Torture

About

Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for purposes including punishment, extracting confessions, interrogation, or intimidation. Some definitions restrict torture to state actors while others include non-state actors. Common methods include beatings and psychological techniques. Torture aims to break victims' will and destroy agency. Most victims suffer both physical and mental damage, with many experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. Though practiced since ancient times, many Western countries abolished official judicial torture in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.