Acid Violence in Bangladesh & Case Study

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ABSTRACT

The study investigated the intensity of women rights violation like sexual harassment, women and child trafficking, early marriage, dowry, physical torture, polygamy, suicide, divorce, murder, illegal divorce, eve teasing, rape, acid throwing, temporary marriage (hilla) and extra marital affairs- in Bangladesh. Beneficiaries have stated that violence due to “Dowry” is the most severe problem in our country. Other statement also proved that there is a strong dowry-violence link. Some of the violence’s were not noticed by the male while doing FGD whereas the female respondents mentioned about polygamy, extra marital affairs, mental torture. Surprisingly none mentioned about suicide, though it is increasing day by day. In most cases, suicide by women directly relates with VAW.

Over the last decade Bangladesh is witnessing an alarming growth of acid attack especially on women. Acid attack is a heinous crime committed against any woman, with an intention to disfigure or kill her. This can also be called as the gender based violence against women. Recent study reveals that 78% of the reported acid attack case is for refusal to marriage or a rejection of romance. “Acid attack on young women” is some of the headlines that are appearing in the daily newspaper. Acid attack on women is increasing day by day. These attacks can be attributed to various contributing factors such as the social weakness of women in a male-dominated society; lack of support, the general neglect of the lawmakers on this particular field etc. The easy availability of acid in an inexpensive manner makes the perpetrators to use this as an ideal weapon against the women. This offence being bail able in certain situations, the punishment does not act as a sufficient threat on the offenders in most cases. Our legal and medical systems have also proved very weak while dealing with such cases; there is no proper legislation and the medical facilities provided are also not proper. This field study describes the horrendous effects that acid attacks have on the victims physically, psychologically and socially. It also examines the contemporary laws governing acid attacks on victims and offenders. Ideas for a better legal approach will also be examined with special reference to acid attacks as a crime, and the validity of specific legal provisions for female victims.

Chapter 1

FIELD PRACTICE AS SENSE OF VICTIM

1.1 Overview

Text Box: Emotional and Behavioral Responses to Attacks Criminal acts stemming from prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity—frequently referred to as "hate violence"—have increased during recent years. This study explored the nature of hate attacks and victims' responses to them. The sample consisted of 59 victims and included black, white, and Southeast Asian people. Data were obtained through focus group meetings, individual interviews, and questionnaires. More than half of the victims reported experiencing a series of attacks rather than a single attack. Anger, fear, and sadness were the emotional responses most frequently reported by victims. About one-third of the victims reported behavioral responses such as moving from the neighborhood or purchasing a gun. The responses of hate violence victims were similar to those of victims of other types of personal crime. Implications for social work intervention are discussed. Key Words: hate crimes; racism; victims; violence

“Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women.” The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, General Assembly Resolution, December 1993. Violence against women and girls continues to be a global epidemic that kills, tortures, and maims – physically, psychologically, sexually and economically. It is one of the most pervasive of human rights violations, denying women and girl’s equality, security, dignity, self-worth, and their right to enjoy fundamental freedoms. Violence against women is present in every country, cutting across boundaries of culture, class, education, income, ethnicity and age. Even though most societies proscribe violence against women, the reality is that violations against women’s human rights are often sanctioned under the garb of cultural practices and norms, or through misinterpretation of religious tenets. Moreover, when the violation takes place within the home, as is very often the case, the abuse is effectively condoned by the tacit silence and the passivity displayed by the state and the law-enforcing machinery. The global dimensions of this violence are alarming, as highlighted by studies on the incidence and prevalence of violence.

No society can claim to be free of such violence; the only variation is in the patterns and trends that exist in countries and regions. Specific groups of women are more vulnerable to violence, including minority groups, indigenous and migrant women, refugee women and those in situations of armed conflict, women in institutions and detention, women with disabilities, female children, and elderly women. This Digest focuses specifically on domestic violence – the most prevalent yet relatively hidden and ignored form of violence against women and girls. While reliable statistics are hard to come by, studies estimate that, from country to country, between 20 and 50 per cent of women have experienced physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner or family member. For the purpose of this Digest, the term “domestic violence” includes violence against women and girls by an intimate partner, including a cohabiting partner, and by other family members, whether this violence occurs within or beyond the confines of the home. While recognizing that other forms of violence are equally worthy of attention, this Digest does not cover the violence inflicted on women by strangers outside the home – in public places such as streets,

workplaces or in custody, or in situations of civil conflict or war. It does not look at the issue of violence against domestic workers, as this is a form of violence perpetrated by individuals who are not related. In other words, the term “domestic” here refers to the types of relationships involved rather than the place where the violent act occurs. The Digest attempts to set out the magnitude and universality of domestic violence against women and girls, and its impact on the rights of women and children. It emphasizes the need for coordinated and integrated policy responses; enhancing partnerships between stakeholders; setting up mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating programmes and policies; implementing existing legislation; and ensuring greater transparency and accountability from governments in order to eliminate violence against women and girls. Women’s groups have long pushed for such responses, and have placed women’s rights firmly on the agenda of international human rights through their advocacy. The 1990s, in particular, witnessed concentrated efforts on the part of the world community to legitimize and mainstream the issue. The World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna (1993) accepted that the rights of women and girls are “an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights.” The United Nations General Assembly, in December 1993, adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. It is the first international human rights instrument to deal exclusively with violence against women, a groundbreaking document that became the basis for many other parallel processes. In 1994, the Commission on Human Rights appointed the first UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, entrusting her with the task of analyzing and documenting the phenomenon, and holding governments accountable for violations against women. The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995) included elimination of all forms of violence against women as one of its twelve strategic objectives, and listed concrete actions to be taken by governments, the United Nations, international and nongovernmental organizations. While gender-based violence is not specifically mentioned in the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in 1992 the Committee overseeing CEDAW implementation adopted General Recommendation 19, which states that gender-based violence is a form of discrimination that inhibits a woman’s ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men. It asks that governments take this into consideration when reviewing their laws and policies. Under the new Optional Protocol to CEDAW, adopted by the UN General Assembly in October 1999, ratifying States recognize the authority of the Committee to receive and consider complaints from individuals or groups within that State’s jurisdiction. On the basis of such complaints, the Committee can then conduct confidential investigations and issue urgent requests for a government to take action to protect victims from harm, bringing the Convention into line with other human rights instruments such as the Convention against Torture. This growing momentum has compelled a better understanding of the causes and consequences of violence against women, and positive steps have been taken in some countries, including reforming and changing laws that deal with violations against women. Some regions have developed their own conventions on violence against women, examples of which are the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, and the African Convention on Human and People’s Rights, including its Additional Protocol on Women’s Rights.

1.2 Acts of Violence:

The interviews focused primarily on the most recent personal attack that participants had experienced. The total number of recent attacks for the sample was 53, rather than 59, because the sample included six couples who mutually experienced six attacks. As indicated in Table 2, for slightly more than two out of five respondents (44.1 percent), the most recent attack had occurred in a single time period and had been their first hate violence victimization. One-tenth of the respondents (10.2 percent) reported experiencing one or more prior hate violence incidents that appeared to be unrelated to the most recent attack. For slightly more than two out of five respondents (45.8 percent), the most recent incident was actually the latest in a series of related attacks. Some of these serial attacks ranged over several months and some over three years. Some of the most recent attacks reported by respondents included multiple crimes that occurred on the same date (Table 2). Because of the multiple natures of some attacks, the total number of crimes experienced by victims in recent attacks was 68 rather than 53.

Physical assault, verbal harassment, and mail or telephone threats were the most frequently reported crimes (Table 2). These three categories together accounted for almost 49 percent of the experiences of respondents. The next most common attacks (14.7 percent) were symbols or slogans of hate on or near the personal property of victims. Attacks on homes and other acts of vandalism, respectively, accounted for 8.8 percent and 7.4 percent of the incidents. Robberies and attempted robberies were considered possible hate violence attacks because the motives of the offenders were unclear. However, it should be noted that victims of these crimes perceived them as crimes motivated by prejudice.

1.3 Impact of Attacks on Victims and Their Families

The majority of the 59 victims (76 percent) did not receive physical injuries as a result of the most recent attack. Minor injuries were sustained by 10 percent, and 9 percent received medical treatment for injuries inflicted in the attack. The severe injuries inflicted on 5 percent of the victims required hospitalization. In 41 percent of the most recent attacks, victims incurred property damage.

Participants identified several emotional reactions to the most recent attack on them (Table 3). Irwin, a Jewish victim who had a swastika spray- painted on his mailbox, identified his response as “mostly a feeling of anger.” The most prevalent emotion was anger at the perpetrator, which nearly 68 percent of the participants reported. Fear of injury was the next most frequently cited emotion, with nearly 51 percent of the participants indicating fear that they or their families would be physically injured. A number of victims (approximately 36 percent) were saddened by the incident.

About one-third of the participants (33.9 percent) reported behavioral changes as both coping responses to the most recent attack and as attempts to avoid potential future victimization. These behavioral changes included moving out of the neighborhood, decreasing social participation, purchasing a gun or increasing readiness to use a gun, buying initial or additional home security devices, and increasing safety precautions for children in the family. Somala, a Cambodian refugee, was assaulted by a black man in a suburban park. Shortly after the attack, Somala moved to another county. She moved because of fear that the man would find her and attack again, and she subsequently avoided the county in which the attack occurred. Somala’s responses represent the avoidance behavioral coping that some victims adopted.

