Scaling up torture prevention and rehabilitation work in the Philippines

Scaling up Torture Prevention and Rehabilitation Work in the Philippines
Country: The Philippines

Contact person: Erik Wendt

Partner: Since 2004, RCT has worked with the human rights organization Balay. Balay started in 1985 and today consists of an experienced team of human rights activists. The team is trained in psycho-social interventions and skilled in innovative advocacy and lobby work. They are motivated by the conviction that a person's mental health and overall well-being is linked to their social environment. The psycho-social balance in the individual, the family and the communities may be disturbed by internal displacements due to violent conflicts, political repression, poor and unjust policing and other traumatizing incidents. Through the years, Balay has developed as a leading social entrepreneur and worked on different types of psycho-social interventions with urban and rural communities, having all experienced violence and cases of torture. The organization's primary beneficiaries in Mindanao are internally displaced persons who have lost their homes due to armed conflict. Balay has gradually over the years developed its intervention strategies to address also the multifaceted problems of political prisoners and torture survivors in the country.

Balay is part of The Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) and The United Against Torture Coalition (UATC).

Context: Killings, disappearances and impunity are part of the context in which Balay works. In the Philippines the country's law enforcement agencies, courts and bureaucracy are taking part in human rights violations. Among the victims of torture by the police force are persons with low social standing such as street children and drug users. Torture and incarceration without trial are common in the Philippines. Furthermore, national and International Human Rights agencies consistently have reported widespread torture and ill-treatment linked to the armed conflicts. Ordinary people in the Philippines have limited confidence in the police, the courts nor the prosecution process. The lack of trust and the lack of victim and witness protection is the reason why few Filipinos come forward to file charges or support cases that may bring torture perpetrators to trial.    

Project description:The project is located in the National Capital Region and in Mindanao and has a number of focused preventive and rehabilitative activities:

Work in prisons
Balay works in jails helping political prisoners with psychosocial and legal assistance. Balay has made agreements with prison authorities to visit and support political prisoners. The aim is empowerment of the tortured political prisoners, to make them feel in charge of their life situation, to help those who are lucky enough to be released to get on with their lives, after many years of incarceration away from society, and to support their families. Balay's rehabilitation work helps survivors of torture, violence or displacement to return to their families and communities as empowered individuals - not as broken victims.

Prison staffs are being educated, and work is being done to promote prison reforms for the benefit of the prisoners, through advocacy at both national and local level.

Community project to help youth and to prevent torture in the slums of Manila

Balay works in communities that are caught in armed conflicts or evicted because of incursions of development projects in the cities. In slum areas of Manila youth are at risk of being detained and eventually being victims of police violence and torture. Therefore Balay are helping them away from the vicious circle of drugs and violence. Some of them are even transformed into change agents in their local communities.

Advocacy with policy makers
Balay has made an immense contribution to the improvement of the legislation and implementation of human rights in the Philippines. The organization has worked with a non-confrontational approach and created effective partnerships with state institutions. This has been an effective way of strengthening advocacy on torture. Balay has contributed to the passing of The Anti-Torture Law in 2009, besides this important act, Balay has played a role in the crafting of the National Human Rights Action Plan, preparatory work for the ratification of the OPCAT (Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment) and the ratification of the Istanbul Protocol.

Research
Balay is a learning organization and it carries out studies of social trauma and psycho-social interventions. Such studies are organized in cooperation with the affected people in the conflicted areas. The results help to improve future psycho-social work and provide grounds for the organization's advocacy efforts.

A few highlights of the achievements of the RCT and the Balay partnership are - according to an external review conducted in October 2010:

• Freedom of torture has been formally recognized. The Anti-Torture Act was passed the 10th of November 2009
• Balay has succeeded in platform building and in joining stakeholders to working in unity towards policy changes
• Torture victims and their families have gained hope and self-confidence. They have felt 'important' and of value.
• Youth have been helped transform their torture experiences, have been freed from drugs and have been able to change their lives in a positive way.
• Children are now being turned over to local service instead of being held in detention centres, due to Balay's positive impact on the behaviour of custodial forces.

Read more:
OPCAT approved by Philippine Senate
Philippine partner demands elimination of all forms of torture
Rights groups urge Aquino to order elimination of all forms of torture, GMA News February 25 2012