Acid attacks on the rise
GUARDIAN WEEKLY:
Acid attacks are on the rise in Bangalore, leaving a trail of disfigured and often disabled women who, until recently, could find little sympathy among the public and next to no support from the state. Not much is done to combat the problem, with acid still cheap and readily available in shops and police unwilling to interfere in ‘domestic’ disputes. But since Sushma, Verma, Sanjana and Mallige started campaigning for better rights for the victims of acid attacks in 2003, things in the state of Karnataka are changing for the better ...
Acid attacks are a form of gender violence; they are intended to silence women who stand up for themselves. Women were being attacked for doing well at work, protesting against domestic violence, leaving their jobs – essentially whenever they demonstrate independence. There is a myth that women are only attacked with acid when they reject someone’s sexual advances. But we found that it happened for all sorts of reasons: women of all castes, classes and religions were being attacked by husbands, lovers, employers, jealous colleagues and even landlords.
Shockingly, acid is still easily available. Even a child can buy a litre of highly concentrated acid over the counter for less than 20 rupees. It continues to be used to clean bathrooms, tiles and jewellery, and there are no laws to regulate its sale or concentration.
Many of the victims of these attacks are turned away from hospitals because they can’t afford the treatment. And if they are admitted, a lot of hospitals don’t know how to treat them. Not many people realise that acid victims need a different kind of first aid; they can’t be treated like ordinary burn victims. In several cases, women have died because they could not access, or afford, the proper care. READ IT ALL
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