In contrast to avoidance, the behavioral coping of some victims consisted of preparations for retaliation. One black man stated, “I am scared that I might catch one of these people. The scariest thing is I got guns and can use them.”

1.4 Discussion and Implications:

In examining the most recent hate violence incidents, the study found considerable variation in both the type and intensity of attacks. This finding is consistent with those of other recent investigations of hate violence (for example, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1986; Wexler & Marx, 1986). The characteristics of some attacks appeared to be consistent with conventional definitions of social terrorism (Gurr, 1989), particularly evident in the finding of the current study that more than half of the participants experienced multiple attacks.

In comparing the emotional and behavioral responses of victims of hate violence with those of victims of personal crimes such as assault and rape, several similarities were identified. Investigators have reported intense rage or anger (Bard & Sangrey, 1986); fear of injury, death, and future victimization (Davis & Friedman, 1985); sadness (Ochberg, 1988); and depression (Shapland, Willmore, & Duff, 1985) as elements of victims’ potential reactions to crime. Thus, to some extent, the predominant emotional responses of hate violence victims appear similar to those of victims of other types of personal crime. The behavioral coping responses of hate violence victims are also similar to those used by other victims of crime (Davis & Friedman, 1985; Wirtz & Harrell, 1987).

Crime victims often experience feelings of powerlessness and increased suspicion of other people (Bard & Sangrey, 1986). These emotions were also reported by victims of hate violence. A major difference in the emotional response of hate violence victims appears to be the absence of lowered self-esteem. The ability of some hate violence victims to maintain their self-esteem may be associated with their attribution of responsibility for the attacks to the prejudice and racism of the perpetrators.

Some limitations of this study need to be mentioned. First, the participants interviewed in the study had all contacted the police, human rights agencies, or other organizations. Thus, study findings are most relevant to the population of victims who report hate violence. Second, the general-izability of the findings to this population may be affected by the relatively small size and nonrandom nature of the sample.

Although responsibility for responding to hate violence is primarily allocated to community relations agencies, social workers in a wide array of settings encounter clients who have experienced this type of victimization. Thus, social workers must have knowledge of characteristics of hate violence, victims’ reactions to attacks, and community resources that address hate violence.

Practitioners can assist victims in managing the stress of hate violence. As with victims of other types of crime, short-term interventions appear best suited for meeting the needs of hate violence victims (Young, 1988). Group work services may also be beneficial (Weiss & Ephross, 1986). With highly traumatized victims, specialized psychotherapy may be required (Ochberg, 1988). To prevent hate violence, social workers need to assist in educating citizens about this problem (Weiss, 1990).

Since the world was created, women have been abused in many senses, physically, mentally, economically and so on. Recent statistics also show that domestic violence is present in all parts of the world; the Western world is not excluded. It is imperative to establish the rights of men and women fully.

In third world countries, women are mostly abused and neglected in the name of religion. As a Bangladeshi woman, I’ll talk about the problem of Bangladeshi women. “Acid” is the name of the most dangerous curse now a days. Acid violence is among the grossest of human rights violations, and the goal of this examination is to focus the debate and the point of intervention in order to more effectively address the problem. What can be cruller to a human being than destroy one’s own identity? Sometimes when we open a newspaper, we see some faces there which are so defiled, that it is difficult to believe that those are faces of a human being. Generally the women of poor class are the main victims of acid. Approximately 300 people in Bangladesh experience this attack each year, and 41 percent of victims are under the age of 18. People of the root level find it the cheapest and easiest way to take revenge. Acid is also an available element. 78 percent of reported acid violence happens to women, with the most common reasons for attack being the dowry problem, the conjugal problem, the refusal of marriage, the denial of sex, the rejection of romance and any kind of misunderstanding in a relationship even in family quarrel. By studying these cases, we see acid victims are mostly in the 10 – 30 age groups. Mostly when women are sleeping or going out for natural necessity, acid is thrown at them through open windows or from hiding places. A cup of acid, usually sulphuric acid poured from any car battery or purchased from auto repair shops, costs only a few cents, and is therefore a cheap and available weapon. Some perpetrators throw acid in an attempt to obtain the victim’s land, believing that the family will be forced to sell their property in order to pay for medical treatment.

The most crucial part is acid attacks leave victims horribly disfigured because most attacks are directed at the face in order to permanently scar the victim and destroy her physical appearance. Victims don’t die but they burn very badly. Sometimes, not only the flesh but the bones are also melted by this. Acid spreads either through the whole body or mostly in upper portion of the body. Often times, the victim is left blinded, deaf or dumb. This also breaks their courage to live and saps their will power to fight against this cruel society. It seems that those who die are relieved and those are alive die each day. They can have no normal life. Along with physical suffering, acid survivors have to deal with mental trauma as well. Many victims are frustrated, and some of them have suicidal tendencies. They need periodic counselling by trained psychotherapists to recover from the shock and frustration. Victims usually become depressed and are treated as outcasts by relatives, neighbours, and friends. Not only does the victim suffer, also, the whole family is suffers with her, equally, both mentally and socially.

1.5 Bangladesh Perspective:

Bangladesh is the country with the largest number of acid victims in the whole world. The weak judicial system is the biggest reason for this problem. Acid attackers mostly enjoy the poor structure of the law and also enjoy the social and judicial benefits. It takes very long to dismiss a case in Bangladesh. In year 2000 came the law under women and children custody, which said that the death sentence would be the highest penalty for an acid attacker. Criminals, however, take shelter in all sorts of gaps and weak parts of the law and remain free. Lots of people also say there should be also some regulation on selling acid. Not only should the acid thrower be punished, but also the acid seller (who is selling acid without permission) and also each other helpers in this purpose. Bangladesh still suffers from a poorly trained police force and a backlogged court system, both rife with corruption. Therefore, most perpetrators still go unpunished. If history is a lesson, a marked decrease in acid attacks will not occur until the Bangladeshi police and legal systems become more quick and effective, the prerequisite for which is probably a revolution at the heart of the Bangladeshi political system. . Due to poor promotion in the media and a lack of awareness in the people, most people are not aware of the law. As the legal system has not been able to hand out exemplary punishment to any acid attacker so far, attackers have little to fear. And the media needs to work more on this issue. Repeated broadcasts of punishment delivered would tell the public of recourse available to victims and warn potential acid attackers.

Because of this increasing problem, Dhaka Medical College has opened a separate “Burn Unit”. This unit, created in the late 1990s, contains 8 beds and employs 3 plastic surgeons. It was the only burn facility in this country of 140 million people; therefore, it was frequently inaccessible to acid victims. But now Bangladesh has about four other hospitals, apart from the Dhaka Medical College, that can provide treatment to acid-attack victims.

There is no concrete medicine for this issue. The only method is washing the attacked place by using normal temperate water again and again. Victims need long-term as well as short-term care. Thanks to modern treatment facilities, cosmetic surgery is one of the solutions available. But because it remains a costly project, most victims have to wait for help from a welfare organization. Private donors have been very actively helpful in supporting some of these organizations. Acid survivors are never cured completely. Even after extensive treatment gouges inevitably remain, making social reintegration and marriage very difficult.

The fact that acid survivors can never regain their original appearance has a severe impact on their social lives. It is tough for the victims to accept their new identities. Moreover, the working capabilities of acid victims drop significantly. Because of physical problems, such as the loss of their eyesight or hearing and the sensitivity of their skin to heat and sunlight, the victims can only do very limited types of jobs. Their income-generating power decreases. Young victims, meanwhile, have to stop going to school. Even after they have recovered, most of them cannot continue their studies because of their unstable physical conditions. They thus cannot develop skills that they could have fostered otherwise. Luckily the welfare organizations are doing lot more than only providing them treatment. They are also taking care of their rehabilitation in this society. They are trying to integrate them in society by providing training such as poultry farming, handicrafts etc. The most delightful part of it is that some acid survivors have shown considerable progress in these activities.

Acid violence is yet another horrible chapter in the book of human rights abuses in Bangladesh. One especially positive aspect of efforts against acid violence among Bangladeshis, explains Dr. Morrison, “Bangladeshis are outright shocked and ashamed that the attacks happen here.” A message must be sent to society that the state genuinely considers acid violence a heinous crime and that whoever takes part in the crime will be severely punished. To realise this aim, Bangladesh needs efficient law enforcement agencies and an effective judicial system to work together with the public to bring the perpetrators to justice.

