Part II: Preventing torture: NHRIs in action When a person is in the chronic phase of PTSD, they may not realize that the symptoms they are experiencing are related to the trauma they have suffered. Other characteristics that a person who has gone through a traumatic event might display include: • constantly recalling the event • trying to avoid remembering the event • physical symptoms, such as insomnia, irritability or hyper-vigilance. All of these factors can pose challenges when conducting an interview. For example, if someone is short of sleep or has difficulty concentrating it may it hard for them to sustain an interview over an extended period of time. In this situation, it might be preferable to have several short interviews. It will also be challenging to conduct an interview with a person who is trying to avoid remembering the event. In some situations, it is not a conscious decision to block the memory. It can be common for people who have gone through traumatic experiences to suffer amnesia. The interview process, while painful, may actually help someone overcome this response, although this must be handled in a sensitive and sympathetic way, In some circumstances, an interviewee may also begin to re-experience the traumatic event. As an interviewer, you must be alert to this possibility. If it appears that the interviewee is reliving or awakening memories of the experience, stop the interview immediately and discuss this with the person. Interviewing victims of torture Interviewing victims of torture is an extremely delicate process. As an interviewer, you must be prepared to deal with difficult emotions and be able to empathize with the victim. Individuals should not be forced to talk about their experience if it makes them feel uncomfortable. Further, torture survivors may have difficulty remembering specific details and inconsistencies may arise. As mentioned above, the interview process may have the effect of reawakening traumatic memories for the person, so the interviewer should avoid retraumatizing the person. The person may become overwhelmed or show signs of distress, including non-verbal ones such as shivering of hands, skin becoming pale, tears, sobbing or losing breath. If this occurs, it is important to stop the interview, express your concern and awareness of what the person is experiencing and clarify the confidential nature of the interview. It may be necessary to take a break from the interview to let the person recover or to come back at another time for a second interview. The interviewer should also know in advance the legal, medical and psychological support services available, to be able to appropriately refer the person to them. Interviewing victims of sexual violence Victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence are also likely to suffer from trauma. Some psychologists call this rape trauma syndrome (RTS). RTS is usually divided into three phases: • the impact phase, where the victim is likely to experience a wide range of emotional reactions, which may be openly expressed or kept under tight control • the acute phase, where symptoms are similar to the acute phase of PTSD and include flashbacks, fear and intrusive thoughts; further, the physical consequences of rape can be very distressing, particularly the fear of HIV infection or other sexually transmitted diseases • the chronic phase, which like PTSD, will follow the acute phase if treatment is not provided. It is important for the interviewer to avoid assumptions, prejudices and stereotypes associated with sexual violence, including the idea that only women or girls can be victims of this type of violation. Men, women and LGBTI persons of all ages can be victims of rape or sexual and gender-based violence. 73