sweat dribbles down your neck, and the way your body flinches and shivers every time he moves even half an inch. the power he holds over you is almost pathetic, and he can’t get enough.
“you never learn” he sighs again, standing up from the edge of the stone he had made himself comfortable on, pacing the room with an umbrella in hand as you watch and groan against the fabric gagging your mouth. “why not just be quiet? hmm?”
![Ka Randy, peasant leader and agrarian reform advocate, was tortured and killed in his own home. [1]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/a5329b5fe3e4312c51b53963f61c1fd6/ec4302d415f580a4-10/s1280x1920/8396317a8f397d0847cbe9fc3e8a01342701beb1.png "Ka Randy, peasant leader and agrarian reform advocate, was tortured and killed in his own home. [1]")
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