1.6 Objectives of the study:

Ø To gain in depth understanding about the existing status and conditions of VAW in the project areas

Ø To capture the present level of participation of women in public functions

Ø To identify the level of awareness of community, including other relevant stakeholders regarding women’s rights and the consequences on violation of those rights

Ø To identify the nature of violence and their underlying causes, which prominently exists in the project areas

Ø To get information on the existing Govt. and Non Govt. Agencies, where the victims of VAW received support at local level

Ø To examine the current level of women’s accessibility in the facilities which contribute in women empowerment, both at family and societal level

Ø To suggest necessary measures to improve the situation of VAW

1.7 Historical Background

The history of violence against women remains vague in scientific literature. This is in part due to the fact that many kinds of violence against women (specifically rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence) often go unreported or under-reported, often due to societal norms, taboos, stigma, and the sensitive nature of the subject. It is widely recognized that even today, a lack of reliable and continuous data is an obstacle in having a clear picture of violence against women, so a historical picture of violence against women becomes even more difficult to capture. Although the history of violence against women is difficult to track, some claim that violence against women has been accepted, and even condoned and legally sanctioned throughout history. Examples include the fact that Roman law gave men the right to chastise their wives, even to the point of death, the burning of witches, which was condoned by both the church and the state, and an 18th-century English common law allowing a man to punish his wife using a stick “no wider than his thumb.” This rule for punishment of wives prevailed in England and America until the late 19th century. Some historians believe that the history of violence against women is tied to the history of women being viewed as property and a gender role assigned to be subservient to men and also other women. Oftentimes, explanations of and an overall world system or status quo in which gender inequalities exist and are perpetuated, are cited to explain the scope and history of violence against women. The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993) states that “violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women, and that violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men.” To the modern day, it is recognized that violence against women exists everywhere, and that “there is no region of the world, no country and no culture in which women’s freedom from violence has been secured.” Attention is often drawn to the fact that some forms of violence are particularly more prevalent in some countries/parts of the world, often in developing countries or the Third-World; for example, the associations of dowry violence and bride burning with countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal; acid throwing also with these countries, as well as some places in Southeast Asia, such as Cambodia; honor killings with the Middle East and South Asia; female genital mutilation with particular regions in Africa, and to a lesser extent the Middle East and some other parts of Asia; marriage by abduction with Ethiopia, Central Asia and the Caucasus; abuse related to payment of bride price (such as violence, trafficking and forced marriage) to certain parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. (see also lobolo). Some regions are no longer associated today with a specific form of violence, but such violence was common until quite recently in those places – this is for instance the case with honor-based crimes in Southern/Mediterranean Europe. For instance, in Italy, before 1981, the Criminal Code provided for mitigating circumstances in case of a killing of a female or her sexual partner due to honor reasons, providing for a reduced sentence for such killings. However, using any explanation based on culture to justify specific forms of violence against women may legitimize such acts. There is also debate and controversy about the ways in which cultural traditions, local customs and social expectations, and various interpretations of religion can interact with certain abusive practices. Specifically, cultural justifications for certain violent acts against women are asserted by some States and by social groups within many countries claiming to defend cultural tradition (also historical tradition), but these justifications are questionable precisely because these defenses are generally voiced by political leaders or traditional authorities, not by those actually affected. But the need for sensitivity and respect of culture is an element which cannot be ignored either, thus a sensitive debate has ensued and is still ongoing.

However, there has also been a history of recognizing of the harmful and wrongful effects of this violence, and actions have been taken to classify it as unjust. In the 1870s, courts in the United States stopped recognizing the common-law principle that a husband had the right to “physically chastise an errant wife”. In fact, the first state to rescind this right was Alabama in 1871. In the UK the traditional right of a husband to inflict moderate corporal punishment on his wife in order to keep her “within the bounds of duty” was removed in 1891. More recently, in the 20th and 21st centuries, and in particular since the 1990s, there has been a large increase in activity on both the national and international levels to research, raise awareness and advocate for the prevention of all kinds of violence against women. Most often, violence against women has been framed as a health issue, and also as a violation of human rights. As for current information, a study from 2002 estimated that at least one in five women in the world had been physically or sexually abused by a man sometime in their lifetime, and that “gender-based violence accounts for as much death and ill-health in women aged 15–44 years as cancer, and is a greater cause of ill-health than malaria and traffic accidents combined.” Although there are many different forms, certain characteristics of violence against women have emerged from the research, for example, quite often acts of violence against women are not unique episodes, but are ongoing over time, and that more often than not, the violence is perpetrated by someone the woman knows, not a stranger. However, all of the research seems to provide convincing evidence that violence against women is a severe and pervasive problem the world over, with devastating effects on the health and well-being of women and children. Some of the largest milestones on the international level for the prevention of violence against women include:

Ø The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which recognizes violence as a part of discrimination against women in recommendations 12 & 19.

Ø The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, which recognized violence against women as a human rights violation, and which contributed to the following UN declaration.

Ø The 1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women was the first international instrument explicitly defining and addressing violence against women.

Ø The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, linking violence against women to reproductive health & rights, and also providing recommendations to governments on how to prevent & respond to violence against women and girls.

Ø In 1999,the UN designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Ø In 2002, as a follow-up of the WHA declaration in 1996 of violence as a major public health issue, the World Health Organization published the first World Report on Violence and Health, which addressed many types of violence and their impact on public health, including forms of violence affecting women particularly strongly. The report specifically noted the sharp rise in civil society organizations and activities directed at responding to gender-based violence against women from the 1970s to the 1990s

Ø In 2004, the World Health Organization published its “Multi-country study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women,” a study of women’s health and domestic violence by surveying over 24,000 women in 10 countries from all regions of the world, which assessed the prevalence & extent of violence against women, particularly violence by intimate partners, and linked this with health outcomes to women as well as documenting strategies & services which women use to cope with intimate-partner violence

Ø The 2006 UN Secretary General’s “In-depth study on all forms of violence against women,” the first comprehensive international document on the issue.

Ø The 2011 Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, which is the second regional legally-binding instrument on violence against women and girls.

Ø In 2013, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) adopted, by consensus, Agreed Conclusions on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls (formerly, there were no agreed-upon conclusions).

Ø Also in 2013, the UN General Assembly passed its first resolution calling for the protection of defenders of women’s human rights.^[38] The resolution urges states to put in place gender-specific laws and policies for the protection of women’s human rights defenders and to ensure that defenders themselves are involved in the design and implementation of these measures, and calls on states to protect women’s human rights defenders from reprisals for cooperating with the UN and to ensure their unhindered access to and communication with international human rights bodies and mechanisms.^[

Ø Additionally, on the national level, individual countries have also organized efforts (legally, politically, socially) to prevent, reduce and punish violence against women. As a particular case study, here are some developments since the 1960s in the United States to oppose and treat violence against women.

Ø 1967: One of the country’s first domestic violence shelters opened in Maine.

Ø 1972: The country’s first rape help hotline opened in Washington, D.C.

Ø 1978: Two national coalitions, the National Coalition against Sexual Assault and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, were formed, to raise awareness of these two forms of violence against women.

Ø 1994: Passage of the Violence Against Women Act or VAWA, legislation included in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, sponsored by then-Senator Joseph Biden, which required a strengthened community response to crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault, strengthened federal penalties for repeat sex offenders and strengthened legislative protection of victims, among many other provisions.

Ø 2006: President Bush signed into law the VAWA of 2006, with an emphasis on programs to address violence against Indian women, sexual assault, and youth victims, and establishing programs for Engaging Men and Youth, and Culturally and Linguistically Specific Services.

Ø 2007: The National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline opened.

Ø 2009: President Obama declared April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Other countries have also enacted comparable legislative, political and social instruments to address violence against women. Experts in the international community generally believe, however, that solely enacting punitive legislation for prevention & punishment of violence against women is not sufficient to address the problem. For example, although much stricter laws on violence against women have been passed in Bangladesh, violence against women is still rising.Instead, it is thought that wide societal changes to address gender inequalities & women’s empowerment will be the way to reduce violence against women.

Chapter- 2

ACID SURVIVOR FOUNDATION ORGANIZATION SUPPORTING VICTIM CASES

2.1 Overview:

ASF was formed in 1999 with the growing concern of the rising trend of acid violence in Bangladesh. Acid violence is a form of gender based violence that reflects and perpetuates the inequality of women in society. Gender based violence is a common scenario in Bangladesh. This form of violence cuts across cultural and religious barriers and impede on women’s right to fully participate in society. It has the effect of denying women important rights such as economic wellbeing, social wellbeing, political participation, personal fulfillment and self-worth. Fear, anxiety, fatigue, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleeping and eating disturbances are some of the psychological effects of acid violence. Many victims suffer from complete mental breakdown including identity crisis because of their lost and distorted appearance. Most stop their education or work during the length recovery period or beyond, due to disfigurement. Some survivors and their families face huge economic losses because of the time and money spent on treatment and lengthy legal proceedings.

Survivors often face social isolation which further damage their self-esteem and socioeconomic status. These prevent many female acid victims from living independent lives resulting in a situation of vulnerability and dependency. In this scenario, women’s potential remains unrealized and their contribution that could be directed to the betterment of society is underutilized.

ASF was formed with a vision to reduce and eventually eliminate acid attacks in Bangladesh and ensure that acid survivors are able to live with dignity. Since its formation, ASF has emerged as a global pioneer in combating gender based violence in the form of acid attacks. ASF has been working towards this vision by providing holistic burn care services. ASF runs a 20-bed hospital fully equipped to provide standard burn care services including plastic and reconstructive surgery in a low resource set up. ASF’s hospital provides comprehensive services including psychological care, legal assistance and financial support for economic rehabilitation. ASF engages government and civil society to take an active role to ensure that survivor’s rights are met by advocating at the national level for policy changes and at the local level to bring about changes in process and practice. ASF runs national and local prevention campaigns to raise awareness on the legal and social consequences of acid attacks and disseminate relevant information on what to do and where to go for help if an attack occurs.

