Acid attacks are a form of gender-based violence that India has been trying to contain, as victims of these acid attacks end up with excruciatingly painful physical and mental scarring, which becomes their miserable life-long companions. The figures for the United Kingdom (United Kingdom) are appalling as they reveal that from all the total 1500 acid attack cases that occur globally every year, India accounts for as many as 1000 of these cases, which is 67% of all the acid attacks reported worldwide (according to the Acid Survivors Trust International – ASTI). This glaring fact reveals an emergency that needs to be handled immediately, and exemplary lives must be served efficiently.
Key Acid Attack in India Statistics
- From the 1500 globally reported cases discovered per annum, 1000 are caused in India.
- The cases of acid attacks are more than the reported ones, especially women. 84% of attackers are males, and the victims are females in most cases.
- Proof of this is that 76% of acid attacks are at the hands of those who know the victim.
- The largest group of victims are aged 18 – 22; the younger ones are the vulnerable target precisely because they are not mature enough to deal with the situation adequately.
- Acid attacks have even become a symbol of the level of evilness and immorality that permeates local authorities in many capitals of both developing and developed countries.
A Harrowing Epidemic
India is a country that brazenly reports a cancerous amount of acid attacks, according to ASTI, which reckoned that the order of 1000 acid attacks reported out of 1500 worldwide occur within the boundaries of our country. Among all the incidents in the world, the number of which reached 67% or, in other words, 33,094, is just this number that manifests the seriousness of this problem and the necessity of its immediate solution. ASTI’s study says acid attack victims, in general, are mostly females, and the Indian trend is not different- at least 80 percent of acid attack victims are women. The overwhelming majority of the perpetrators are men; it is 84 percent of the male population that carries out the attacks.
Reported Cases and Underreporting
NCRB data releases the sharp rise of acid attack cases in India, which have been marked as reported during recent years. In 2010, the number of recorded cases amounted to 80, almost twice as compared to 2019. This year, we had 240 recorded cases more than 3 times than in 2010. While the statistics are a source within the country, it is important to note that half of the cases of this nature go unreported, being hidden from the public. Such underreporting can be a result of several factors, which include societal stigma, victim’s unwillingness to come forward due to the traumatic effect of crime, scarcity of resources, particularly in rural areas, and fear of retribution from the offender.
Geographic Disparities
In the NCRB data from the year 2021, we see that there were 176 reported cases of acid attacks in India, together with an additional 73 “cases of attempt to acid attack.” The state of West Bengal registered the highest number of incidents. Among them 34 cases occurred there, and following it, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan recorded 22 and 15 cases. By these numbers, we see the nature of this situation and the necessity to take specially tailored measures where larger incidences have been seen. Nevertheless, it bears mentioning that what is presented as many acid attacks in other states that are not included in the list and the country at large could be multiplefold of the given number as a result of underreporting issues.
Victim Demographics and Attack Locations
Attacks from acid offenders in India are mainly directed against younger females, with leaders of such evil acts being between the ages of 18 and 22, as ASTI studies determined. Besides that, the place where the woman faces attackers more often is the city, urban region, where 84.48% of acid attackers live. This shows women living in cities and other big cities are more likely to be acid attacked. These numbers help us to visualize which group and location of society is mostly touched by the rising issue of domestic violence. The need for this issue particular attention is stemmed from this and our response must be tailored to the circumstances of those communities.
Conviction Rates and Judicial Challenges
Though the legal principles were introduced that regained the acid attacks, there lawsuit rate in India remains low. As per data provided by NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) from 2016 to 2018, these cases had conviction rates fluctuating in the 2-3 % range only. Within the 2018 year, out of 523 cases of acid attacks that headed for trial, only 32 (6.11%) verdicts in terms of justice-seeking were delivered while the rest were still at the trial phase, showing the difficulties and dislike of justice survivors. That high level of complaints denied should not only be considered as being unfair to the victims of the violence but also such an amoral culture of impunity that could end up not supporting the efforts to bring to an end violent attacks.
Justice Delayed
The questionability of the Indian legal system to deal with acid attack cases gets more accentuated in the light of the long time trial process. The media highlights that, as per ASTI, an acid attack case in India, on average, takes between five to ten years to reach a final verdict, which is a fact to be reminded of here. In addition to the emotional distress, the survivors and their family members face other additional ups when cases involving the use of Rape and other sexual-related cases stretch for months before finding justice.
