Legal Insights | Silent Torture: A Call to Reclaim Bodily Autonomy
Legal Insights | Silent Torture: A Call to Reclaim Bodily Autonomy Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) Article 3 “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” Article 5 “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) Article 7 “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.” Introduction This violation knows no gender or age; it affects children, men, and women alike, leaving the same silent scars in their souls. Torture is often portrayed as something distant—prison cells, brutal interrogations, or war crimes. However, torture can also occur silently, in seemingly "ordinary" acts that strip a person of their autonomy and dignity. One such act is non-consensual touching, ...