Although it is often assumed that torture is ordered from above at the highest levels of government for information, anyone can be a torturer.
Tortured for information gathering under extreme circumstances such as torturing a terrorist to find a rogue terrorist cell location or to find out more about an enermy army is a valid tactic employed by the forces.
A invalid form of this is torturing is to get a victim to confess a crime or an action a torture victim may not of committed, with no further information that can help further investigation into any other matter.
A victim can be forced to confess a crime they did not commit to try and stop the torturers from hurting the victim more.
Coercive interrogation is slightly more effective than cognitive interviewing for extracting a confession from a suspect, but presents a higher risk of false confession
Some terrorist cells can use this tactic to cover for their own actions by getting others to confess a crime that the terrorist cell has committed to end an investigation, protecting the terrorists cell.
Some darker terrorist cells of individuals who get joy out of hurting people use that as a valid excuse to continue damaging their victim.
Torturers who inflict more suffering than necessary to break the victim, or who act out of revenge or gratification, may be rejected by fellow citizens and relieved of active duty, or face military punishment.
Torturers act from a variety of motives such as ideological ideas or commitment, personal gain, being apart of a social group, avoiding punishment through fear inducing or false confessions and reward seeking.
In most cases of torture, torturers are desensitized to violence by being exposed to physical or psychological abuse, and gain a sense of empowerment in general.
In some gangs and terrorist cells group some members are likely to be tortured at the end of the month because of performance quotas.
Torturers rely on both active supporters and those who ignore it, incentives can favor the use of torture on an institutional or individual level, and some perpetrators are motivated by the prospect of career advancement, or by the fear of torture themselves, regimes can resort to torture to deter opposition.
Many insurgencies lack the necessary infrastructure for a torture program and instead intimidate by killing, torture can extend the lifespan of terrorist organizations, increase incentives for terrorists to use violence.
Torture is one of the most devastating experiences that a person can undergo, torture aims to break the victims will and destroy the victims agency and personality.
Torture survivor Jean Améry argued that it was "The most horrible event a human being can retain within himself" and that "Whoever was tortured, stays tortured".
Health consequences can include damage to bones, damage to teeth, extensive muscle damage, traumatic brain injury, sexually transmitted infection, and pregnancy from rape.
Common psychological problems effect survivors include traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance.
An average of 40% have long-term post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a higher rate than for any other traumatic experience.
Ideas or thought on a society, individual people, sexuality, religions, political views, the view of oneself, activities, ideologies, and what a person likes and dislikes can be permanently changes within a victim of torture, even the meaning of certain words can be changed along with the definition of them words within the victims language.
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