[Documentation of violence against civilians in a civil war. Examples from Kashmir]

Physicians for Human Rights/Denmark visited Kashmir three times in 1993 and 1994. In Indian-held Kashmir we examined victims of torture and gunshots and we assessed similar evidence collected by local lawyers and doctors. In refugee camps for Indian Kashmiries we examined ten children, who were reported to have been tortured at the age of 5-14 years, and ten other children who allegedly had been ill-treated. Furthermore, 17 adults, who reported that they had been tortured, were examined. In nearly all cases there were physical findings in accordance with the histories of torture. In many cases, including those of the children, the findings were highly remarkable by their shape and localization. We interpret them as evidence of intentionally inflicted injuries. In the refugee camps we carried out a prevalence study of exposure to organized violence. Approximately 95% of all families had been exposed to violence; 35% reported that their children had been ill-treated. The physical findings indicate that intentional traumatization of civilians including children in Indian-held Kashmir takes place; the results of the prevalence study suggest that exposure to violence is widespread.