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UID:Indybay-18834297
SEQUENCE:18988812
CREATED:20200618T065500Z
DESCRIPTION:Advocacy for Humankind is an organization that seeks to eradicate crimes of 
 coordinated stalking through public awareness, education and advocacy for 
 victims. Please see more about our organization at the end of this press 
 release.\n\nWe are gathering outside the Ferry Building on June 26th at 11 
 AM, and then we will line up along the Embarcadero in support of all 
 victims and survivors of torture. We encourage members of the news media to 
 attend. Protest organizers and attendees will be available for comments or 
 questions. We have also sent out invitations to San Francisco/Bay Area 
 human rights organizations to join us for this event.\n\nIn March of 2020, 
 Nils Melzer, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other 
 Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, published a report on 
 psychological torture.\n\nMelzer’s report defines psychological torture 
 as including “all methods and circumstances that purposefully inflict, or 
 intend to inflict, severe mental pain and suffering”. Methods cited in 
 the report include the purposeful infliction of fear, depriving someone of 
 control over their lives and disrupting a victim’s self-determination and 
 autonomy; also procedures that directly target psychological needs such as 
 security, self-determination, dignity, privacy (through constant 
 audio-visual surveillance), social rapport and communal trust.\n\nThe 
 report also states that “Sensory hyper-stimulation below the threshold of 
 physical pain, such as constant bright light, loud music, bad odors, 
 uncomfortable temperatures or intrusive “white” noise, induces 
 progressively severe mental stress and anxiety, inability to think clearly, 
 followed by increasing irritability, outbursts of anger and, ultimately, 
 total exhaustion and despair.”\n\nVictims of coordinated stalking 
 routinely report that many of the methods listed in the report are being 
 used routinely to oppress them and strip away their fundamental human 
 rights through intimidation, harassment, surveillance, and more. All of 
 these add up to what Melzer defines as a “torturous environment."\n\nAn 
 alarming development that Melzer points to is “cybertorture."\nStates, 
 corporate actors and organized criminals, he says, “not only have the 
 capacity to conduct cyber-operations inflicting severe suffering on 
 countless individuals, but may well decide to do so for any of the purposes 
 of torture while avoiding the conduit of the physical body."\n\nMore About 
 Advocacy for Humankind:\n\nAdvocacy for Humankind seeks to bring about 
 public awareness on a national level and to both educate and partner with 
 entities who can help solve the layered problems that coordinated stalking 
 presents. We are currently working with a number of state and government 
 agencies as well as politicians to bring about new legislation in order to 
 encourage investigation and prosecution.\n\nThough the tactics used in 
 coordinated stalking are illegal, they are hard to prove and even harder to 
 prosecute. Currently there is no recourse for victims and perpetrators 
 operate above the law.\n\nWe also advocate for victims and attempt to 
 provide the support they need to navigate the murky waters of a crime that 
 is virtually undetectable to those not undergoing it. We work closely with 
 The Bay Area Support Group, which assists victims of coordinated stalking 
 and has over 103 members.\n\nAdvocacy for Humankind envisions a world free 
 from these insidious crimes, where all global citizens are free to exercise 
 their fundamental human rights. \n\nFor more information about Advocacy For 
 Humankind and the crimes of coordinated stalking, please visit 
 www.advocacyforhumankind.com.\n\n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/06/17/18834297.php
SUMMARY:United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
LOCATION:Advocacy for Humankind is Hosting an Event for United Nations International 
 Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/06/17/18834297.php
DTSTART:20200626T180000Z
DTEND:20200626T210000Z
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