A Zemiology of Torturous Violence and the Limits of Law.

Social and legislative responses to torture remain dominated by legal definitions and debates around what constitutes 'torture'. Although narratives are progressing contemporarily, the fact remains that definitions of torture continue to be situated in the narrow confines of the United Nations Conve...

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Published in:British Journal of Criminology Vol. 66; no. 4; pp. 749 - 767
Main Author: Canning, Victoria
Format: Article
Published: Oxford University Press / USA Jul2026
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jul2026
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        10.1093/bjc/azaf115
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        atl: A Zemiology of Torturous Violence and the Limits of Law.
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        au: Canning, Victoria
        affil: Victoria Canning, Criminology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, Lancashire LA1 4YW, United Kingdom
      su:
        Torture
        Violence
        Legal procedure
        Human rights
        Militarism
        Criminology
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        subj:
          Torture
          Violence
          Legal procedure
          Human rights
          Militarism
          Criminology
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        Asylum
        copyrightHolder:Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (formerly ISTD)
        copyrightYear:2026
        inLanguage:en
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        Refugees
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        Sexual Violence
        Asylum
        copyrightHolder:Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (formerly ISTD)
        copyrightYear:2026
        inLanguage:en
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        Refugees
        sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azaf115
        Sexual Violence
      ab: Social and legislative responses to torture remain dominated by legal definitions and debates around what constitutes 'torture'. Although narratives are progressing contemporarily, the fact remains that definitions of torture continue to be situated in the narrow confines of the United Nations Convention against Torture, or Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. This article argues that the implications of this is a sidelining of survivor needs when people are subjected to forms of violence that fall beyond narrow definitions, but impact in ways which parallel the severity and intensity of torture. By focussing on bordering processes as a case study, two key issues are exposed. Firstly, that the intensification and militarization of bordering enable the infliction of torture and torturous violence; and secondly, by employing a zemiological lens, we can more meaningfully examine impacts of multifarious forms of torturous violence and their relationship with wider avoidable social harms in the aftermath of such abuses.
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    language: English
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