9 The victims of organized violence and torture This data on the victims derives from a series of workshops held with representatives of groups of the victims of organized violence and torture. There were three workshops in all. The first dealt with democracy, the second with aspects of transitional justice generally, and in Zimbabwe particularly, and the third with the development of a victims’ perspective of a transitional justice process for Zimbabwe. The first workshop made use of the findings from the small research study conducted by Idasa amongst township youth13. The findings from this study were used as basic material for discussing democracy in Zimbabwe, and providing a standard for comparison for the victims. The second chapter on the victims derives from the second two workshops. In the workshop dealing with transitional justice generally, the victims were provided with contemporary views and instruments on transitional justice and the combating of impunity. They also examined Zimbabwe’s history of organised violence and torture, not merely during the current crisis, but also over the whole history of Zimbabwe, and Rhodesia before Independence. A number of the participants had been victims in both the pre- and post-Independence periods. In the third and final workshop, the participants examined the options open to them, and delineated the critical features of a transitional justice process for Zimbabwe. In all the chapters that follow, the views of these victims have been briefly edited for style, but the content has been left untouched. All proceedings were captured by two scribes, and, in addition, the findings and recommendations from the small group work sessions were incorporated. 13 See the chapter on the youth, The youth are the hope of the future, but which future? A case study with Zimbabwean township youth. IDASA: Zimbabwe at the Cross-Roads: Views of Zimbabwean citizens on democracy and transitional justice.