The declining trend of acid violence shows the level of success that ASF has achieved since 1999. ASF’s rights based campaign has led to many unprecedented institutional and policy reforms with specific results including deterrent punishment against attackers. ASF’s prevention campaign has significantly reduced the number of acid attacks over the years. ASF started its prevention campaigns in 2002, the year 2002 saw the highest number of attacks with 490 recorded attacks. However, the trend started to decline from 2002 and in 2011 there were 84 numbers of incidents affecting 111 victims. Although, the number of attacks has declined since 2002, acid attacks still remain a grave concern and the challenge is to sustain the downward trend and eliminate this form of violence in Bangladesh.

In 2011 an expert team from Management Development Foundation (MDF) worked with ASF to develop a ten year strategic plan and a five year project proposal. The process was highly participatory and involved representation from all levels of ASF. The objective of the planning process was to clarify the future direction of ASF, to improve its effectiveness and corporation with ASF’s partners and to articulate a logical program intervention for the next five years. The ten year vision that was identified in the strategic plan is “ASF is a center of excellence with a vision of Bangladesh free from acid violence, where burn victims, especially women and children, live with dignity”. In the coming years ASF will continue to work towards this vision.

In 2011 ASF’s Executive Director Monira Rahman was honored with the prestigious WORLD CHILDREN PRIZE in recognition for her fearless struggle for those mainly girls who have been the victims of acid attacks or petrol attacks and whose appearances have been destroyed. ASF was also honored with the 2011 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

2.2 Mission:

“To prevent acid & burn violence and empower survivors, especially women and children, by: working with an integrated approach; using a replicable holistic (biopsycho-social) model which engages all national & international stakeholders and is backed by research, experience & evidence”.

2.3 Vision:

“ASF is a centre of excellence with a vision of Bangladesh free from acid violence, where burn victims, especially women and children, live with dignity”.

2.4 Values:

We strive to ensure Survivors Satisfaction in all activities; while maintaining Confidentiality and Respect for the Individuals. We take pride in the delivery of Quality Products & Services in a Timely Manner with Accuracy and Follow Up in all we do, ensuring Safety & Security. We will continuously Build our Team for 6Excellence in Service Delivery, Accountability & Transparency.

2.5 Achievement:

The work of ASF has been recognized by the international bodies like Buckingham Palace, Amnesty International, World Health Organization (WHO), Americans for UNFPA (the United Nations Population Fund), UN Human Rights Council and the World’s Children’s Prize Foundation which is considered as children’s Nobel Prize.



World Children Prize – 2011	2011 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic	Democracywatch has awarded the Executive Director of Acid Survivors Foundation, Ms. Monira Rahman as a women achiever-2011 for her dedicated humanitarian work for acid survivors.

Seeing the success of Bangladesh many country like Pakistan, India, Nepal, Cambodia and Uganda have also taken similar initiatives to combat acid violence. ASF runs a 20-bed licensed hospital specialized for acid and burn violence victims, which is fully equipped for standard burn care services including plastic and reconstructive surgery, though in a very low-resourced set up. Since an overwhelming majority of the victims are impoverished, the ASF Hospital offers completely free services benefitting around 700 acid victims annually (including survivors from previous years).

ASF has provided treatment, education and rehabilitation opportunities to a large number of survivors. Many victims are now professionally active in ASF itself and beyond. Survivors are represented in the governing body of ASF. They are now in leading positions in ASF management and program implementation. ASF has also transformed many ‘survivors’ into ‘survivor ambassadors’ who function as a platform for a collective voice to demand justice, protect rights, and act as an agent for prevention and integration into family and the society. Victim of an acid attack living in remote rural places now have access to psychosocial support from these ‘survivor ambassadors’.

ASF’s rights-based campaign has led to many unprecedented institutional and policy reforms. Thanks to ASF’s persistent efforts, Bangladesh is the only country to have enacted two laws in 2002—one that heightens criminal penalties and improves criminal procedures and another that controls the availability of acid. In order to implement these laws effectively, ASF works with the National Acid Control Council of the Government, the highest level inter-ministerial body and its district committees. The National Acid Control Council and the Social Welfare Ministry have created a special fund to compensate the medical, legal and rehabilitation costs. However, survivors’ access to these resources is still insignificant. As such ASF’s role to advocate meeting the needs of each survivor remains as continuous process.

ASF’s multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder prevention campaign has contributed to significant reduction of the number of acid attacks over the years. Before the ASF prevention campaign started in 2002, there were over 500 recorded attacks. In 2010 the number decreased to around 153, which nevertheless remains a grave concern with one attack in every two and half days. The challenge is to sustain the downward trend and eliminate this violence of unspeakable nature.

2.6 Success Stories:

The community-based psychosocial service is a new addition in the development arena. The Acid Survivors Foundation, through its partner organization Lighthouse and Manab Mukti Shangstha, started rendering this service since 2008. The districts of Sirajganj and Bogra top in acid violence and that is why these two districts have been chosen for extending this service. The 35-year-old Maneja in Bogra became a victim of acid violence by her second husband on 1 May 2007.Her whole body got burnt with acid. And with it, her marriage ended. The irony of fate is that she had to file a case against the person whom she married with dreams after the death of her

first husband. Although she received medical treatment from Acid Survivors Foundation and recovered from her wound, yet she could not recover psychologically. Life’s needs took her back to her own district Bogra. Maneja settled in her paternal house along with her only child Mustafa. She forgot about her own body and mind while tackling poverty and insecurity. When ASF went to visit Majena, it was observed that she has been living aloof from her neighbors. She has even lost the courage to go out of the house. The accused has, by then, secured bail and come out of jail and has been threatening her. The neighbors were also against Maneja. In place of extending a helping hand, they have cut down the trees she planted. She even could not rear poultry at her residence. Her only child was in

college, but his studies also stopped. The mother and son have been living with all socio-economic obstacles. We can easily imagine what can happen to a person in this situation. The first time when pear educators and psychologists went to her house, Majena kept completely mum; she didn’t speak a word, thinking that the accused would again strike. However, she started talking to them when pear educators visited her several times. Then, Maneja went through a series of psychological sessions at the community clinic. Her son was also included in the sessions. They started to change. Pear educators and psychologists also spoke to her neighbors at the same time. The discussions with the neighbors were organized in almost every month.ASF helped Maneja in a mortgage for her financial development. At first, no-one wanted to come to the discussion sessions. But slowly, the number of people started to increase in the discussions. The neighbors started become sincere about Maneja and visited her house Quite often. The person [Maneja] who was scared of going out had succeeded to get the accused arrested by the police when one day she cleverly called him at her

Acid Attac Statistics-2014
Month	Number of incidents	Number of survivors
January	4	4
February	4	4
March	5	7
April	3	3
May	4	4
June	6	7
July	4	7
August	6	10
September	6	8
October	7	9
November
December
Total	49	63

2.7 Statistics Report:

Acid Attack Statistics (1999 – 2013)
Month	Number of incidents	Number of survivors
1999	165	167
2000	240	240
2001	351	352
2002	494	496
2003	417	420
2004	326	333
2005	222	277
2006	183	224
2007	162	199
2008	142	184
2009	129	159
2010	122	160
2011	91	118
2012	71	98
2013	69	85
Total	3184	3512

Age group of acid survivors – 2013
Age group	Men	Women
Under 18	3	14
19-25	5	13
26-35	12	13
36-45	7	9
46-55	2	6
Over 55	1	–
Total:	30	55
Grand Total:	85

Chapter-3

ACID THROWING IS A BURNING ISSUES

3.1 Overview:

Composite information usually depicts Bangladesh as having the world’s highest incidence of acid throwing, mostly as an escalated form of domestic violence,Acid throwing is often referred to as a “crime of passion” fueled by jealousy and revenge with refusal of a marriage proposal accounting for more than half the reason for assaults.

In 2002, the country introduced the death penalty as punishment for acid throwing after encountering an all-time high rate of 500 assaults per year.However, many consider this legislation to be a “dead law” as there are issues with its implementation.

Throwing acid on others’ face and body to cause grievous injuries is a barbaric act of vengeance. For the last few years, it has been on the rise in both urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. The perpetrators are mostly men and adolescent boys. The victims are girls and young females. The reasons for attacks are sexual advances from man, refusal of marriage proposal, and vengeance. Cheap and easy availability of acids makes it the most effective weapon for man to use against girls’ or young women’s faces to prove that they have no right to deny a man’s proposal and is one of the extreme forms of repression and violation of women’s right. The consequence of acid attacks on survivors brings dramatic change in their lifestyle. Most of them have to give up their education or work. Social isolation, fear of further attacks, and insecurity damage their self-esteem and confidence. Illiteracy, poverty, threats to further retribution, and ignorance about legal support increase their miseries. Gradual increase of acid attacks suggests that legal provisions and their enforcement are not adequate and effective. Social awareness, economic and psychological support, rehabilitation, and strict enforcement of laws are key to combat acid violence in Bangladesh. Key Words: acid violence, grievous injury, women’s rights violation.

Acid throwing, also called an acid attack, a vitriol attack or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault defined as the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another “with the intention to disfigure, maim, torture, or kill. Perpetrators of these attacks throw acid at their victims, usually at their faces, burning them, and damaging skin tissue, often exposing and sometimes dissolving the bones. The most common types of acid used in these attacks are sulfuric and nitric acid. Hydrochloric acid is sometimes used, but is much less damaging. The long term consequences of these attacks may include blindness, as well as permanent scarring of the face and body, along with far-reaching social, psychological, and economic difficulties.

