The Unwanted Acid

Incidents of acid attacks in which the perpetrator throws acid at the face of the victim are on rise. Such acid violence have a specific gender dimension in India as a majority of reported victims have been women. While acid attacks constitute only a fraction of the total number of violent incidents against women, they are among the most horrific examples of brutality inflicted on women.

- Lawz Bureau

The consequences, that follows include extreme pain, permanent scars on the face and body, blindness and in some cases even death. Throwing acid is undoubtedly among the grossest of human rights violations.

Acid has become a common weapon because it is cheap, widely available and can be easily carried, hidden, and used. Moreover, conviction rates in acid attack cases are dismally low. Acid attacks are used as a form of revenge, with the most common reasons for attack being victim’s outspokenness, a broken love affair, rejection of romance, spurned sexual advances, refusal of marriage, denial of dowry etc. The aim of most acid attacks is not to kill, but to disfigure and debilitate, something arguably more brutal than murder. In such cases, the perpetrator wants the victim to live and suffer physically and emotionally for the rest of her life.

The consequences of an acid attack handicap the victim in almost every possible way. An attack of this nature not only leaves the victim grotesquely disfigured but also traumatized for the rest of her life. It becomes extremely difficult to cope with life after an acid attack. The victim loses her identity and becomes socially isolated.Medical treatment is expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, the victim may be forced to give up education, job or other activities in life.Most of the victims find it difficult to get a job. If unmarried,the victim may even find it difficult to get a suitable groom.