Getting torture survivors the care they need

Aim

Raising funds so survivors of torture can be supported to access healthcare, safety, and justice.

Helping survivors of torture get the care they need 

What if no one ever asked? 

Imagine surviving torture, fleeing to the UK, and trying to rebuild your life while living with pain, trauma, and fear. 

You keep going to A&E and making GP appointments because of severe headaches. Painkillers do not help. You are not sleeping. You are struggling to cope. But no one has asked what happened to you before you came to the UK. 

Then your GP attends TortureID training. 

At the next appointment, the GP gently asks why you had to leave your country. Using a TortureID clinical template, they ask safely about trauma and suicide risk. They realise the headaches may be linked to trauma, start more appropriate treatment, refer you for support, and record key health information safely. 

Months later, when you need evidence for an asylum or housing application, there is finally a medical record of the health impact of what you survived. 

This is the kind of change TortureID exists to make possible. 

The problem

Every year, people who have survived torture, trafficking, sexual violence and other serious human rights abuses seek safety in the UK. 

Many are living with severe physical pain and injury, trauma, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Most will come into contact with healthcare, often many times.

But too often, no one asks what has happened to them. 

That means serious harm can be missed. Health needs can be left untreated. Suicide and safeguarding risks can remain undisclosed. And when there is no clear medical record of what someone has survived, it can also make it harder for them to access protection, safe and appropriate accommodation, and rehabilitation.

Survivors should not have to rely on luck to be heard, treated, or believed. 

What TortureID does 

TortureID is a small medical charity working to close a gap no one else is filling.

 We train healthcare professionals to recognise when pain, distress, repeated appointments or suicide risk may be linked to torture or other human rights abuses. 

We help clinicians ask safely, document harm clearly, and respond with the right care, including treatment, suicide prevention, safeguarding action, clinical recommendations for safer accommodation, and clear records that survivors can share with their lawyers. 

We also provide specialist health assessments for survivors who need more time and clinical depth than a routine appointment can offer. 

Our aim is to embed recognition of survivors into everyday healthcare, so that support no longer depends on chance, but becomes part of routine care. 

What we are finding 

Our work shows how much is currently being missed. 

A review of 51 survivors who received a TortureID Health Assessment found that:

• 66% had no previous mention of their abuse history in their main GP record;
• only 27% remembered ever being asked about human rights abuses by healthcare staff; 
• 88% had current mental health issues, including PTSD and depression; 
• 60% had physical findings, mainly scars, attributed to physical abuse; 
• 8% were at significant short-term risk of suicide, and 45% had indications of increased suicide risk. 

In the first quarter of 2026, our clinicians newly identified indications of suicide or self-harm risk in 20% of the clients we saw. Immediate safeguarding action was taken where needed. 

These figures are deeply concerning. But they also show that when clinicians have the right tools, training and time, things can change. 

What survivors tell us 

Survivors who use our service tell us that being listened to and taken seriously matters: 

“It helped me. You took it seriously.” 

“I really feel less burden on my heart.” 

“The report from TortureID has been very helpful. It provided strong evidence that helped my wife access more appropriate medical services and begin trauma-focused therapy. It also supported her ongoing asylum claim and helped professionals better understand her needs.” 

Sector peers meanwhile tell us: 

“TID really sees these people. TID listens, assesses and evaluates, providing the well-respected opinion of a medical professional to back up our client’s lived experience.” - Refugee Action 

“The work of TortureID is invaluable in meeting the health and protection needs of patients who have experienced human rights abuses.” - Freedom from Torture

Our impact so far 

TortureID currently works across Huddersfield, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, in partnership with GP practices and voluntary sector organisations. We are small, but our work is already reaching survivors, clinicians, and national healthcare conversations. 

So far, we have: 

• completed more than 380 Health Assessments; 
• trained more than 1,300 clinicians and learners; 
• reached more than 40,000 clinicians through safeguarding guidance; 
• seen our practical letter templates downloaded more than 1,000 times;
• developed clinical tools that help busy healthcare professionals ask, record and respond safely; 
• received feedback that 100% of GP trainees would recommend TortureID training. 

