Page 108 - Human Rights
P. 108
Faculty of Nursing
Adult care Nursing Department
He is a critical care nurse working in a recovery unit for patients after open heart surgery at Royal
Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, Canada.
He also is a founding member of the Victoria Coalition for the Survivors of Torture and was
involved in the inception and early development of the Vancouver Association for the Survivors of
Torture.
He is married with three children.
Ken is a long-standing member of the Anglophone Canadian AI health professional network where
he is a coordinator of the nurses’ committee.
He has been particularly active around issues of torture and cruel treatment as well as human
rights education pointing out that all governments have an obligation outlined in the UN
Convention against Torture to ensure nurses are taught about the nursing care of government
sponsored torture victims -----a requirement that is almost universally ignored by governments.
He also envisions an international impartial body that would regulate health ethics world-wide.
‘‘Currently there is an enormous gap where unethical behavior by health workers, such as
participation in torture and the death penalty, is being overlooked.’’
The recent resurgence of the use and advocacy for torture by western governments has prompted
him to write prolifically to nursing associations, journals, military medics and governments to
challenge this acceptance or tolerance of torture.
Ken's dream is to see a comprehensive response by the health sector worldwide to confront the
worst human rights violations.
‘‘Health professionals can act like one nation with one vision,’’ he says.
104 Academic Year 2025/2026
