Acid attack

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Not to be confused with the term "acid attack" which refers to tooth decay due to bacterial acid.

Acid attack victim, Cambodia

Acid attacks are a violent phenomena that primarily occur in Afganistan,^[1] India,^[2] Bangladesh,^[3]^[4] Pakistan,^[3] and other Asian countries.^[5] Perpetrators of these attacks throw acid at their victims (usually at their faces), burning them. The consequences include permanent scarring of the face and body as well as potential blindness.^[3]^[4]^[5] Acid attacks are sometimes referred to as vitriolage.^[6] Eighty percent of all acid attack victims are female; and almost 40% are under 18 years of age.^[5]

1 Victims and treatment
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Victims and treatment

The chemical agents most commonly used to commit these attacks are hydrochloric acid (widely available as a toilet cleaning agent) and sulphuric acid (from batteries). Acid attacks are, according to Mridula Bandyopadhyay and Mahmuda Rahman Khan, a form of violence primarily targeted at women. They describe it as a relatively recent form of violence with the earliest record in Bangladesh from 1983. Acid attacks are used there as a form of revenge for refusal of sexual advances, proposals of marriage and demands for dowry.^[3] Scholars Taru Bahl and M.H. Syed say that land disputes are another leading cause of acid attacks.^[5] In Bangladesh, where acid attacks are relatively common, attacks are mostly a form of domestic violence.^[7] Tom O'Neill of National Geographic reported that acid attacks are also used to enforce the caste system in modern India, where uppercaste individuals often attack Dalits for supposedly violating the order.^[8]

Acid attacks damage the victim physically and psychologically and may require long-term surgical treatment. The physical scarring can lead to survivors feeling shame and embarrassment, and suffering prejudice and stigma from their peers.^[9] In Bangladesh, the Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) provides aid in treating victims of acid attacks.^[10]

Under the Qisas law of Pakistan, the perpetrator must suffer the same fate as the victim, and may be punished by having drops of acid placed in his or her eyes.^[11]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Ermachild Chavis, melody, Meena, Heroine of Afghanistan (St Martin's Press, 2003), ISBN 978031230689X
^ A. Carlson Whalen, Mother Earth and the Gene Machines (Vantage Press, 2006), ISBN 9780533153395
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bandyopadhyay, Mridula and Mahmuda Rahman Khan, 'Loss of face: violence against women in South Asia' in Lenore Manderson, Linda Rae Bennett (eds) Violence Against Women in Asian Societies (Routledge, 2003), ISBN 9780700717412
^ ^a ^b CNN.com - Bangladesh combats an acid onslaught against women - November 11, 2000. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bahl, Taru & M.H. Syed, Encyclopaedia of the Muslim World (Anmol Publications PVT Ltd, 2004), ISBN 9788126114193, p. 224
^ Karmakar, R.N., Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (Academic Publishers, 2003), ISBN: 9788187504692
^ Scholte, Marianne. "Acid Attacks in Bangladesh: A Voice for the Victims", Spiegel Online, 17-03-2006. Retrieved on 2008-03-21.
^ O'Neill, Tom (June 2003), “India's Untouchables”, National Geographic: 2-31
^ Long Term Impact of ACID Attack. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
^ Anwar, Afroza, 'Acid Violence and Medical Care in Bangladesh: Women's Activism as Carework' in Mary K. Zimmerman, Jacquelyn S. Litt and Christine E. Bose (eds) Global Dimensions of Gender and Carework (Stanford University Press, 2006), ISBN 9780804753245
^ Juliette Terzieff (July 13, 2004). Pakistan's Acid-Attack Victims Press for Justice. Women's eNews. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.