ACID VIOLENCE IN BANGLADESH
Acid violence is a particularly vicious and damaging form of violence in Bangladesh where acid is thrown in people’s faces. The overwhelming majority of the victims are women, and many of them are below 18 years of age. The victims are attacked for many reasons. In some cases it is because a young girl or women has spurned the sexual advances of a male or either she or her parents have rejected a proposal of marriage. Recently, however, there have been acid attacks on children, older women and also men. These attacks are often the result of family and land dispute, dowry demands or a desire for revenge.
Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) has been working on acid violence issues since 1999. The ultimate goal of the organization is to eliminate acid violence from Bangladesh. However, at present there is an acid attack every two days. Victims of acid violence need physical reconstruction, support for reintegration into mainstream society and legal assistance. Therefore, ASF ensures the best possible medical, legal and social reintegration support to the acid survivors.
ASF’s focus is on its work as a coordinating agency. Thus, building up the capacity of the local level NGOs as well as the professionals involved with this issue, for example, doctors, public prosecutors and the police, is a very important part of ASF’s activities. ASF also has initiatives to engage the media, celebrities and students in implementation of prevention activities.
ASF has gained national and international recognition for its dedicated support to the acid survivors. In appreciation of ASF’s success, the Executive Director of the organization received the 4th Human Rights Award of Amnesty International – Germany in 2005. ASF is the pioneer and worldwide unique organization dedicatedly working specifically with the acid violence issues; thus a role model for other countries having acid violence dilemma.
Nitric or sulphuric acid has a catastrophic effect on human flesh. It causes the skin tissue to melt, often exposing the bones below the flesh, sometimes even dissolving the bone. When acid attacks the eyes, it damages them permanently. Many acid attacks survivors have lost the use of one or both eyes. This woman on the left was the victim of acid violence from her husband.
But the scars left by acid are not just skin deep. In addition to the inevitable psychological trauma, some survivors also face social isolation and ostracism that further damage their self-esteem and seriously undermine their professional and personal futures. Women who have survived acid attacks have great difficulty in finding work and, if unmarried (as many victims tend to be), have very little chance of ever getting married. In a country like Bangladesh this has serious social and economic consequences.
