The disturbing popularity of acid attacks

Battery acid is thrown over a Bangladeshi girl and her brother while they are sleeping. A screaming Cambodian woman is forcibly restrained as acid is poured over her face.

These aren’t scenes from some sick video but real life examples of a terrible crime that is ruining the lives of thousands of people around the world.

These acid attacks take place mainly in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, although there have been rare instances of them occurring in the West.

The reasons behind such attacks are various.

In Cambodia, many attacks are made by wives against their husbands’ lovers, or indeed their husbands. Some attacks are over business.

In Bangladesh, Pakistan and India there is a very strong element of domestic violence, with attacks generally made by men against women. They are often in retaliation for things like refusing to have sex, turning down marriage proposals, and land and dowry disputes.

In Afghanistan it is different again with acid violence being carried out by religious fanatics against girls and women attending school or appearing in public without a veil.

The motivations behind the attacks may be varied but despite the high survival rate, the results are always the same – a victim that is permanently scarred both physically and emotionally.

The acid causes horrific damage, burning away skin tissue and sometimes dissolving the victim’s bone structure. Many are blinded.

As well as having to deal with their physical injuries, acid attack victims also face massive challenges returning to a normal life. Many lose their jobs or are shunned by their families as a result of their injuries.

Experts believe the reason the attacks are more common in certain countries is because the chemicals are cheap and readily available.

When car batteries are sold, the seller has to put acid in it (as opposed to in the West where it’s already included). So acid is easily purchased from an auto shop, with only a cupful needed to cause terrible injuries.

Numerous charity organisations have been set up to deal with the victims of acid attacks. But in most countries where the violence takes place, action to prevent the practice and punish the perpetrators has been lacking until relatively recently.

Bangladesh led the field in 2002 by strictly controlling the sale of such chemicals and introducing the death penalty for throwing acid (arguably a brutal punishment as objectionable as the act itself).

Iran too has taken a very hard line. In 2008, a man was sentenced to be blinded by acid after the woman he had thrown acid over pursued him through the courts.

Other countries have been slower to follow. Pakistan is looking at amendments to current legislation including listing acids as dangerous substances and increasing the penalties for such attacks to life in prison.

Cambodia is currently drafting legislation to deal with their increasing acid attacks including licenses for the distributors of acids. They are also looking at including provisions for the treatment and rehabilitation of victims.

One thing is for certain, something needs to change. Recent years have not only seen an upsurge in the number of attacks but also a change in the nature of who is being attacked, with men now frequently falling victim to acid violence.

Until such change occurs, the practice of being scarred for life in these countries will continue to grow.

By Jo Blick

Photo – 15 year-old Nobisa Begim of Bangladesh, three days after acid was thrown in her face for refusing a marriage proposal.