PHR Toolkits » Self-Assessment and Quiz

The Istanbul Protocol can best be described as:
1. The duties of states to ensure the effective investigation and documentation of torture and ill treatment
2. Guidelines for the effective investigation and documentation of torture and ill treatment
3. International Legal obligations of states to respect The intentional infliction of severe mental or physical pain or suffering
4. International standards that enable medical and legal experts to prove or disprove allegations of torture and ill treatment
The guidelines contained in the Istanbul Protocol are not designed to be fixed; rather, they represent an elaboration of the minimum standards contained in the Istanbul Principles and should be applied in accordance with a reasonable assessment of available resources.
1. True
2. False
The Istanbul Protocol has been recognised by UN and regional human rights bodies as the international standard for the effective investigation and documentation of torture and ill treatment.
1. True
2. False
A forensic medical evaluator should avoid conveying empathy during evaluations of alleged torture victims because it may compromise his or her objectivity in the collection of physical and psychological evidence.
1. True
2. False
Although there may be considerable variability in the psychological effects of torture and ill-treatment, the effects are often profound and result in long-term psychological disability.
1. True
2. False
According to the Istanbul Protocol, what are the most common psychological problems that torture victims suffer from?
1. There are no common psychological problems
2. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression
3. Paranoia
4. Sexual dysfunction
Physical evidence of trauma is always of greater legal value than psychological evidence.
1. True
2. False
In addition to providing medical evidence of torture and ill treatment, the Istanbul Protocol can be used to exonerate police who are accused of torture and ill treatment of detainees.
1. True
2. False
Which of the following are procedural safeguards for detainees?
1. Police may be in the presence of the detainee when s/he is being examined
2. The detainee’s lawyer should be present during the request for examination
3. Prisoners should be examined at the most convenient location
4. A copy of the examination should not, under any circumstances, be transferred to law enforcement officials
5. Requests for medical evaluations by police should be considered valid
If the forensic medical examination supports allegations of torture, the detainee should not be returned to the place of detention.
1. True
2. False
The presence of police, security forces, and/or other third parties during the examination may be grounds for disregarding a negative medical report.
1. True
2. False
The term “medical ethics” refers to the moral framework that each health professional is bound to in their work.
1. True
2. False
The use of hoods or blindfolds during any contact between a detainee and a health professional is absolutely unacceptable under any circumstances.
1. True
2. False
Which of the following is not a provision under the World Medical Association’s 1975 Tokyo Declaration?
1. Doctors shall not be present during any procedure during which torture is used
2. The doctor shall not countenance, condone or participate in the practise of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading procedures
3. The doctor’s fundamental role is to alleviate the stress of his or her fellow man and no motive whether personal, collective, or political shall prevail against this higher purpose
4. None of the above
Which of the following is not an example of a role that a health professional may play in the participation of torture and ill treatment?
1. A health professional might be asked to resuscitate a torture victim after he/she has become unconscious
2. A health professional might provide certain instruments to the torturers/perpetrators
3. A health professional might be asked to falsify or misrepresent a medical report
4. A health professional might perform a medical evaluation in order to assess that the victim will be able to withstand torture
5. A health professional might provide confidential medical information to interrogators
6. All of the above
Which of the following are essential elements of informed consent?
1. Mental competence
2. Full disclosure regarding risks and benefits
3. The individual understands the information provided
4. Consent is voluntary and not coerced in any way
5. The individual provides verbal or written authorization of consent
6. All of the above
When health professionals are pressured or required by law to disclose information to third parties about patients without consent, they should make clear to any authority requesting information that they are bound by professional duties of confidentiality.
1. True
2. False
Under which of the following circumstances would it be appropriate for a physician to feed a hunger striker?
1. When the physician’s moral beliefs compel him or her to do so
2. If the hunger striker is already in a comatose state and no prior directives have been established
3. Immediate family members insist on feeding after the hunger striker became comatose, even though the attending physician documented that the detainee was competent, rational and understood the risk of his actions
4. None of the above
The ethical duties of medical personnel do not apply in non-clinical encounters with detainees, such as interrogation.
1. True
2. False
Effective medical and legal investigations of torture and ill treatment requires obtaining the following essential information?
1. Identity of the victim
2. Identity of the perpetrators
3. Description of how the individual came into the hands of the perpetrators
4. Description of the location where the abuse took place
5. Description of the form of abuse
6. Possible witnesses
7. All of the above