Today, acid attacks are reported in many parts of the world. Since 1990s, Bangladesh has been reporting the highest number of attacks and highest incidence rates for women, with 3,512 Bangladeshi people acid attacked between 1999 and 2013.

Acid violence – There is hardly anyone today who doesn’t know what sort of brutality this term refers to. Is it an acid attack when nitric or sulphuric acid is thrown on a woman’s body parts to disfigure it for lifetime while melting down her flesh? Is it violence when this incident leaves her to burn forever with lifetime blindness, broken ambitions and dreams which she had woven for her own self and a better future?

In Bangladesh, the majority of acid victims are a vast number of young women mostly with ages less than 18. It is not even a mystery as to why they get attacked. The reasons are all well recorded – maybe they had turned down the offer of being a man’s love interest; maybe, her parents had rejected a marriage proposal which came down her way.

Perhaps, we all perfectly know that acid violence is supposedly one of the worst cruelties that any human being can take part into but, do we recognize the urgency of the matter. Do we know how many incidents of such attacks took place in 2012 and the number of victims who were affected? Amader Kotha did some finding as to what were the statistics of acid attacks in Bangladesh over the past decade or more and what served to be the prime reasons for the incidents to occur.

3.2 Statistics:

In the year of 2012 alone, 71 cases of acid attacks were reported while these incidents had affected about 98 people. With help of the records, we found out that around 3112 reports of such barbarism were filed during the time period of 1999 to 2012. A total of 3424 persons were said to have survived this attack with minor to severe injuries, left behind by the acid thrown. It was reported that during this time-span, the year 2002 saw the maximum number, 494 of such incidents taking place where the number of victims staying at an all-time high of 496 was also recorded.

3.3 Gender-based figures:

Over the years, dailies have reported cases were men were subjected to acid attacks, although, women have always dominated the statistics as prime targets for such sort of an assault. Let us look at what the numbers were for both the genders over the past two years.

In 2012, about 77 women and girls had to undergo acid violence while 42 men and boys were subjected to treatment of the same nature. Fortunately, the numbers decreased for both the genders in 2012 but, nevertheless, where 68 women and girls were reported with burn injuries, only 30 men and boys suffered the attacks.

3.4 Incentives:

We often wonder as to why any human being would want another person to suffer the acute pain, both physically and mentally, that comes through throwing of the acid. Read on to find as to why the year 2012 saw 49 women and 27 children being survivors of such attacks.

Dowry: A total of 8 women had to suffer the violence after failing to fulfill demands for dowry from their husbands or in-laws.

Marital disagreements: About 6 women and children were thrown acids over as a consequence of marital disputes within the household.

Rejection of love or marriage proposal: This was a cause for the sufferings of 19 women and children.

Family arguments: The year 2012 saw an average of 15 women and children with acid injuries due to family disputes.

Ownership of land or money matters: Because of enmity between families regarding properties or finances, 16 women and children were subjected to acid attacks.

3.5 Acid attacks

An acid attack involves the premeditated throwing of acid on a victim, usually on her face. In addition to causing psychological trauma, acid attacks result in severe pain, permanent disfigurement, subsequent infections, and often blindness in one or both eyes. Perpetrators commit acid attacks for a number of reasons, including revenge for refusal of a marriage proposal or other romantic or sexual advances; land disputes; perceived dishonor; and jealousy. While acid attacks are most prevalent in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India and Pakistan, they have also been reported in Afghanistan and in parts of Africa and Europe. Experts attribute the prevalence of the practice in part to the easy availability of acids. (See: Statistics, Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity; Good Practices on Harmful Practices Expert Group Report, p. 22)

3.6 Legislation addressing acid attacks should include the following elements:

Ø Legislation should define an acid attack as any assault perpetrated through the use of acid. Since acid attacks may be motivated by one of several different reasons, legislation should focus on the acts that constitute the crime, rather than the motive;

Ø Legislation should penalize anyone who commits an acid attack, specifically including family members among those who may be penalized;

Ø Legislation should penalize those who aid and abet this harmful practice, and should include family members among those who may be penalized;

Ø Legislation should make acid attacks a “transferable intent” crime, providing the same penalties regardless of whether the person injured was the intended victim;

Ø Legislation should provide for penalties of prison time, fines, and education;

Ø Legislation should prohibit the acceptance of informal financial settlement or marriage as settlement of claims;

Ø Legislation should provide that sentencing guidelines reflect the gravity of the offense;

Ø Legislation should provide for enhanced penalties if a victim dies as a result of an acid attack. The perpetrator should be prosecuted under the murder statutes of the penal code. The specific law on the acid attack should provide a term of imprisonment and fine which is no less severe than what is provided under the murder statutes of the general penal code with the exception of capital punishment;

Ø Legislation should provide that no mediation provisions are a part of legislation on acid attacks;

Ø Legislation should regulate the export, import, use, sale, and waste management of acids;

Ø Legislation should require sellers of acids to acquire licenses;

Ø Legislation should criminalize the unlicensed sale of acids;

Ø Legislation should require sellers of acids to create and maintain a record of each sale and the identity of each purchaser;

Ø Legislation should require sellers of acid to take all necessary measures to ensure that their supplies of acid are not stolen and immediately report any stolen acid;

Ø Legislation should impose a duty upon medical providers to report all cases of bodily harm caused by acid to law enforcement;

Ø Legislation should mandate that police officers investigate any case reported by a medical provider where bodily harm was caused by acid;

Ø Legislation should establish and fund public awareness campaigns and training for all sectors about this harmful practice and its consequences;

Ø Legislation and other practices that perpetuate this harmful practice, such as honor crimes, should be amended or abolished;

Ø Legislation should allow victims to pursue civil remedies against their attackers. Monetary damages should include the cost of reconstructive surgery;

Ø Legislation should provide for restitution or reparations separate from any criminal case and provide mechanisms of collection that the victim may easily use to collect the order for restitution from the perpetrator;

Ø Legislation should also provide that a court may amend or issue an order for restitution at a later time if the true extent of the survivor’s loss was not known at the time of the hearing on the restitution request or at the time of disposition of the case; and

Ø Legislation should provide legal, financial, medical, and other types of rehabilitation services for victims.

Ø Legislation should provide legal support before and during the criminal trial of an acid attack and be extended to victims and witnesses who are threatened by perpetrators or associated parties;

Ø Legislation should provide protective measures to prevent harassment, intimidation, or coercion of a victim or witness to drop charges against a perpetrator or associated party;

Ø Legislation should provide for expert medical testimony in preparation of and during a criminal trial free of charge. Such expert medical testimony should be allowed in lieu of victim testimony but should not be a pre-requisite to pursuing a legal case against a perpetrator. (See: Good Practices on Harmful Practices Expert Group Report, pp. 22-23)

3.7 Violence against women:

Violence against women and girls is considered to be a universal phenomenon. It is deeply embedded in the cultures around the world, though its manifestation differs from one society to another. Within the global context of violence against women and girls, acid violence in Bangladesh is the worst form of violence and violation of their human rights. The alarming increase of acid-throwing cases for the last 2 decades in Bangladesh is a cause of concern which led to its study and analysis from a medico legal point of view. Risk Area Most cases of acid attacks have been reported around central Bangladesh. Availability of Acid has widespread use in schools and college laboratories, pathologic laboratories, textile mills, tanneries, jewelry making, battery manufacturing industries, and fertilizer factories in Bangladesh. Acids used for criminal purposes are sulfuric and nitric acid. The price of these acids varies from BD Taka 900 ($15.70 US) to BD Taka 1800 ($31.50 US) per 2.5-L bottle. It is sold to the agencies that use it regularly, but it goes to the attacker’s hand through agencies’ employees. Though steps are taken to regulate and control free sale of acids to the public, the crime is on the rise. There is no guarantee that the closure of shops selling acid will stop acid violence as the acid available from used discarded batteries is more than enough to cause all the acid violence of Bangladesh. Cheap availability of acids makes it a suitable weapon to be used against women and girls. Victims of Acid Violence and Their Assailants (Perpetrators) The targets are generally females between 12 and 15 years of age with low socioeconomic status. Sometimes elderly women and children are also injured. The perpetrators are mostly men and adolescent boys. Vulnerability of Women and Girls Bangladesh society, like many other societies of the world, considers the worth of a woman according to 2 standards: physical beauty and submissiveness to men. An ideal Bangladeshi woman or girl is supposed to be absolutely attuned and without any question obeys every command she is given by men. The throwing of acid is to cause permanent disfiguration of the face, head, and body by acid burn, with a motive to distort a female’s beauty to prove that she has no right to deny a man’s evil proposal or vengeance, that her refusal to conform to the standards forced upon her by men is a violation of “human rights.” Vulnerability of women and girls depends on poverty, illiteracy, threat of further retribution, and lack of knowledge about legal support.

