When Treatment is Torture: Protecting People with Disabilities Detained in Institutions – Throughout the world, people with disabilities are subject to mistreatment in psychiatric hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes, and other institutions. Much of this abuse is a product of neglect and lack of care — poor, unhygienic conditions, a lack of treatment, and outmoded service systems that segregate people from society. In some circumstances, however, pain and suffering is a direct consequence of treatment practices whose stated purpose is to provide treatment, care, or protection. There is a growing recognition that pain inflicted in the name of treatment may violate international law. In some circumstances, it rises to the level of torture.