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Trustees' Annual Report and Financial TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2017 Messages of support and solidarity written by donors for our clients - London centre CONTENTS Trustees’ Report Financial Statements Message from the Chair of Trustees 1 Statement of financial activities 31 Message from the Chief Executive 2 Balance sheet 32 Objectives 3 Statement of cash flows 33 Strategic aims 5 Notes to the financial statements 34 Where does torture happen? 6 Reference and administrative details of the charity 52 How we help torture survivors 7 How we achieve our strategic aims 9 What we do - Rehabilitation 10 What we do - Protection 11 What we do - Accountability 13 Strategic report 14 Achievements in 2017 15 Helping Benyamin feel part of our family 18 Plans for future period 19 Financial results for 2017 20 Fundraising statement 23 Charitable Objects 23 Risk management 24 Organisational structure 25 Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities 26 Independent auditors report to the members and trustees of Medical Foundation 27 1 Freedom from Torture Message from the Chair of Trustees Susan Berelowitz many people suffering the unspeakable horrors of tor- 2017 was a year of considerable change for Freedom from ture in many parts of the world, and too many survivors Torture and I am delighted to welcome Sonya Sceats as still being turned away from our door because of lack of our new Chief Executive. She was previously our Director resources. We remain committed to supporting as many of Policy and Advocacy and is a highly respected human people as possible, to maintaining the highest standards rights expert. I know Sonya will take Freedom from Tor- of care and support and to seeking to prevent torture by ture from strength to strength. using our exceptional evidence and data to campaign for a world free from torture. I extend sincere thanks to our former Chair Professor Francesca Klug and Susan Munroe, our former Chief This remains our mission. Our country reports are a pow- Executive, both of whom stood down in 2017. They were erful indictment of states that sanction such sadism and unstinting in their dedication to our important cause. cruelty and we will continue to work tirelessly to bring to the attention of the UK government and the United Since becoming Chair in September 2017, I have visited Nations the shameful practices that blight too many all our centres and had the pleasure and honour of meet- lives and violate individuals’ human rights. One survivor ing most of our staff and many of our service users. This said: “When you are thirsty, you drink water; when you is a humbling experience. Our staff, volunteers and inter- need freedom and equality you have to stand up for it.” preters are some of the most passionate and committed Freedom from Torture is proud to stand up for survivors people I have ever met. Their devotion to our mission of torture, upholding their human rights and working for of providing rehabilitation and support to survivors of a better and more just world. torture is exceptional whether they are on the reception desk, running payroll, raising funds or providing front- line therapeutic or medico-legal services. Together they create an atmosphere of warmth and love which has a powerful impact on those who come to us having suffered so grievously at the hands of people who seek to hurt Susan Berelowitz and wound. Survivors tell me, without exception, that Chair of Freedom from Torture Freedom from Torture has made an extraordinary differ- ence to them. Some have told me that they were suicidal before coming to us and that the care and support we give them has literally saved their lives. On behalf of the Board, I send heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all our staff, volunteers and intepreters. None of our work would be possible without the extraor- dinary generosity of our donors. We are indebted to each and every one of you. We are proud of the fact that 74 pence in every pound donated goes to frontline services. Our back office services are equally important as they are the essential cogs that keep the wheels of Freedom from Torture turning and I am extremely pleased to be able to reassure donors that their money is so well spent. However the climate remains a challenging one, with too Trustees’ Report for the Year Ended 2017 2 Message from the Chief Executive Sonya Sceats Our forensically tested evidence was used by various UN It is my great honour to be Freedom from Torture’s new bodies to hold Iran, Sri Lanka and Turkey accountable for Chief Executive after many years leading our work to their appalling torture records. promote the rights of torture survivors in the UK and hold torturing states to account internationally using our clini- Closer to home, our flagship “Proving Torture” project cal evidence and the expertise of survivors themselves. continues to gather steam. Almost 42,000 people signed our petition to the Home Secretary calling for action Freedom from Torture is a special organisation powered to stop the mishandling of expert medical evidence of by the most dedicated workforce imaginable. Anyone torture by Home Office caseworkers and more than 80 visiting any of our five centres will see immediately how MPs from across the political spectrum are engaged in our staff, volunteers and interpreters go the extra mile this campaign. Now the Home Office is working with us to ensure our facilities are full of life, warmth and solace on training to fix the problems we have identified and for the men, women and children who find their way to ensure that survivors requiring protection are granted it us for support in their recovery from torture in other quickly. parts of the globe. We are also committed to using human rights princi- In 2017 we continued to face a higher demand for our ples to improve ourselves. Last year, we strengthened services than we could meet. We turned away more than mechanisms to promote survivor empowerment and 670 therapy and almost 50 medico-legal report referrals participation within Freedom from Torture. We now have for people in need who clearly fell within our remit. survivor-led panels for service users in all of our centres, and a network of volunteer service user coordinators who The problems are particularly acute for traumatised sur- meet nationally to share best practice and develop rec- vivors of torture requiring holistic rehabilitation services. ommendations for our Senior Management Team. In 2017 The constriction of statutory mental health services com- we also rolled out the service user standards developed bined with an increasing reluctance by these and other by our service user engagement team to ensure, from the providers to work with asylum seekers means torture perspective of survivors, “nothing about us without us”. survivors are finding it harder than ever to access effec- tive treatment elsewhere. The pool of survivors requiring It is almost 10 years ago that I first joined Freedom from help from Freedom from Torture is therefore growing Torture and I know well the enormous difference we and those we prioritise tend to be increasingly marginal- make to survivors through the services we provide and ised in socio-legal terms. Last year, in response to these the influencing work we do, rooted in evidence from shifts, we fortified our legal and welfare advice provision these services. I would like to thank all our supporters for therapy clients and introduced various service innova- who fire this work through their generosity and commit- tions aimed at expanding our capacity. ment to making the world a better place for those who have suffered so much at the hands of others. Human rights have always been at the heart of our iden- tity and we proudly speak out against torture and for the rights of survivors. Last year we strengthened our systems for collecting and analysing data from our medico-legal reports to expose torture practices in the countries our clients come from, promote accountability and preven- tion and ensure that country policies used by asylum Sonya Sceats decision-makers reflect our evidence of torture patterns. Chief Executive of Freedom from Torture 3 Freedom from Torture Trustees’ Report OUR VISION IS A WORLD FREE FROM TORTURE. WHILE IT REMAINS, THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF SURVIVORS ARE RESTORED THROUGH REHABILITATION AND PROTECTION. STATES RESPONSIBLE FOR TORTURE ARE HELD TO ACCOUNT. Every survivor of torture in the UK has a different story, which means their needs are different, too. We tailor the support we offer to suit each person who comes to us. We provide counselling, group therapy and ongoing support. We run groups like gardening, music, creative writing and cookery. We provide expert medical assessments to support survivors’ asylum claims. We use our expertise and evidence to protect and promote survivors’ rights and hold torturers to account. Trustees’ Report for the Year Ended 2017 4 Our objectives are to: • help survivors of torture to realise their right to as full rehabilitation as possible. • ensure survivors receive effective protection and are not returned to their countries of origin to face the risk of further torture. • ensure that States responsible for torture are held to account publicly and the human rights of survivors are guaranteed nationally and internationally. 5 Freedom from Torture Strategic Aims Aim One: Rehabilitation Survivors of torture in the UK realise their right to as full rehabilitation as possible. • Objective 1: Individuals and families in the UK with complex psychological physical and social needs as a result of torture have access to high quality, accessible and appropriate rehabilitation services provided by Freedom from Torture.
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