Enduring Mental Health Effects of Human Rights Abuses: Medical and Legal Perspectives

Legal and medical experts from Stanford’s Human Rights in Trauma Mental Health Laboratory will discuss the legal applications of psychiatric research on the mental health effects of human rights abuses. Current lab projects focus on producing expert reports on psychological outcomes for use in international criminal cases, researching the negative mental health consequences of solitary confinement in prisons, and using mental health outcomes to inform refugee resettlement, including for Syrian refugees.

Daryn Reicherter is dedicated to providing a combination of administrative and clinical services in the area of cross-cultural trauma mental health. He is a psychiatrist serving the clinical needs of survivors of torture and is involved with the movement for promotion of trauma mental health and human rights issues consulting in countries including Cambodia, Haiti, Zimbabwe, and Indonesia.

Beth Van Schaack is an expert in several areas of international law, human rights, and transitional justice. She is a visiting professor in human rights at Stanford Law School and a senior adviser to the State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice on the formulation of U.S. policy regarding the prevention of and accountability for mass atrocities, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Penelope Van Tuyl is an American human rights lawyer who, as Associate Director, oversees the WSD HANDA Center for Human Rights and International Justice’s international criminal tribunal monitoring programs, has authored and edited numerous reports and articles on international criminal law and procedure, and teaches undergraduate courses in human rights and transitional justice.