Ethics Codes for Clinicians Working with Prisoners at Risk of Abuse

Reports of physicians and psychologists who were actively or passively complicit with torture of prisoners have renewed interest in clinical societies' codes of conduct for clinicians working with prisoners at risk of abuse.

The fourteen English language clinical societies' codes pertaining to work in military prisons can be improved. Few codes define torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; none are explicitly harmonized with definitions in international law. Most bar clinicians from assisting coercive interrogations, but they vary in addressing issues such as certifying prisoners as fit for interrogation. Few define duties to document and report the abuse of prisoners. They rarely establish or commend procedures for evaluating complaints and for sanctioning misconduct. In general, these codes offer moral advice without defining enforceable standards for conduct.

Clinical codes of conduct to protect prisoners at risk of mistreatment should be harmonized with international law to ground accountability. Societies should create and publicize non-governmental channels for reporting abuses. They should support the investigation and sanctioning of clinicians who are complicit with abusing prisoners. A new model code will be presented.