While studies have shown that children suffer severely from the stress caused by witnessing torture or from being a torture victim themselves, there is only very little literature available on the traumatic effects on children. Findings have revealed that these children may suffer from chronic fear, depressive mood, clinging and overdependent behaviour, sleep disorders, somatic complaints, etc., similar to most traumatized adults. In addition, children are often hampered in their natural development because of subsequent learning difficulties. The silence surrounding torture prevents treatment and rehabilitation and needs to be broken through therapy to ensure better functioning of the child at home and at school. Methods of treatment and rehabilitation of traumatized children need to be publicized in order to make treatment personnel aware of the special circumstances of torture.
Specialized psychotherapy is required, for instance in the form of family therapy and group therapy.
Since the trauma may be caused by long periods of fear and insecurity, i.e. in refugee camps or areas regularly targeted by war actions, long lasting events are often more traumatic than sudden violent incidents and therefore require considerably longer periods of therapy. The work for the plight of the child has attained very complex levels. Most aspects related to the protection of children are interlinked, interdependent, and require concerted efforts and one may easily lose focus. Therefore, cooperation between partners who specialize in any of the relevant areas should be sought, encouraged, and supported in order to meet all the needs of the children in an adequate and effective manner. Cohn J. et al.