Steps towards improve justice for victims and prevent acid attacks.

Steps towards improve justice for victims and prevent acid attacks.

 

The following steps should be adopted to improve justice for victims and prevent acid attacks :

 



·         India must establish a process for accurately counting incidence and prevalence rates of acid attacks. The National Crime Records Bureau (India) should prepare annual reports with reliable data to attract the attention of NGO’s and other non government organizations that work to prevent the crime.

 

·         States must ensure that the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court of India in Laxmi v. Union of India are diligently followed.

 

·         Police must be directed to complete their investigations and dispose of cases expedi-tiously, which will help reduce the time spent by courts finally resolving cases.

 

·         Section 114 B should be added to The Indian Evidence Act by way of an amendment to help improve conviction rates.

 

·         The Indian government should undertake a public education campaign to educate people about the importance of thoroughly washing a victim’s body with water immediately after an acid attack, in order to reduce the severity of injuries.

 

·         The Indian government must begin to educate young people about patriarchy, women’s equality, human autonomy, privacy and non-violence. The public must also be educated to treat acid attack victims as normal citizens and not to stigmatize or shame them. Victims must be assured opportunities to obtain employment and education, and cultural narratives should be reframed to help the public understand why acid attacks crimes are committed predominantly against women by men, and are the product of an intolerable patriarchal society and unacceptably inadequate legal system that treats such violence against women as a meager offense rather than a serious life-threatening crime that damages victims for life, harm and threatens all Indian women as a class of people, and undermines the very fabric of civilized Indian society.       

Treatment for Acid Attack victims.

Treatment for Acid Attack victims.

 

Treatment for acid attack victims:

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·      The first thing that should be done when the acid gets in contact with the skin is to flush the burned flesh with water for at least 60 minutes and to wash off the acid with water for as long as possible.

·      Emergency treatment at hospitals should include cleaning and bandaging the burns, and relieving any breathing problems caused by acid fumes.

·      Infection is a major danger because the dead tissue around deep burns becomes easily infected and prevents the burns from healing.

·      Infection may spread to the healthy part of the skin, and may even kill the victim and it can attack the victim at any stage during the weeks and months right after the attack. Thus the wounds need to be kept clean and antibiotics need to be given to fight infection.

·      The eyes are very vulnerable to infection and can cause blindness. Most important is to ensure that victims can close their eyes, preventing them from becoming dry and infected. Surgery may be needed to rebuild the eyelids, if they were destroyed by acid, or remove thick scars around the eyes as burns heal.

·      Eating enough food is vital because victims’ bodies require a lot of energy to fight infection and heal the wounds. This may be difficult if the victim has burns around the mouth and has difficulty swallowing, or cannot afford the necessary diet.

·      It can take 3 to 12 months for burn wounds to heal. Thick scars, which are painful and itchy, grow over the healed burns. The scars grow and change over 1 to 2 years.

·      As the scars thicken and contract, they can cause permanent disability by stiffening joints and restricting movement. For example, the scarring on the neck and shoulders, can prevent a patient from moving his head or arms.

·      Doctors may need to perform many operations to release the scars and graft new skin over them. Scars may also grow over the nostrils or ear canals, and surgery is required to remove them.

·      Long periods of physical therapy are needed to minimize victims’ lack of movement from scarring, and special elastic bandages can dramatically reduce the thickness and stiffness of scars.

·      The final stage of treatment is to try to restore the appearance of the victim as much as possible. By now, the wounds must have healed completely and the full extent of scarring and deformities of the body must be visible.

·      The victim may require many operations over a period of two to three years.

     

Legislation addressing Acid Attack should include this.

Legislation addressing Acid Attack should include this.

