The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) is an international non-profit headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota that provides direct care for those who have been tortured, trains partner organizations in the United States and around the world who can prevent and treat torture, conducts research to understand how best to heal survivors, and advocates for an end to torture.
CVT's mission is to heal the wounds of torture on individuals, their families and their communities, and to end torture worldwide and it has won the APA International Humanitarian Award from the American Psychological Association
Since its founding in 1985, CVT has: Rehabilitated over 30,000 survivors through direct healing. Engaged in post-conflict community building after some of the world's deadliest wars, working in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jordan and Kenya. Pioneered research in torture survivor rehabilitation to better understand the effects of torture and how best to heal survivors. Led efforts to end the practice of torture by the US government, including President Obama's executive order banning torture and cruel treatment.
CVT provides care for survivors at its healing center in St. Paul, Minnesota and at projects in Jordan, the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya, Uganda and in northern Ethiopia working with Eritrean refugees. It has an office in Washington D.C.
The Center for Victims of Torture is a 501(c)(3) organization that is recognized by the Charities Review Council, the American Institute of Philanthropy, and Charity Navigator for its well-managed use of donations.
History
CVT was founded as a result of actions by Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich. Gov. Perpich directed a committee of human rights experts to research various initiatives to support human rights in Minnesota. The most ambitious proposal from this group was a rehabilitation center for survivors of torture. Governor Perpich embraced the idea. He appointed a task force which traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, to visit the first treatment center in the world, the Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims (today known as DIGNITY - Danish Institute Against Torture). The task force recommended that such a center be established in Minnesota.
A Home for Healing
CVT was founded in 1985 as an independent, nongovernmental organization. For the first two years care was provided at the International Clinic of St. Paul Ramsey Medical Center. In 1987, CVT moved to a more home-like, less institutional setting that would feel welcoming to survivors. Today, CVT provides care from the St. Paul Healing Center. The house was designed to meet the needs of torture survivors, with domestic furnishings, large windows and rooms with rounded or angled corners to create an environment much different from the stark, square rooms with glaring lights that most torture survivors experienced.
Expanding Healing Services
CVT's international work began in Bosnia and Croatia in 1993. During the war, CVT psychotherapists traveled to the region to train care providers in the specialized treatment of torture survivors. In 1995, CVT began working with centers in Turkey to strengthen the skills of medical professionals and nongovernmental organizations that work with survivors.
In 1999, CVT launched its first international direct healing program working with Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea, West Africa. They provided direct mental health counseling to refugees who were suffering from torture and trauma due to the multiple conflicts in the region. CVT psychotherapists also trained residents of the refugee camps as paraprofessional psychosocial peer counselors – peer mental health counselors – who continue to support a local mental health network after the program finished in 2005.
Supporting Rehabilitation Services for Survivors
CVT has launched a number of training initiatives to build more resources for appropriate and sensitive care of torture survivors. CVT provides training and technical assistance to torture survivor rehabilitation centers in the United States through a program called the National Capacity-Building project (NCB) and abroad through its project Partners in Trauma Healing (PATH). Training initiatives are designed to build a network of healing professionals where few exist, and for those who participate in a CVT training project to continue providing healing services long after CVT leaves a country.