3.8 Motive of Acid Violence

The most common motive behind acid violence is revenge for rejection of sexual advances from men, refusal of marriage proposal, not giving permission of second marriage to the husband, not accepting husband’s extramarital affairs, failure to give dowry, and dispute related to family property. In most cases, the perpetrators are so-called lovers or are husbands, cousins, relatives, and local hooligans where there is an existence of correlation and the correlation is nonequal. Impact of Acid Attack on Body and Psyche of the Survivors Impact of acid on skin and body tissue is catastrophic. It causes corrosion by chemical burn in the skin and other body tissue wherever it comes in contact. The wound is healed by fibrous tissue, with formation of extensive scars and muscle contracture. Permanent physical disfiguration is inescapable. If acid gets in to the eyes or ears, it damages them permanently, and sometime it causes death of the victim. Lifelong disfiguration and disabilities results in severe emotional and psychological trauma for the survivor. The majority of the survivors had to give up their education or lose their job because of lengthy treatment period and disfigurements that take place. Their psychologic scars are far deeper than their physical scars. The fear of social isolation renders the self-esteem of the survivor to a fate worse than death. Numbed by their appalling fates, for which they are not at all responsible, most of them lose their desire to live and become recluse. Psychologic Background of Acid Attackers Modern psychologists have identified 3 reasons behind crimes committed by youths. The first is sociogenic. Poverty, illiteracy, acute unemployment, and lack of habitats may lead the youth and young men to the path of destruction; some youths, particularly younger ones, lose their moral values of affection for others. The second is psychogenic. One may indulge in offenses driven by his continued criminal incentives and personal mental unrest. The third is biogenic. The theory involves the biologic process of the human being. Inherited criminal and delinquent tendencies also lead to crime. Through analysis of various cases of acid attacks, it was found that most of the acid attackers were formerly involved in criminal activities. Incidence of Acid Violence in Bangladesh Sporadic cases of acid violence have been reported in other countries of the world. It is difficult to get accurate statistics on acid violence in Bangladesh, as many of the cases are not reported due to fear of further retaliation. The actual number of cases might be higher. The first documented case of acid violence in Bangladesh goes back to 1961. The first reported case of acid violence was in 1976. The rest are as follows: 1996: 80 reported cases (source: Inspector General of Police I.G.P. Bangladesh); 1997: 170 reported cases (I.G.P.); 1998: 130 reported cases (I.G.P.); 1999: 168 reported cases (Institute of Democratic Rights); 2000: 155 reported cases (I.G.P.); 2001: 153 reported cases (I.G.P.); 2002: 303 reported cases (I.G.P.). In the 1980s, the incidence of acid attacks on women and girls (with an intention to maim and disfigure them for life) started increasing. By 1990, it became an issue of majorpublic and government concern for which Bangladesh government passed a law in 1995: Oppression of Women and Children (Special Provision) Act 1995. Section 5 of this law deals with the punishments of the offense of acid throwing: maximum punishment is the death sentence and minimum 7 years’ imprisonment with fine, depending on how serious and devastating the wounds are. An abrupt increase in acid violence cases in 2002 proves that the existing law failed to combat the crimes; the government of Bangladesh in 2003 further amended the law and plugged some loopholes.

3.9 Support Needed to Address Acid Violence

The violence led us to face many challenges and problems:

1. Immediate, adequate specialized treatment of the victim, which is quite lengthy and expensive and is not available in the district level

2. Rehabilitation of the victims in the society

3. Provide social and psychologic counseling of the victims

4. Provide education, vocational training, and job

5. Exemplary punishment to the perpetrators by trying them under law

6. Steps to safeguard and control free sale of acids to the public

7. Establishment of National Human Rights Commission in Bangladesh

3.10 What is being done the government of Bangladesh has set up a National Advisory Council:

The Human Repression Control Cells of Bangladesh at Women Directorate, at the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs for preventing oppression against women and children. The Ministry of Home has also set up a committee to work on acid victims. Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association is providing legal aid and other forms of support such as food, medical care, and shelter in a shelter home named Proshanti, community awareness programs by newsletter, videocassettes, posters, leaflets, TV spots, and psychologic counseling. Naripakha, a women’s organization, has been working with acid violence victims since 1995. Other women’s organizations like Odhikar, Ain O Shalish Kendro, and Jatio Mahila Sangsta are working to assist the victims. The Acid Survivors Foundation is working with government, nongovernment organizations, and international communities to provide treatment, rehabilitation and counter further attacks. Chobi Nirman Protisthan has made a documentary film (Ayana) on acid victims to grow awareness among the public. International concern on acid violence was generated about 2 and half years ago when a documentary made by British TV Network on acid burns in Bangladesh was aired in England, Canada, Spain, Italy, and few other countries of the world. Corporation Dermoestatica, an anesthetic surgerybased company of Spain, came forward to help these victims and formed Acid Burn Women Aid Group, Bangladesh.

Victims of acid burns in 5 to 6 in a group were sent to Spain. The company met all the costs involved, including treatment; hospital cost, and travel costs. Cooperazione Internazionle (COOPI), an Italian NGO, sent a group of plastic surgeons to Dhaka to treat the victims and train the local doctors in plastic surgery. The Canadian International Agency (CIDA), UNDP and UNICEF, DANIDA came forward to help the acid victims in their treatment, psychotherapy, and rehabilitation. Dhaka Medical College Hospital is the only hospital in the country to have a burn unit where plastic surgery is done. A proposal to establish a burn hospital in Dhaka has already been approved by the government. In the district hospital, doctors without specialized training in acid burns and plastic surgery treat the victims.

3.11 Conclusion

It is sad to believe that in this civilized world women and girls of Bangladesh are subjected to a heinous form of acid violence. It is a health, social, moral, medicolegal, and gender issue with gross human rights violations. When the society will look upon the disfigured faces of the victims of acid violence and appreciate these women and girls for their fearless stands for their own choice in life, self-confidence, and determination, only on that day will men think twice before throwing acid on a women or girl who refused their commands.

Chapter-4

Article on Acid Victim and Restorative Justice

Acid attack is a heinous crime committed against any woman, with an intention to disfigure or kill her. This can also be called as the gender based violence against women. acid attack case Recent study reveals that 78% of the reported ace is for refusal to marriage or a rejection of romance. “Acid attack on young women” is some of the headlines that are appearing in the daily newspaper. Acid attack on women is increasing day by day. The recent episode of acid attack victim Sirajganj Sadar Upazila of Sirajganj district also stands on the list. These attacks can be attributed to various contributing factors such as the social weakness of women in a male-dominated society; lack of support, the general neglect of the lawmakers on this particular field etc. The easy availability of acid in an inexpensive manner makes the perpetrators to use this as an ideal weapon against the women. This offence being bail able in certain situations, the punishment does not act as a sufficient threat on the offenders in most cases. Our legal and medical systems have also proved very weak while dealing with such cases; there is no proper legislation and the medical facilities provided are also not proper. This study describes the horrendous effects that acid attacks have on the victims physically, psychologically and socially. It also examines the contemporary laws governing acid attacks on victims and offenders. Ideas for a better legal approach will also be examined with special reference to acid attacks as a crime, and the validity of specific legal provisions for female victims.

Keywords: Acid attack, acid, female victim.

Introduction

Women constitute half the population in the society and it is presumed that best creation belong to the women. It is harsh reality that women have been ill-treated in every society for ages and India is no exception. Violence against women is largely unreported. Fear and stigma often prevent women from reporting incidents of violence or seeking assistance. Violence against women can fit into several broad categories. Among them one of the most heinous crimes committed against women is acid attack. Over the last decade India is witnessing an alarming growth of acid attack especially on women. Acid attack is a gender based violence committed on women with the intent to disfigure her. Study found that 78% of report of acid attack is for refusal to marriage or rejection of romance. The contributing factors are various for these attacks. Among the main are the social weakness of women in the society and the existence of a male dominated society. Moreover, the easy availability of acid in an inexpensive manner makes the perpetrators to use this as an ideal weapon against the women. Our legal and medical systems have also proved very weak while dealing with such cases; there is no proper legislation and the medical facilities provided are also not proper. All these make the offence of acid attack against women a most controversial one. According to a 2011 study conducted by the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School, the Committee on International Human Rights of the New York City Bar Association, the Cornell Law School International Human Rights Clinic, and the Virtue Foundation found that Acid attacks occur throughout the world, including in the United States. However, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and India have some of the highest recorded incidence of acid violence. According to Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) Bangladesh, there have been 3,000 reported acid attack victims in the country since 1999. A search of Indian newspapers found 153 reported cases of acid violence from January 2002 to October 2010. According to data gathered by the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity on people treated in hospitals for acid attacks, there have been 271 acid violence victims between 1985 and June 2010 in Cambodia. Governments in these countries do not keep official statistics of acid attacks, and there are likely many more attacks than these figures reveal. In India there is no reliable statistics on acid attacks since a large number of cases go unreported, even national crime record bureau (NCRB) doesn’t carry any statistics on acid attack, this lack of data shows that how casually the country treats the phenomenon. Some NGO’S organization such as acid survivor foundations, Bangalore-based Campaign and Struggle against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW) and Kolkata-based Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI) has initiated work for the collection of statistics. As everyone know that criminal justice system has always discourage the acts or omission which in general can affect the right in rem and violators have always been punished with strict sanctions but in acid attack cases it is a awfully pathetic situation that the perpetrators get least punishment or sometimes he may try to escape from the clutches of law without getting any punishment. And added to these victims are not given adequate compensation to meet with their medical expenses and there is no proper mechanism to monitor to regulate the sale of acid in the market. This highlights the omission in our criminal justice system. The rapid growing nature of incidents of acid attacks in India and insufficient law to deal with victims and perpetrators, there is an urgent need of study on this aspect.

