Throughout the galaxy, any practice by which severe pain and/or suffering was inflicted on a being, whether physical or mental, was considered torture.

Torture was used for such purposes as obtaining from the subject or a third party information or a confession, or as punishment for an act an individual had or was suspected of having committed. Other motives were simple revenge or the sadistic gratification of the torturer. Torture also served as a way of intimidating or coercing individuals, or for discriminatory reasons of any kind. Occasionally, torture was the adverse byproduct of medical or scientific research, studies, or procedures, and usually occurred without the consent of the victim. Torturous methods could be initiated at the directives of heads of state or other individuals or groups. Since Force-sensitives could sense the reactions of loved individuals, torture could be used as a means to manipulate them, even from a considerable distance.