BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SJR 6|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SJR 6
Author: Kehoe (D), et al
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SUBJECT : Survivors of torture
SOURCE : Survivors of Torture, International
DIGEST : This resolution declares June 26, 2011, a Day in
support of Victims of Torture in California, and urges the
Office of Refugee Resettlement to direct torture treatment
funding through the Torture Victims Relief Act.
ANALYSIS :
Resolution findings:
1. Approximately 100,000 residents of the State of
California have found refuge here after enduring
politically motivated torture in their home countries.
2. These survivors of torture bring their remarkable
fortitude, resiliency, and powerful personal histories
to their new state.
3. Many of these survivors have contributed greatly to
California's communities, economy, cultural vibrancy,
and understanding of the importance of human rights
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through opening businesses, performing professional
services, founding charitable organizations, speaking
out about their experiences, and volunteering on behalf
of others.
4. These contributions come in spite of the lingering
physical, emotional, and social impacts of enduring
torture.
5. Studies and clinical reports on the consequences of
torture have been found to include, but are not limited
to, scarring, disfiguration, chronic pain, nightmares,
insomnia, flashbacks, hyper-vigilance, difficulty
forming relationships of trust, depression, panic
attacks, and startle responses.
6. Absent access to appropriate care, these ongoing effects
of torture can prevent or undermine the ability and
desire of torture survivors to restore their dignity and
thrive as productive members of their new California
communities.
7. Treating the unique impact of torture on survivors
requires highly specialized, holistic treatment.
8. California played a key role in the development of the
torture treatment field in the late 1970s and early
1980s under the leadership of Dr. Jose Quiroga and Ana
Deutsch, themselves refugees who fled from incidents of
torture in Chile and Argentina, respectively, came to
Los Angeles, and there went on to found the Program for
Torture Victims in order to attend to the unique panoply
of physical, emotional, and legal challenges faced by
their fellow survivors.
9. California today is home to the largest number of
torture treatment centers in the United States,
including, but not limited to, the affiliates of the
California Consortium of Torture Treatment Centers, the
Center for Justice and Accountability in San Francisco;
the Center for Survivors of Torture at Asian Americans
for Community Involvement in San Jose; the Institute for
Redress and Recovery in Santa Clara University; the
Institute for the Study of Psychosocial Trauma in Palo
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Alto; Program for Torture Victims in Los Angeles; the
Torture Survivors Project at the Legal Aid Foundation of
Los Angeles; Survivors International in San Francisco;
and Survivors of Torture, International in San Diego.
10.These centers collectively serve around 1,000 torture
survivors annually.
11.These torture treatment programs rely heavily on the
volunteerism of local professionals, among them doctors,
psychologists, psychiatrists, dentists, physical
therapists, interpreters, lawyers, masseurs, plastic
surgeons, and others to provide holistic treatment far
beyond the capacities of the centers' limited staffs and
budgets.
12.Each year hundreds of California professionals donate
thousands of hours of their time to acquire the
necessary specialized training and assist torture
survivors to heal.
13.Each year hundreds of Californians make charitable
financial contributions to help make the services of
these nonprofit centers possible at no charge to the
survivors.
14.The Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability
Commission (MHSOAC) could use state-level public sector
avenues to improve regional services for torture
survivors by working with counties to include torture
treatment in county mental health plans reviewed by the
MHSOAC.
15.Data from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement
(ORR) demonstrates that California has been the top
destination for refugees who seek asylum in the United
States, but funding to provide adequate services for
those refugees has been insufficient because the federal
Torture Victims Relief Act has not been fully funded by
Congress and ORR has not distributed domestic torture
treatment under the Torture Victims Relief Act formulas
to provide adequate funding areas that serve
disproportional populations of formerly tortured
refugees.
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16.On June 26, 1997, the United Nations General Assembly
marked the 10th anniversary of its adoption of the UN
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment by establishing that
date, annually, as International Day in Support of
Victims of Torture.
17.The Legislature hereby acknowledges the widespread
presence of survivors of torture residing throughout the
State of California.
18.The Legislature welcomes and commends the contributions
survivors of torture make to California's communities,
economy, and cultural vibrancy.
19.The Legislature expresses its pride in California's
emerging legacy as a place of refuge and healing for
those who have endured torture.
20.The Legislature undertakes to encourage the further
development of torture treatment services throughout the
state by honoring professionals and volunteers who have
dedicated their time to the treatment of torture
survivors.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/4/11)
Survivors of Torture, International (source)
CTW:do 5/4/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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