Open Society Foundations

What Is Torture in Health Care?

A young man is left to die in pain because of archaic restrictions on medicines. A woman is sterilized without her consent because she has HIV. A teenager with a drug problem is locked away in a “treatment” center where he is beaten and abused.

Far too many people experience cruel and degrading treatment in the name of health care. This is especially true for socially marginalized groups—people living with HIV, sexual and gender minorities, people who use drugs, and people with intellectual disabilities or mental health problems—who may be deemed “deviant,” “incompetent,” and in need of evaluation or “curative” treatment. The Campaign to Stop Torture in Health Care is working worldwide to put an end to human rights violations and abuses in health care settings.

Stop Torture in Health Care

Torture Happens Here

Denial of Pain Relief

Vlad is suffering from incurable brain cancer. Despite his chronic pain, doctors in Ukraine are only allowed to prescribe 50 mg of pain medicine. In another country, doctors would typically prescribe more than 2,000 mg for a patient like Vlad.

Forced Sterilization

Marginalized women are often sterilized without their consent worldwide. Medical staff deem these women unworthy of being mothers because of their health condition, ethnicity, or income.

Detention as Treatment

In many countries, governments forcibly detain people as a form of “treatment” for medical conditions such as drug addiction, mental disability, or tuberculosis.

What Is Torture in Health Care?

Marginalized people worldwide encounter abuse and torture in the name of health care and treatment. The Campaign to Stop Torture in Health Care is helping them stand up to demand their human rights.