Stop Acid Violence

Acids has become a preferred weapon of violence against women as reports emerge of acids being thrown at some girl in some part of our country every other day. Acid attack or acid throwing is a form of violent assault where acid or an equally caustic substance is thrown onto the body of another with an intent to disfigure, torture or kill the victim. Acid attacks happen all over the world but is intense in South Asia; ASTI (Acid Survivors Trust International) estimates that there are over 1000 reported cases in India annually. In most of the cases, the victims are women and the deadly attacks are carried out by the family or other known people. A considerable number of cases go unreported due to reasons such as the economic status of the family, threats to the victims, irresponsible attitude of the police and medical staff, etc. “With every new case, the wounds get deeper, the crime gets graver and the heart gets heavier. How could one human being put another through such a horrendous act of terror? It turns the victim into the living dead. Acid attack doesn’t just deforms one’s face and body, it takes away their whole personality, their identity and more than that, their life. It causes extreme physical and mental suffering to victims and permanently mar their psyche. I personally could not think of an act more inhumane than this one.” says Sakshi Kumar, a social activist.

Acid attacks result from personal conflicts, land disputes, revenge, gang violence, political and religious motives, dowry, gender based violence such as when a young girl spurns sexual advances or rejects a marriage proposal, etc. The patriarchal society that rears egotism and gender discrimination lead men in showing their authority by attacking women. The easy availability of acids is another reason for the high frequency rate of acid attacks in India. Hydrochloric acid, nitric acid or sulphuric acid are the most commonly used acids as they quickly burns through flesh and bone and are available in the market for as low as Rs. 18 per litre. Acids are used in households widely as cleaning agents and are readily available for sale in pharmacies, garages, goldsmiths, etc. Furthermore, there are no legal regulations on the sale of acids which makes it easily accessible for people who want to misuse them. There is also a lack of seriousness on the part of the Government and legislation in handling the issue.

The number of acid attacks cases in the country has become countless and each case is a story of shock and terror. Simi Rao, 37, Bangalore, a former school teacher and a mother of two, has been in and out of the hospital since 21 Feb 2013, the day her husband threw acid on her. The reason was that she was beautiful which her husband could not accept and suspected her fidelity. Pragya, 22, Delhi, had been attacked by acid throwing for rejecting a marriage proposal from a relative. Ranjit Kaur, a widow in her late 30s, was attacked by her friend by flinging acid on her for not allowing him to visit her. Preeti Rathi, 25, Mumbai was injured when an anonymous man hurled acid on her at the bus station. Shabana Khatun, 21, Kolkata was force-fed one bottle of acid and the remaining acid thrown at her private body parts by her boyfriend’s family. They felt that Shabana tarnished the family’s status by having an affair with their son. Three women teachers and a student in Uttar Pradesh were allegedly attacked by two men on a bike throwing acid on them on their way back from school. Haseena, 19, Bangalore, spurned her boss’ advances so he threw sulphuric acid on her which disfigured her face so badly that she has had 35 reconstructive surgeries. Annu Mukherjee, Delhi, a popular bar dancer was attacked by her colleague who was jealous of her earnings. Jayalekshmi, a mother of two, was attacked by her husband that her nose melted instantly and she still cannot breathe properly even after eleven years after the attack. The list goes on and on triggering calls of panic and horror.

The consequences of these attacks include blindness and permanent scarring of the body along with psychological, social and economic challenges. Acids can melt away the victim’s skin and flesh and can even dissolve bones causing instant damage, pain and deformity. It takes just five seconds of acid contact to cause superficial burns and thirty seconds to result in full-thickness burns. The burned skin dies, turning rubbery and black leaving severe scarring results. As majority of the attacks are aimed at the face, the implications for the victims include deformed skull, loss of hair, deafness due to destroyed ear cartilage, loss of vision, shrunken nose, narrow mouth with complete loss of full range of motion, skin depigmentation, internal organ failures and even death. The victims may also suffer from breathing failure due to inhalation of acid vapours and causes toxic reactions or swelling in the lungs. Victims must go through a series of surgical procedures and constant physical therapy to prevent more damage and suffering. The survivors face mental health issues with high levels of depression and anxiety. They experience psychological distress and low self-esteem due to their concern for their appearance which weakens their mental strength. The survivors, especially women fall prey to social challenges as they find difficulty in finding employment due to impaired vision and physical restrictions. This adversely affects their economic viability causing hardships for their spouses and families in taking care of them. Consequently, married women get abandoned by their husbands and single women often get disowned by their family and detested in society. 

Picture (a)

Picture (a) is of Laxmi from Delhi who was attacked when she was 15 years old by a man and woman in New Delhi in 2005 for rejecting the marriage proposal by the male attacker. She was left badly scarred on her face, chest and arms. She says, “I felt as if someone had set my whole body on fire. The skin was just coming off. The one who attacked me, what did he get and what did I get? He got arrested after four days of the attack and was bailed out after a month”. She still struggles to perform her basic physical needs even after eight reconstructive surgeries.

It is high time we raise a shared voice against acid attacks which has become a shame to our national character. Acid attacks have been incorporated under a separate provision in IPC (Indian Penal Code) by The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill of 2012 with special provisions for acid victims. The law states that the act of acid violence is a non-bailable offence and the attacker could get a jail term of ten years to life for causing hurt by acid (326A – hurt by acid attack) and seven years for attempting to do the act (326B – attempt to throw or administer acid). However, there is a pressing necessity for India to implement additional measures to curb this cruel act of violence. The Government must enact laws that regulates the sale of corrosive substances and implement policies that address acid violence. Actions such as indorsing licenses to acid traders, effective system of monitoring acid sales, setting an age limit for buyers, recording photo identity proof of buyers, etc. should be considered in view of preventing acid violence. Acids that are sold should be in labelled containers specifying the nature of the content, warning users about its harmful effects and legal penalties related with the misuse of the acid. The use of concentrated forms of acids for household purposes should also be banned. The Government should also consider discontinuing sale of highly concentrated acids to individual users and should be sold only for laboratory and industrial purposes. The legislation should ensure effective enactment of laws by punishing the perpetrators of acid attacks severely, conducting appropriate investigations, supporting victims by helping them legally to get justice, financially for medical treatment, providing them rehabilitation and giving them employment opportunities.

The victims are scarred for life both physically and mentally and it takes years for them to recover from this brutal act of violence. They have to undergo dozens of costly reconstructive surgical procedures to repair the damaged muscles and internal organs. Their gruesome appearance with facial disfigurements weakens them emotionally and makes them outcastes in society. Victims say that it scares even their own children and curtails their employment chances to make a living. Legislation is the first step to stop this ghastly act but societal change is what we require along with better laws. The change shall only take place in a society where women are considered equal and their rights as citizens are recognised and enforced.

Wake up India. Stop Acid Attacks.