Disaggregating Torture Allegations: Introducing the Ill-Treatment and Torture (ITT) CountryYear (CY) Data. International Studies Perspectives Forthcoming.

The Ill-Treatment and Torture (ITT) Data Collection Project uses content analysis to measure allegations of government ill-treatment and torture made by Amnesty International (AI) from 1995 to 2005. ITT's country-year (CY) data quantify AI allegations of ill-treatment and torture at the country-year unit of observation and further across different responsible government agents and across different econo-socio-political groups of alleged victims. This paper introduces the Ill-Treatment and Torture country-year data, describes quantitative patterns likely to be of interest to researchers focused on the study of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and human rights, and suggests a number of theoretically motivated questions that can be explored using the ITT country-year data. A primary mission of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) like Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) is to monitor government human rights records, calling attention to transgressions and pressuring states for reform. As part of their activities, INGOs periodically allege that a government is responsible for ill-treatment or torture, or they accuse a government of demonstrating a pattern of abusive behavior