Objectives of the Study

Acid attack victims are not adequately compensated for the pain and injury sustained by them. Existing provisions with regard to compensation for acid victim is not sufficient. The main objective of the study is to understand the concept of acid attack, to look into the causes and effect of acid attack. The main weapon for the crime of acid attack is the acid so here it is intended to see about the nature effect and kinds of acid used by the acid perpetrator. The study also intended to see the legislative frame work for acid attack and how far it is supporting the victims. Finally to see the judicial response on acid attack and the regulations imposed on production and sale of acid on Indian market. For the purpose of the study the researcher has adopted doctrinal method that is perusal of books, articles, journal, Law commission reports, Mali math committee report, Verma committee report, statutes and legislation.

Acid throwing is an extremely violent crime by which the perpetrator of the crime seeks to inflict severe physical and mental suffering on his victim cases; there is no proper legislation and the medical facilities provided are also not proper. All these make the offence of acid attack against women a most controversial one. According to a 2011 study conducted by the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School, the Committee on International Human Rights of the New York City Bar Association, the Cornell Law School International Human Rights Clinic, and the Virtue Foundation found that Acid attacks occur throughout the world, including in the United States. However, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and India have some of the highest recorded incidence of acid violence. According to Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) Bangladesh, there have been 3,000 reported acid attack victims in the country since 1999. A search of Indian newspapers found 153 reported cases of acid violence from January 2002 to October 2010. According to data gathered by the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity on people treated in hospitals for acid attacks, there have been 271 acid violence victims between 1985 and June 2010 in Cambodia. Governments in these countries do not keep official statistics of acid attacks, and there are likely many more attacks than these figures reveal.In India there is no reliable statistics on acid attacks since a large number of cases go unreported, even national crime record bureau (NCRB) doesn‟t carry any statistics on acid attack, this lack of data shows that how casually the country treats the phenomenon. Some NGO‟S organization such as acid survivor foundations, Bangalore-based Campaign and Struggle against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW) and Kolkata-based Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI) has initiated work for the collection of statistics. As everyone know that criminal justice system has always discourage the acts or omission which in general can affect the right in rem and violators have always been punished with strict sanctions but in acid attack cases it is a awfully pathetic situation that the perpetrators get least punishment or sometimes he may try to escape from the clutches of law without getting any punishment. And added to these victims are not given adequate compensation to meet with their medical expenses and there is no proper mechanism to monitor to regulate the sale of acid in the market. This highlights the lacuna in our criminal justice system. The rapid growing nature of incidents of acid attacks in India and insufficient law to deal with victims and perpetrators, there is an urgent need of study on this aspect.

Meaning and definition of an acid attack:

The research conducted by UNICEF reveals, “Acid attack is a serious problem all over the world, even children are become victim of acid attack in many cases. In an Acid attack, acid is thrown at the face or body of the victim with deliberate intent to burn and disfigure. Most of the victims are girls, many below the age of 18, who have rejected sexual advances or marriage proposals Acid attack or vitriol age is defined as the act of throwing acid onto the body of a person “with the intention of injuring or disfiguring [them] out of jealousy or revenge”.

Aim of most acid attacks is not to kill, but to disfigure and debilitate, something more brutal than murder. In such cases, the perpetrator wants the victim to live and suffer physically and emotionally for the rest of their life. These attacks are used as a weapon to silence and control the victim by destroying what is constructed as the primary constituent of their identity, i.e., their body.

Factors Leading to Acid Attack

Acid attack is not committed against women alone it is committed even on men, women, children, and adult. However, mostly it is committed against women; Acid attack has a gender dimension in Bangladesh, with majority of the victims being women. Perpetrators throw acid into their victims’ faces in an effort to severely disfigure them, the reason for committing acid attack is for vary many reason. The following are some of the reported reason for the acid attack. Revenge for any past incidence occurs between victim and offender, the refusal of an offer of marriage proposal, the refusing to have a sex or relationship, failure of a girl to bring a dowry to her husband, business disputes, domestic fights, disputes over property, for committing Robbery, hate or jealous, extra affair, political rivalries, rarely it is accidental, that is presence of victim at the scene.

Acid as a Weapon and Its Effects

The biggest reason for the high frequency rate of acid attacks in Bangladesh is that concentrated acid is cheap and easily available in the market, Due to cheapness, it is easily available in all places. Acids and bases are chemical compounds that have distinctive properties in water solution, this acids and bases have different characteristics of taste and this taste are based on the concentration of those chemicals. Both the acids and bases have a characteristic of corroding the metals and other articles. The acids do not need any source of heat for causing any damage to the living tissue. Most of the acids have the tendency to absorb water from the skin and react with it. During this reaction heat is released outside. This type of reaction is called exothermic reaction. This heat will in turn damage the cells instantaneously. Organic matter as well as living cell.

Chapter-5

CASE STUDY

5.1 Case-1

Name: Umma Aysha Siddike Nila

Age: 22

Occupation: Student

Attack date: 19/02/2008

Reason: Marital dispute

Relation with the perpetrator: Husband

Legal condition of the case: Case is in High Court for appeal but pending due to financial and bureaucratic problems.

Her story

Nila was only 15 years old when all of her face and parts of her upper arms were burnt by acid. Nila’s aspirations in life until that point had been simple; she had wanted to excel in her studies and one day dreamt of becoming an actress. She used to learn classical dancing and singing. Even today, four years after her attack, Nila’s delicate gestures show that Nila is still a dancer at heart. The after effect of the attack has been that Nila does not regularly learn dancing and singing and only practices during her leisure time. However, despite all adversities and even after missing 5 months of school because of her treatment, she took her Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSC) and achieved an A grade.

Nila had always been a pretty girl and when Akbar Hossain Jilhuq, a man who was 20 years older and visiting home from Saudi Arabia, saw her picture he was smitten and determined to marry her. Both Nila and her mother agreed that she was not old enough to marry and immediately refused the proposal offered, but through other family members Jilhuq convinced Nila’s father. Nila kept refusing even though her parents did not give weight to her wishes. Nila’s mother had said that Jilhuq had always held a grudge over the refusal. Eventually she was forced into marrying Jilhuq who left almost immediately for Saudi Arabia. They had often argued about Nila’s refusal to go abroad before he had left. Even though he kept in touch over the phone with Nila, their relationship never improved and she had never wanted to go abroad or stay at her in-laws home. She had remained for 3 months at her home when one day saying that he would only take her for a few days, her father-in-law came and took her to her in-laws home. Nila was not allowed to come back home after that and after 10 days her husband returned from abroad. They kept trying to force her to go abroad to which neither she nor her parents agreed. Nila’s father called Jilhuq and told him that he would come to take his daughter home the next morning. On the same day in the depth of the night, 18th February 2008, Jilhuq threw acid and burnt Nila.

Looking around Nila’s room now you immediately know that she is a studious girl. A large study table that is piled with Business and Management books dominates the room. She is doing her Bachelor of Business Honours in Finance and is currently in her second year of studies. The Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) field team went and visited her at her home in Sirajganj and also met her again at the Manab Mukti Shangstha (MMS) where regular community clinics are held for survivors. MMS is an affiliate organization of ASF that assists acid victims and survivors and provides a contact point to bring victims to ASF’s Jibon Tara Clinic in Dhaka city for treatment. Nila addresses the crowd and introduces herself, everyone already knows her though because she has become a focal representative for survivors in Sirajganj. Nila has been working for over 3 years with SHARP another NGO that along with ACTION AID organizes counselling meetings and other forms of support for survivors. This has allowed Nila to stay in touch with her community and fellow survivors and gr.

5.2 Case-2

Name: Popy Rani Das

Age: 22

Occupation: None, currently resides in ASF Hospital.

Attack date: 07/09/2009

Reason: Dowry

Relation with the perpetrator: Husband

Legal condition of the case: Case is active

Her story

Popy lived with her mother and grandmother in a rented house in Kamalpur, Kishoreganj. Her father passed away, so she and her mother had to work to earn a living. When she was 21 years old, Popy married her husband Prodeep with her own will, after having a relationship with him. Before getting married, Prodeep told Popy that he didn’t need any dowry, he just wanted Popy. But right after the marriage took place, Prodeep demanded a dowry from Popy’s family.

Popy and her mother were both working at a private hospital. They were saving up their hard earned money for the future. When Prodeep demanded the dowry, they used their life savings to pay the dowry, which was a total of Tk 2,00,000. But this did not satisfy Prodeep. Popy’s mother told Prodeep to reconsider, because he had seen with his own eyes that this was the total amount available in their bank balance and the whole amount had been paid to Prodeep.

Prodeep’s greed was still present after draining Popy’s family’s life savings. He then demanded more money as well as 60 grams of gold, which together was an impossible sum of money for Popy or her mother to manage. Popy told her husband that there was no way she could manage such a large amount of money.

This was when the violence started. Prodeep became extremely angry at Popy, and beat her on a regular basis. Then Prodeep told Popy that if he married someone else, he would be able to get more money than she could give him. Seeing Popy as an obstacle to marrying another woman, Prodeep decided to take matters into his own hands. One night when Popy was suffering from fever, she asked Prodeep for a glass of water. Instead of handing her water, he handed her a glass full of acid. Unaware because acid is a clear liquid that looks just like water, Popy drank the acid. This caused severe damage in the inside of Popy’s mouth and her throat. Prodeep, thinking that this was enough to kill his wife, immediately fled after Popy drank the acid.

