5) Description of initiative: A Palestinian society that rejects and combats a culture of torture, political violence and impunity. TRC is an independent human rights organization, free of any political, sectarian or racial affiliation.

•It provides direct service delivery to the survivors of torture and politically motivated violence •It advocates and educates for raised public awareness and the de-stigmatization of debate about torture in order to build public awareness and demand for change. •It invests in the capacity of law makers, opinion formers and professionals who work within the law enforcement system to ensure that the human rights of detained people are fully respected. Activities: 1)Treatment & rehabilitation for survivors of torture & politically motivated violence 2)Advocacy and education for awareness- raising & activism 3)Training & consultancy for behavioral & systemic change TRC targets primary and secondary Victims of Torture, their families and communities, school children and educators, law and decision makers, politicians and media- experts.In this volatile political environment TRC will strengthen and develop its services to torture survivors and their families, while making major new investments to influence public opinion, mobilize activism and organized resistance to torture, political violence and impunity. The organization will further expand its investments in the capacity of targeted groups who work within law enforcement.

6) Description of innovation: Treatment services at TRC are unique since there is no other centre of the same kind in the whole west bank. Our patients and target groups are carefully selected, screened and followed on a daily basis by a highly qualified staff. One of the most outstanding features of our treatment service is the combination of In-Office therapy and counseling and Direct Outreach, that delivers psychosocial services directly to the target family's household. Training and Advocacy activity, thanks to our extensive networking, are aimed to all ranks of the Palestinian decision making chain, from low-level law enforcers to top-ranking generals, from 5th grade students to school counsellors and principals. Advocacy activities target young and affirmed journalists equally working on a awareness building process. The vault stone of TRC's programs is their mutual interaction and strengthening, since all activities are complementary and all information flows freely from one unit to the other.

7) Delivery model: The technical team of psychologists and social workers travel throughout the whole west bank to the clients' houses and to their communities gathering places. TRC also hosts a number of group meetings in school halls, inviting to attend the most diversified groups. Younglings under 18, women, family mothers and fathers. These are contacted through the press, TV and radio shows that reach even the remotest areas of the west bank. The outreach team also assesses during field visits the case of target groups and evaluates if it is a good option to have them gather for a larger group meeting, some of which gather up the some dozen of bereaved families that share experiences and mutual support. More people are reached through the conventional media: TV and radio talk shows, articles on newspapers and open letters on our newsletter, compiled by TRC but made up entirely of readers' contributions. Training courses are held at TRC premises, aimed at Health Personnel, school counsellors and law enforcement agencies.

8) Key operational partnerships: TRC is in referral partnership with the Ministry of Ex Detainees, that refers people upon release from detention. We also have extensive networking activities with the following agencies and NGOs: •Ministry of Ex-Detainees •Mandela Institute •Ministry of Social Affairs •Ministry of Health •Ministry of Education •Palestinian Prisoners’ Club •Defense for Children International (Palestine Sector) •Gaza Community Mental Health Program •Palestinian Law Enforcement Agencies •Save the Children •Miftah •Ansar El-Sejeen •Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens’ Rights •Union of Health Care Committees •Medical Relief •Addameer •Palestinian Counseling Center •UNRWA •Palestinian Technical College for Women •Al-Haq Local, Regional and International Institutions: •IRCT (Denmark) •International Committee of the Red Cross •AMAN (Middle East & North Africa Network) •Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture (Britain) •Medical Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture (Greece) •Center for Victims of Torture (USA) •International Association for Group Psychotherapy and Group Processes Official Assignment: •Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights •Palestinian Legislative Council Israeli Human Rights Institutions: •Public Committee Against Torture (PCATI) •B’Tselem •Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) •Hamoked TRC is also a working power with ICS Italian Consortium for Solidarity in 2 EU funded projects

9) Financial model: Beneficiaries access TRC services completely free of charge. At the end of the treatment cycle a series of on- the-job trainings are foreseen, with a job placement scheme managed in partnership with ICS-Italy. The public awareness activities are presently covered for the most part by Core Funding.

          • Costs as percentage of income: 0

          • Financing: •Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation •Representative Office of the Kingdom of the Netherlands •European Commission •Norwegian Church Aid •Center for Victims of Torture •United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture •Centre for Victims of Torture (CVT, Minneapolis). TRC has a dedicated fundraisng departemt that continues to reach out to donors in order to differenciate its sources of funding and ensure that even with the sudden loss of a donor's support all activities will continue running.

10) Effectiveness

          • Project outcomes: Since the establishment of TRC activities have increased in size and range. Only during the last EC funded project TRC reached an approximate number of 12.000 beneficiaries in three years, counting only the Public Meetings program.

          • Number of clients in past year: 790 Victims of torture in the treatment plan (new and active cases). 8,084 beneficiaries (5,766 female and 4,732 under the age of 18) in the public awareness meetings 4 training course (2 short and 2 long term) with 25 attendees each.

11) Scaling up strategy

          • Stage of the initiative: Scaling Up stage.

          • Expansion plan: TRC has increased steadily in the past 3 years and especially since the drafting of the 1st Strategic Plan (October 2005) TRC has decided to allocate equal financial and human resources to all of the departments, which highlighted the importance of the Awareness and Advocacy Program. TRC intends to secure funding for a project of journalists training (JAT Forum) and to intervene also in interregional and international forums of discussion.

12) Origin of the initiative: Every vision has one or more people behind it.In the case of TRC it all started with a psychiatrist along with a team of volunteers who had been working for years (as early as '83) with Palestinian political detainees in Israeli prisons.This man is also currently TRC`s director (dr.Mahmud Sehwail).He had also been treating former detainees at his clinic in Ramallah and in Bethlehem Mental Hospital.Over the years it became clear that these were not suitable settings for the appropriate treatment of victims of torture and organized violence, and that a dedicated center providing specialized services was required. The only professional service available was of poor quality.This is how TRC started, with the principle that a Victim of Torture could be reached in the safe and secure environment of his own house, wher one could begin a slow and often hard healing process.

Contact Information:
Salma  Jarbawi
Resource development and monitoring manager
Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture
(NGO)
Palestine
Website: www.trc-pal.org