Caught between conscience and complicity: human rights violations and the health professions.

feel at home in this world. —Jean Amery The Hidden Epidemic E day human rights abuses all over the world endanger and destroy the lives of many people. The only "crime" these people have committed is that their political opinion, religion, or ethnic background is disconcerting to those in power. Numerous governments, as well as armed resistance movements, utilize repression, torture, and murder as part of their strategy to attain or retain power. Doctors from all branches of medicine, as well as other health professionals, treat the effects of this hidden epidemic—ranging