Areas of Work
Sir[a] originated from the Community Action Group, a grassroots organisation working on mental health and human rights. It is a centre for holistic medical, psychological, and legal care for people affected by situations of violence, mistreatment, or torture. Its headquarters are in Madrid, with a presence in Barcelona, the Basque Country and Valencia. Staff members are professionals in psychiatry, psychology, medicine, law, and journalism, including with high-level expertise on the Istanbul Protocol.
Sir[a] works to support processes of justice and reparation, including rehabilitation through a human rights, psychosocial and cross-cultural approach. Around 80% of the referrals it receives are of people who suffered ill-treatment and torture. Its work includes lawsuits for ill-treatment and torture in Spain but also for other courts, such as the European Court of Human Rights or the
International Criminal Court.
In addition to individual cases, Sir[a] carries out expert reports on collective cases of human rights violations and torture at the international level. It also has a research area dedicated to the implementation of innovative tools for the documentation of torture, the credibility of allegations and impact assessment.