The significant challenges they face include a weakening of evidence as time goes by, less cooperation of witnesses who get more reasons to avoid testifying due to the emotional and financial stress they are going through, and the extra financial cost borne both by the Low conviction rates, delay in the judicial system and time required even worse denying support and justice that the survivors need urgently. In this case, continuation negatively charges the cycle, making situations
Motives and Consequences
The core reasons for the acid attacks in India are directly associated with the patriarchy-based leftover ideology within the society. All of this includes deliberate non-attendance to marriage, personal enmity, mental torture concerning possible extramarital affairs, disregard of the sexual proposal, and jealousy of the victim’s beauty and success. Survivors of such assaults, in a majority of cases, have to endure the trauma that comes with the fact that the offenders are very likely familiar with the victim, could be a former partner, a friend, or an acquaintance, adding more salt to the injuries of emotions and the lost trust.
The effects that acid burns leave behind are damning and permanently disfiguring for victims; the consequences hurt not only their instant physical but also their general mental health. Their physical health gets severely affected by a variety of ailments such as extreme pains, disfigurations, and amputation of critical organs/body parts, which results in lifelong complications along with the need for lifetime care and corrective surgery. Fluid burns result in a series of devastating consequences, such as total blindness, extreme and uncurable skin destruction, or the loss or damage of vital functions like eyesight, hearing, and movement.
Victims are likely to struggle mentally with a broad array of psychological health issues like depression, insomnia, anxiety, nightmares, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These also result in exacerbating their suffering.
The aftermath of a willfully inflicted psychic wound stems even beyond the attack. It covers the struggle with permanent disfigurement and the lessening of direct physical and social interactions through remaining alive. It brings about a powerful feeling of inferiority, social exclusion and being ashamed of themselves or absence of appropriate behavior in public or even staying away from worldly most excite.
Acid attack victims not only suffer psychological and physical impacts but socially and economically, these challenges also exist. The attackers usually make physical inaccessibility of their relatives to do business due to the loss of a spouse or their condition negatively.
Survivors consequently find themselves staring into the eyes of pity or enduring stares and mockery from cruel people they meet because of their facial scars and disfigurement, which ultimately make them guilty of becoming socially marginalized and ostracized. The off-the-cuff impacts of those attacks on the survivors could have long-term consequences that are the matter of their well-being, dignity, and ability to lead a happy life that would call for constructing comprehensive support systems for them, and society will begin the transformation into another more tolerant one.
Legal Reforms and Challenges
Before the 2013 Criminal Law Amendment Act, there was much vagueness and insufficient deterrents in our import, which did not allow the delivery of substantial punishments for acid attackers. The Act only differentiates acid attacks as a separate offense under the Indian Penal Code and a stronger victim’s compensatory mechanism for the victims, which is to enable the victims with medical treatment and social efforts. It provided for not less than 7 years imprisonment for attempted acid attacks and a 10-year imprisonment sentence in convictions based on the facts, as well as free medical treatment for the survivors of the attacks.
Yet, the implementation of this legislation has faced the serious problem of overcoming hurdles. Investigative activities have been tagged with delays, trials have had a long process, and low conviction rates are still a huge challenge that has not allowed the system to operate efficiently.
Also, limited reimbursement to victims with at the same time frequently inadequate amounts cannot be paid even when the survivors face multiple problems in getting the financial help they need for their recovery and rehabilitation. The proponents of the Liberal Democratic Party are also worried about the limits of free medical treatment services, leaving the people wondering if it’s just initial healthcare services or long-term care such as corrective operations or psychological counseling.
Conclusion
Acid attack in India is a rampaging human rights violation that requires urgent and holistic action. Although legal reforms and actions of different kinds are undertaken, they can’t be the only solution. So, we need to enforce the laws strongly, give access to fair justice, and change the mindset of society about gender equilibrium. Addressing the factors that contribute to such violence, i.e., traditional norms and beliefs and the justice system’s ineffectiveness, is obligatory to guarantee the safety, self-esteem, and empowerment of all people, women in particular.
