Acid attack
 | This article possibly contains original research. (September 2007) |
| This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. |
Acid attacks are a violent phenomenona that primarily occur in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afganistan, and other Asian countries. Perpetrators of these attacks throw acid at their victims (usually at their faces), burning them. The consequences are multiple: permanent scarring the body, disfigurement and potentially blindness.[1] 80% of all acid attack victims are female; and almost 40% are under 18 years of age.[1] There are also an increasing number of females perpetrating their actions on males.[citation needed]
The chemical agent used to commit these attacks is either hydrochloric acid, widely available in South Asian countries as a toilet cleaner or sulphuric acid from batteries. Because the chemical causes severe disfigurement, not death, this easily accessible chemical has become the popular weapon for attacks against women who refuse sexual advances and offers of marriage made by men. Scholars Taru Bahl and M.H. Syed say that land disputes are another leading cause of acid attacks.[1] In Bangladesh where acid attacks are relatively common, most attacks are domestic violence. [2]
Treatment
Victims of acid attacks are usually told to douse their faces thoroughly with clean water, and apply basic substances, such as urine, when possible. Long-term plastic surgery may help the victim recover.[citation needed]
Victims
Although acid attacks mainly target women, there has been a case in which a man was deliberately attacked by a woman, another where a man was attacked by a male and several other situations where men were inadvertently harmed due to their proximity.
In the first case, a man who divorced his wife was targeted by her with acid on two occasions [3], permanently losing sight in one eye in the first assault. She was arrested after chasing him in the streets, when police discovered that she was carrying acid, intending to attack again. In the second incident, a Muslim cleric in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, was accused of attacking a male student with acid because the student refused his sexual advances. [4] Female attacks on males are comparatively uncommon.
Acid attacks around the world
Such attacks are not unknown in various parts of the world.
- Australia - A Chinese-Australian named Dominic Li was murdered by gangsters, by having acid poured down his throat; [5]
- Bangladesh - Possibly has the highest rate of acid attacks of any country; [6]
- Cambodia - Acid attacks are frequently inflicted upon mistresses; [7]
- China - Acid attacks have been reported within the country; [8]
- Colombia - Four people were attacked with sulphuric acid in 2007. The motives were revenge and theft.[9]
- El Salvador - A woman had acid poured in her face before being raped and murdered. [10]
- Ethiopia - A particularly gruesome attack was committed in the context of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War; [11]
- Italy - Michael Musmanno discusses attending a trial for a similar crime during the inter-war period;
- Southern Thailand - Six Thai youths were assaulted with acid in Pattani, allegedly by Malay Muslim rebels. [12]
- United States - A student attending college had acid thrown in her face while at school by two men, in Oakland California.[13]
- Iran
Related social problems
Acid attacks are differentiated from dowry harassments, where women are harassed for increasing dowries after marriage, and punished (often with death) for failure to obtain the requested amounts of money or goods. The method of killing these brides is typically by fire, due to the notorious instability of oil cookstoves that are then blamed for the attacks. Although these deaths are often deemed accidental, the incidence of dowry burnings has only recently subsided, due in large part to the penal and preventative legislation introduced by the Indian Union. Unlike acid attacks, these dowry-related assaults and murders are orchestrated most often by the mother-in-law, and represent a spin on the traditional view of misogyny as male-perpetuated.
Other uses of the term
- The term "acid attack" may refer to the decay of teeth due to acid.
- Some insects, such as certain ants, can spray acid in self-defense.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Bahl, Taru & M.H. Syed, Encyclopaedia of the Muslim World (Anmol Publications PVT Ltd, 2004), ISBN: 9788126114193, p. 224
- ^ Acid Attacks in Bangladesh: A Voice for the Victims
- ^ Scorned wife blinds husband with acid
- ^ Acid attack on boy who 'refused sex with Muslim cleric'
- ^ Addict admits acid attack contract killing
- ^ Acid Attacks in Bangladesh: A Voice for the Victims
- ^ Living in the Shadows: Acid Attacks in Cambodia Report
- ^ Hospital offers surgery to victim of acid attack
- ^ A young manicurist was attacked with Sulphuric Acid on commands by a neighbor (Spanish)
- ^ Multi-Death Corporations
- ^ [1] (restricted)
- ^ 6 teens hurt in acid attack
- ^ Merritt College student scarred after assault - Oakland Tribune