The Program for Torture Victims (PTV) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that serves as a rehabilitation and treatment center for survivors of torture. Our mission is to alleviate the suffering and health consequences of state-sponsored torture among refugees and asylum seekers in the greater Los Angeles area. We provide medical, psychological, and social services to survivors, conduct ongoing research on treatment methods, and provide training to legal and health care professionals as well as the general public about the effects of torture on the individual and society.

The movement for the rehabilitation of torture survivors began at the end of the 1970s. Founded by Dr. Jose Quiroga, cardiologist and former personal physician to Chilean President Salvador Allende, and Ana Deutsch, clinical psychologist and survivor of Argentina’s “dirty war,” PTV operated solely as a volunteer organization for 14 years starting in 1980. At its founding, PTV was the only program in the country dedicated to treating survivors of torture.

In 1991, the Program for Torture Victims was incorporated as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization and in 1994 it received its first grant from the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. In 1998, Congress passed the Torture Victims Relief Act (TVRA), appropriating funds for torture treatment programs through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2001, the program received federal grant from ORR for $2 million over a four-year period, allowing PTV to add staff and relocate to the Mercado La Paloma, near downtown Los Angeles.

Since that time PTV has provided services to more than 300 survivors from over 65 countries annually. Survivors learn about the Program for Torture Victims through word of mouth, immigration attorneys, or social service agencies. We also initiate outreach programs to some of the most traumatized and vulnerable communities in the region.