 

Legislation addressing Acid Attacks should include the following points:

 
STOP ACID VOILENCE

1.Legislation should define an acid attack as any assault perpetrated through the use of acid. Since acid attacks may be motivated by one of several different reasons, legislation should focus on the acts that constitute the crime, rather than the motive;


2.Legislation should penalize anyone who commits an acid attack, specifically including family members among those who may be penalized;


3.Legislation should make acid attacks a “transferable intent” crime, providing the same penalties regardless of whether the person injured was the intended victim;


4.Legislation should provide for penalties of prison time, fines, and education;


5.Legislation should prohibit the acceptance of informal financial settlement or marriage as settlement of claims;


6.Legislation should provide for enhanced penalties if a victim dies as a result of an acid attack. The perpetrator should be prosecuted under the murder statutes of the penal code. The specific law on the acid attack should provide a term of imprisonment and fine which is no less severe than what is provided under the murder statutes of the general penal code with the exception of capital punishment;


7.Legislation should provide that no mediation provisions are a part of legislation on acid attacks;


8.Legislation should regulate the export, import, use, sale, and waste management of acids;


9.Legislation should criminalize the unlicensed sale of acids


10.Legislation should require sellers of acids to create and maintain a record of each sale and the identity of each purchaser;


11.Legislation should require sellers of acid to take all necessary measures to ensure that their supplies of acid are not stolen and immediately report any stolen acid;


12.Legislation should impose a duty upon medical providers to report all cases of bodily harm caused by acid to law enforcement;


13.Legislation should mandate that police officers investigate any case reported by a medical provider where bodily harm was caused by acid;


14.Legislation should establish and fund public awareness campaigns and training for all sectors about this harmful practice and its consequences;


15.Legislation and other practices that perpetuate this harmful practice, such as honour crimes, should be amended or abolished;


16.Legislation should allow victims to pursue civil remedies against their attackers.  Monetary damages should include the cost of reconstructive surgery;


17.Legislation should provide for restitution or reparations separate from any criminal case and provide mechanisms of collection that the victim may easily use to collect the order for restitution from the perpetrator;


18.Legislation should also provide that a court may amend or issue an order for restitution at a later time if the true extent of the survivor’s loss was not known at the time of the hearing on the restitution request or at the time of disposition of the case;

 
19.Legislation should provide legal, financial, medical, and other types of rehabilitation services for victims.


20.Legislation should provide legal support before and during the criminal trial of an acid attack and be extended to victims and witnesses who are threatened by perpetrators or associated parties;


21.Legislation should provide protective measures to prevent harassment, intimidation, or coercion of a victim or witness to drop charges against a perpetrator or associated party;


22.Legislation should provide for expert medical testimony in preparation of and during a criminal trial free of charge. Such expert medical testimony should be allowed in lieu of victim testimony but should not be a pre-requisite to pursuing a legal case against  a perpetrator.

 

 


Most common reasons for Acid Attack.

Most common reasons for Acid Attack.

Here are some reasons for  Acid Attack.

make love not scars

Though acid attack is a crime which can be committed against any man or woman, it has a specific gender dimension in India.

Most of the reported acid attacks have been committed on women, particularly young women for spurning suitors, for rejecting proposals of marriage, for denying dowry etc.

The attacker cannot bear the fact that he has been rejected and seeks to destroy the body of the woman who has dared to stand up to him.

Thus, acid throwing is an extremely violent crime by which the perpetrator of the crime seeks to inflict severe physical and mental suffering on his victim.

As stated above this kind of violence is often motivated by deep-seated jealousy or feelings of revenge against a woman.

For instance, in Bangladesh 78 percent of the reported acid violence is inflicted on women with the most common reasons for attack being the refusal of marriage, the denial of sex, and the rejection of romance.

The acid is usually thrown at the victim’s face. The perpetrator wants to disfigure the victims and turn them into a monster.

Aside from the reasons stated above the other reasons for acid attacks include robbery, land disputes etc.

Perpetrators of the crime act cruelly and deliberately.

Acid violence is a premeditated act of violence as the perpetrator of the crime carries out the attack by first obtaining the acid, carrying it on him and then stalking the victim before executing the act.

 

Effects of acid attack .

Effects of acid attack .

Effects of acid attack

 

STOP ACID ATTACKS

PHYSICAL –

1.Acids are corrosive substances that will cause visible necrosis (death) of human skin tissue and will even corrode a metal in higher concentration.

2,They can cause serious poisoning, burning and serious injury can result from exposure to strong acids.

3.In an acid attack the skin is the main organ of contact. The effects of acid on the skin may include redness, and burns.

4. In severe cases, it could lead shock and death. Some effects include permanent hair and scaring.

5. If inhaled in large quantity it can also lead to pulmonary disorders.

6.Acid eats through two layers of the skin, i.e. the fat and muscle underneath,and   sometimes not only eats through to the bone but it may even dissolve the bone.