Every trained clinician creates more opportunities for survivors to be seen, heard, and supported. 

Why this matters beyond one appointment 

One appointment can change someone’s healthcare. 

One medical record can help someone access protection in the asylum process, safe accommodation, and support. 

One trained clinician can change what happens for many future patients. 

This is the difference TortureID is trying to make: not just improving one appointment, but changing a repeated pattern in which survivors are seen by healthcare while the underlying harm remains invisible. 

What your donation could help make possible 

Every donation helps us build a safer, more responsive healthcare system for survivors. 

£15 could help provide accessible information so survivors know what to expect from a health assessment. 

£30 could help cover practical follow-up after an assessment, such as sharing information safely with healthcare or support services. 

£50 could contribute towards language interpretation for survivors attending health assessments. 

£100 could provide one survivor’s health assessment. 

£250 could help train doctors and other healthcare professionals to recognise and respond safely to torture and human rights abuses. 

£500 could help develop and share clinical templates, guidance, and resources for busy GP practices. 

£1,000 could support survivor-informed work, helping people with lived experience shape how the service is delivered and explained. 

£2,500 could help fund a package of health assessments, training, and practical clinical tools, helping more survivors be recognised and supported earlier.

Reward: join our expert and survivor panel 

Pledge £100 or more and receive an invitation to a special online TortureID webinar with clinical, legal, and lived-experience contributors. 

You will hear directly from people involved in this work, learn why survivors of torture are so often missed in healthcare, and have the opportunity to ask questions and speak with the panel. 

Survivor contributors will be supported to take part in a way that feels safe, appropriate, and meaningful to them. 

Please support TortureID 

Survivors of torture should not be left to struggle unseen. 

Your donation will help people be heard, treated, and supported. It will help clinicians respond with confidence and care. And it will help survivors access the healthcare, safety, and justice they need to rebuild their lives. 

Please donate today and help make recognition, documentation, and rehabilitation possible for more survivors.

To learn more about our work please visit: http://www.tortureid.org/

FAQs 

Why do survivors need a health assessment? 

Many survivors have physical and psychological symptoms linked to torture or serious abuse, but their experiences have never been asked about or recorded. A health assessment can identify physical and mental health needs, suicide, or safeguarding risks, and evidence that may support access to treatment, housing, a fair asylum decision, and rehabilitation. 

Why does medical documentation matter? 

Good medical records can help survivors access the right healthcare and rehabilitation support. They can also help make sure the impact of torture or serious abuse is recognised in housing, asylum, and safeguarding contexts. 

Why train clinicians? 

Survivors often see doctors and other healthcare professionals before they reach any specialist service. Training helps clinicians ask safely, recognise risk, record information appropriately, and respond with care. 

Is TortureID replacing NHS care? 

No. TortureID works alongside NHS care. We help make visible what may otherwise be missed: the health impact of torture or serious abuse, any urgent risks, and the support someone needs next. Our aim is to help survivors get better care from the services already around them. 

How will the money be used? 

Donations will help fund health assessments, language interpretation, safeguarding follow-up, clinician training, practical tools, and survivor-informed materials. They will also strengthen the planning, coordination, and evidence-building needed to grow this work safely and make sure it can reach more survivors over time. 

Is my donation funding legal advice? 

No. TortureID does not replace legal advice or act as a legal representative. Our work provides clinical assessment, documentation, and recommendations that may help survivors and their representatives understand and evidence health needs. 

Why support TortureID now? 

Demand is growing, clinicians are asking for training, and the wider asylum and legal-aid context means survivors increasingly need clear, early medical documentation of what they have experienced and what support they need. With support now, we can reach more survivors directly and help more clinicians recognise, document and respond safely in routine care.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 25th September 2026 at 9:50am