I just watched Hostel 3, and now I want to know what the odds are of an American or any human getting tortured.
Are there stats on this? How many people in history have ever been intentionally mutilated by another person while still alive?
918,641,813.
If that was the real answer it wouldn’t be so bad given that’s like less than 1% of the 100+ billion humans est. to have ever lived.
Define torture:
if you include Female Genital Mutilation (and many victims would consider it a form of torture, and the consequences are often painful and ongoing), then you are talking significant numbers (maybe 120 million).
Mutilation is common in areas of civil strife in Africa - the Belgians started that in the Congo in the 19th century. (maybe 10s of millions, I can’t find stats, but they killed 2-15million Congolese in the 19th century)
This does not include the treatment of slaves which often involves torture (maybe 30 million slaves in 2013).
Criminal torture is just a drop in an ocean compared to these institutional forms of torture.
If you are living in the First World, your odds are good that you you will never be tortured. If you are a woman living in the third world, the odds are much higher.
There are many torture museums across Europe. (if you like that sort of thing) I visited one in Carcassonne, France, and it made a lasting impression. One fact I learned, was that for the most part, torture was not used to extract information. It was much more about being in control. The louder the shrieks - the more scared the locals. Torture victims almost always died, the objective was to make it as painful as possible.
If you include emotional torture that % is extremely high.
918,641,813.
ETA: Whoa Ninja’d by Vashbul in post 2. I must need glasses. How’d I not see that?
Actually it usually happens during P.E.