Human rights abuses ‘leave a third of Libyans with mental health problems’
▻http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/26/human-rights-abuses-libyans-mental-health-problems-report
Research by Dignity – the Danish Institute against Torture – shared with the Guardian, paints a devastating picture of the human consequences of the regionalism, tribalism and factionalism that have wracked the north African country since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi three-and-a-half years ago.
A fifth of households (20%) had a family member who had disappeared, 11% reported having a household member arrested and 5% reported that one had been killed, researchers found. Of those arrested, 46% reported beatings, 20% positional torture or suspensions and 16% suffocation. Between 3% and 5% reported having suffered sexual, thermal or electrical torture.
“Our data supports the allegations that widespread … and gross human rights violations have taken place in Libya,” says the report, which seeks to assess Libya’s mental health needs and was co-authored with Benghazi University. The survey is based on 2,692 household interviews and was completed in October 2013. The situation may have got worse since then, it concludes.
Data revealed that 29% of individuals reported anxiety and 30% depression. Stress levels showed a preoccupation with political instability (63.6%) followed by the collapse of the country (61.2%), insecurity about “life right now” (56.6%) and insecurity about the future (46.4%). Nearly 30% reported being exposed to violence during demonstrations.