Most of the Human Rights Forum’s clients were suing for damages as a result of the pain and suffering caused by physical injuries, but the psychological aspect of the trauma experienced, which is less well known, should also be highlighted. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the most common acute disorder, but Depression, Somatisation Disorder and even Brief Reactive Psychosis are also common long-term consequences. It is also common for survivors to have a combination of physical and psychological disorders. As regards the life consequences of psychological disorders due to Organized Violence and Torture (OVT), social and occupational functioning are frequently affected, with survivors having their social relationships impaired to a degree, including disruption to their family and their work life. The degree that a person is affected depends upon the severity of the trauma, the frequency of the trauma, and the vulnerability of the person.22 The cases dealt with by the PIU were mainly from Harare (82.5%) and the remainder were from the rest of the country except Matabeleland (see Table 4). This skew in favour of Harare may be because cases of violence and torture were handled by other organizations based in Bulawayo, and by private law firms. Table 4 Distribution of cases by province Provinces Harare Manicaland Mashonaland East Mashonaland West Mashonaland Central Midlands Masvingo Matabeleland Total cases 241 13 9 9 9 6 4 0 Percentage 82.82 4.47 3.09 3.09 3.09 2.06 1.37 0 2.1 Case Status It is apparent that the majority of the cases dealt with by the Forum arose in 2003 during the MDCinitiated stay-aways as people were beaten and tortured either for supporting the stay-aways or for allegedly organizing them. Table 5 represents the distribution of cases on an annual basis from 1998 to 2006. Table 5 Number of cases dealt with by the Human Rights Forum, 1998–2006 Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 22 Total 40 5 10 24 38 127 34 10 3 Percentage 13.75 1.72 3.44 8.25 13.06 43.64 11.68 3.44 1.03 See A. P. Reeler, ‘Is torture a post-traumatic stress disorder?’ Torture, 4 (1994), 59–65. 9