Preventing acid attacks

The movement of the Acid Control and Burn Crime Prevention bill is a concrete step towards protecting women.

The movement of the Acid Control and Burn Crime Prevention bill in the National Assembly is a concrete step towards protecting women from violence. Prepared by the ministry of women, in coordination with Acid Surviors Foundation and UNDP, the bill criminalises acid-related violence, provides tougher punishment, puts the financial onus of the victim’s medical treatment and psychological rehabilitation on the attacker, and restricts the availability and sale of acid. In Pakistan, acid attacks are common in retaliation to rejected marriage proposals, suspicions of infidelity and other disputes. Women are the main sufferers, though men and children also become victims as the incident in which a forty-year-old man from Misri Shah was killed when unidentified people threw acid on him and his family as they slept in their home.

More often though, acid throwing takes place during domestic arguments and the ensuing violence against women is generally considered a private matter which people are unwilling to censure. In 2009, the ASF reported 48 acid attacks, up from 30 in 2007. The crime is still thought to be underreported because it is considered a domestic issue which is immediately hushed up. It is the ready availability and cheapness of acid that makes it such an effective instrument of victimising women. When it isn’t fatal, it disfigures the victim and leaves lasting psychological scars.

While comprehensive legislation is the first step, it is useless without effective implementation. In a country where any bill on domestic violence is repudiated for fear of destroying the social fabric, the challenge for both NGOs and the government is to rally support, raise awareness and convince people that acid throwing is as barbaric a crime in the sanctity of the home as it is out in the streets. Only when this law achieves acceptance among the people will it be effective in easing the suffering of victims.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2010.