Acid attacks take place all over the world. They are particularly brutal in their intent -- as they aim not to kill the victim, but to disfigure them and thereby, to condemn them to a life of suffering. A vast majority of these victims are women, and a majority of such attacks take place in South Asia. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have the dubious distinction of having the highest number of acid attack incidents in the world.
India has the highest number of acid attacks in the world, but the worst conviction rates. As is often the case with other crimes against women, acid attacks are treated with official apathy and societal indifference. The victims are usually women between the ages of 14 and 35 years, and the attack often occurs as revenge for rejecting a marriage proposal or sexual advances, showing the peculiar mindset of male entitlement and power, and no right for a woman to refuse. Women have had acid thrown at them for not bringing enough dowry, for bearing a female child and for not cooking a good enough meal.
India has acknowledged the cancer of acid attacks by framing suitable laws. But clearly these laws need better implementation, as do efforts to put survivors on the road to rehabilitation.