7.Thrown on a person’s face, acid rapidly eats into eyes, ears, nose and mouth.

8.Eyelids and lips may burn off completely. The nose may melt, closing the nostrils, and ears shrivel up.

9.The biggest immediate danger for victims is breathing failure. Inhalation of acid

vapors can create breathing problems in two ways: i.e. by causing a poisonous reaction in the lung.

10. When the acid splashes or drips over the neck, chest, back, arms or legs, it burns everywhere it touches. 

11.The biggest immediate danger for victims is breathing failure. Inhalation of gas or by swelling the neck, which constricts the airway and strangles the victim.

 

STOP ACID ATTACKS

PSYCHOLOGICAL –

1. Acid assault survivors face many mental health issues upon recovery. 

2.Acid violence victims have been reported with higher levels of anxiety, depression, due to their appearance.

3. According to the Rosenberg Scale, the women reported lowered self esteem and increased self consciousness, both in general and in the social sphere.

 

STOP ACID ATTACKS


SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC -

1. Acid attacks usually leave victims handicapped in some way, rendering them dependent on either their spouse or family for everyday activities, such as eating and running errands. 

2.They face a lifetime of discrimination from society and they become lonely. These dependencies are increased by the fact that many acid survivors are not able to find suitable work, due to impaired vision and  physical handicapped.

3. As a result, divorce, abandonment by husbands is common in the society. Moreover, acid survivors who are single when attacked almost certainly become ostracized from society, effectively ruining marriage prospects.

4. They are embarrassed that people may stare or laugh at them and may hesitate to leave their homes fearing an adverse reaction from the outside world. 

5.Victims who were not married are not likely to get married and those victims who have got serious disabilities because of an attack, like blindness, will not find jobs and earn a living.

6.Discrimination from other people, or disabilities such as blindness, makes it very difficult for victims to fend for themselves and they become dependent on others for food and money.

                     
STOP ACID ATTACKS 

Acid Attacks In Various Countries

Acid Attacks In Various Countries

 

Acid attacks occur throughout the world, including in the United States. However, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, Nepal, Uganda, and India have some of the highest recorded incidence of acid violence.

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Which country has the highest number of acid attacks?

The UK has one of the highest rates of acid attacks per capita in the world, according to Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI).

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Which state has the highest number of acid attacks in india ?

An analysis of NCRB report for the past five years reveals that West Bengal has recorded highest number of acid attacks most of the times followed by Uttar Pradesh.

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How many acid cases are there in India in last two year ?

Figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) found that between 2018 and 2020 there have been nearly 1, 600 victims of acid attacks in the country.

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What is the punishment for acid attack in India ?

The punishment for attempting to throw acid on a person is punishable for a time period of 5-7 years under Section 326B irrespective of the nature of the damage caused to the victim. The victim is liable for compensation, up to Rs. 3 lakhs.

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What neutralizes acid attack?

Diphoterine is an amphoteric irrigating agent for the treatment of chemical burns, which can, impressively, neutralise both acids and alkalis, can be used in the eyes and is non-toxic.

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What is acid attack ?

What is acid attack ?

 

Acid Attack


            Acid throwing is called an acid attack. Defined as the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance on to the body of another within the intention to disfigure, maim, torture, or kill.

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1.      The most common types of acid used in these attacks are sulfuric, nitric, or hydrochloric acid.

 

2.      Acid attack can be viewed to mean “any act of throwing acid or using acid in any form on the victim with the intention of or with knowledge that such person is likely to cause to the other person permanent or partial damage or deformity or disfiguration to any part of the body of such person.

 

3.      Women in different parts of India have faced acid attacks from men for several reasons, most common among them being refusal of proposal. Men track down these women, accost them and attack them with acid leaving them severely scarred. Though the physical injuries may heal after laborious and multiple operations, the mental injuries remain for life

 

4.      In South Asia, disputes over land, inheritances, dowries, and declined marriage proposals often arouse jealousy, which lead to acid violence and women becomes the first victim of it. Acid attacks are intensely inhuman crimes because the perpetrators plan to disfigure the victims rather than kill them.