However, Popy was too strong to be killed by a sip of acid. The incident occurred in September 2009, after which Popy was taken to a local hospital in Kishoreganj. Popy’s cousin brought her to ASF in February 2010. She received medical treatment in ASF hospital. The nature of her injury meant that she had trouble ingesting food with her mouth and had to be fed with a pipe that directly went to her stomach.

Popy and her mother spent almost two years at the ASF Hospital, so they lost their jobs and their house in the village. A case was filed in the local police station but there were no updates. When ASF contacted the police station, they could not provide any information on whether the case went to court or the whereabouts of the perpetrator.

Popy was given Tk 30,000 as rehabilitation assistance in May 2011. Popy’s mother went back to Kishoreganj in November 2011 but Popy stayed back in ASF Hospital because she needed to be fed with a pipe.

Popy got admitted to Open University in April 2012 and was provided with Education Support. Popy still resides in the ASF Hospital because of the continuous care she needs, especially with food intake. She has a very thin stature because of her inability to eat and enjoy food. Popy spends her time helping ASF staff and is also known for her talent in embroidery work.

5.3 Case-3

Name: Monira Begum

Age: 24

Occupation: Student

Attack date: 05/03/1998

Reason: Revenge for previous conflict

Relation with the perpetrator: Father’s employer

Legal condition of the case: The perpetrator has been punished by the rules of Bangladeshi law.

Her story

At the age of 9 years old, Monira’s life had already been decided for her. Her parents made arrangements with the parents of Swapan Gazi, agreeing that Monira would marry Swapan when she turned 18 and could legally marry. Swapan lived in the same neighbourhood as Monira and soon began pressuring her family to move her over sooner. When Swapan stole Monira’s father’s rickshaw – he refused to give away his daughter to Swapan.

That same night on 5th March 1998, Swapan threw a glass of acid on Monira’s face and changed her life forever. The left side of her face and the upper part of both her breasts were badly burnt by the corrosive acid. She was only in Class 3 when the incident occurred.

The Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) arranged for Monira to travel to Spain for reconstructive surgery. On the day that Monira was scheduled to fly there was a transport strike, but her father pedalled his rickshaw nearly 30 km to Dhaka city so that his daughter could catch her flight. Monira came back from her surgery with renewed hope for her life. She has a bubbly and happy personality with no reservations about talking to people about her experiences. She worked with fellow survivor Peyara Begum in UNICEF’s “Helping Acid Survivors” project and acted as a peer counsellor for local survivors in Gazipur.

Currently, Monira’s family is still in poverty and living in a poor area in Tongi, just outside of Dhaka city. But Monira is working hard to create a better future for herself, through connections and her qualifications from working with ASF. She is now training with a local NGO on Mother and Child care services. Monira has enrolled in Tongi Public College and has just completed the first year of her Bachelor’s degree in Arts. Monira is also very talented at embroidery and crafts and she hopes with the help of ASF she will be able to start making and selling her clothes on a larger scale. Monira knows that, though life has thrown many obstacles in her path, with the support of ASF she will always be able to persevere.

Chapter-6

6.1 References

1. Islam K. What are we doing? Star Magazine. June 29, 2001.

2. Amin AM, Ahmed LA. Mending broken lives. Star Magazine. June 22, 2001.

3. Roy AK. Combating acid violence in Bangladesh. Daily Star. May 6, 2001.

4. Roy AK. Acid violence and existing laws in Bangladesh. Daily Star. February 11, 2001.

5. Rashid RB. Uniting against the acid throwers. Star Magazine. January 19, 2001.

6. Sen N. Living with scarred hearts: a tribute to the acid survivors. Star Magazine. July 28, 2000.

7. Bangladesh Women Lawyers Association Report 1999–2000. Bangladesh Women Lawyers Association. Dhaka, Bangladesh: 2001.

8. Sarkar A, Ahmed LA. Barbaric acts of vengeance. Star Magazine. October 8, 1999.

9. Bangladesh National Lawyers Association. Causes of acid throwing in Bangladesh. NewsLetter. September 1999.

10. Bangladesh National Lawyers Association. International concerns and assistances on acid violence. NewsLetter. September 1999.

11. Ali S. Acid throwing: when will it end? Star Magazine. May 14, 1999.

12. Ruma RP. Acid attack: when will women feel safe? Daily Star. July 21, 1998.

13. Acid Survivors Foundation. A press conference on June 22, 1998.

14. UNICEF. Helping survivors of acid violence. 1998.

15. Black R. Despite harassment and discrimination acid burn victims will never stop fighting. Available at: http://www.geocities/Athens/Bridge/

5486/journ.html.

16. Ali T. Documenting horrors of acid violence. Daily Star. August 21, 2001.

Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith. (1991). 1990 audit of anti-Semitic incidents. New York: Author.

Bard, M., & Sangrey, D. (1986). The crime victim’s book (2nd ed.). New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Black child and a Hasidic man die, igniting clashes in Brooklyn. (1991, August 21). New York Times, p. A1.

Brown, R. M. (1989). Historical patterns of violence. In T. R. Gurr (Ed.), Violence in America: Protest, rebellion, reform (Vol. 2, pp. 23-61). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1988). Report to the nation on crime and justice (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

Collison, M. N.-K. (1987, March 18). Racial incidents worry campus officials, prompt U. of Massachusetts study. Chronicle of Higher Education, pp. 1, 41-43.

Community Relations Service. (1990). The annual report of the Community Relations Service. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

Davis, R. C., & Friedman, L. N. (1985). The emotional aftermath of crime and violence. In C. R. Figley (Ed.), Trauma and its wake (pp. 90-112). New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Elias, R. (1986). The politics of victimization: Victims, victimology and human rights. New York: Oxford University Press

Ephross, P. H., Barnes, A., Ehrlich, H. J., Sandnes, K. R., & Weiss, J. C. (1986). The ethnoviolence project: Pilot study. Baltimore: National Institute Against Prejudice and Violence.

Greenberg, M. S., & Ruback, R. B. (1984). Criminal victimization: Introduction and overview. Journal of Social Issues, 40(1), 1-7.

Gurr, T. R. (1989). Political terrorism: Historical antecedents and contemporary trends. In T. R. Gurr (Ed.), Violence in America: Protest, rebellion, reform (Vol. 2, pp. 201-230). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Lydecker, T. H. (1986, March). Focus group dynamics. Association Management, pp. 73-78.

Mostyn, B. (1985). The content analysis of qualitative research data: A dynamic approach. In M. Brenner, J. Brown, & D. Cantor (Eds.), The research interview: Uses and approaches (pp. 115-145). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

National Institute Against Prejudice and Violence. (1990). Federal Hate Crime Statistics Act signed into law. FORUM, 5(2), 5.

Ochberg, F. M. (1988). Post-traumatic therapy and victims of violence. In F. M. Ochberg (Ed.), Post-traumatic therapy and victims of violence (pp. 3-19). New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Schultz, L. G. (1987). Victimization programs and victims of crime. In A. Minahan (Ed.-in-Chief), Encyclopedia of social work (18th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 817-822). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of Social Workers.

Shapland, J., Willmore, J., & Duff, P. (1985). Victims in the criminal justice system. Brookfield, VT: Gower.

U. S. Commission on Civil Rights. (1986). Recent activities against citizens and residents of Asian descent. Washington, DC: Author.

Weiss, J. C. (1990). Ethnoviolence: Violence motivated by bigotry. In L. Ginsberg et al. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of social work (18th ed., 1990 Suppl., pp. 307-319). Silver Spring, MD: NASW Press.

Weiss, J. C., & Ephross, P. H. (1986). Group work approaches to “hate violence” incidents. Social Work, 31, 132-136.

Wexler, C., & Marx, G. T. (1986). When law and order works: Boston’s innovative approach to the problem of racial violence. Crime & Delinquency, 32, 205-223.

Wirtz, P. W., & Harrell, A. V. (1987). Victim and crime characteristics, coping responses, and short- and long-term recovery from victimization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 866-871.

Young, M. A. (1988). Support services for victims. In F. M. Ochberg (Ed.), Post-traumatic therapy and victims of violence (pp. 330-351). New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Arnold Barnes, PhD, is assistant professor, Indiana University School of Social Work, Education/Social Work Building 4138, 902 West New York Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5156. Paul H. Ephross, PhD, is professor, School of Social Work, University of Maryland at Baltimore.

Appendix-A

Interview Schedule

Interview Questionnaire

Sample Questionnaire on Violence against Women/Acid Attack in Women

1. What is your name?

2. What is your father’s name

3. What is your mother’s name?

4. Where do you leave?

Present Address
Permanent Address
No home

5. How many brothers and sisters do you have?

6. What is your date of birth?

7. What is your educational status?

Primary
Secondary
University
No

8. What about the social status of your family?

9. What is your economic status of your family?

5000-7000
3000-2000
No income

9. How is relationship between your father and mother?

Conjugal life
Divorce

10. What does your father do?

Service holder
Business
Day labor
Servant
House-husband
No

11. What does your mother do?

Service holder
Business
Day labor
Servant
House-maid
No

12. What did you do?

Service
Training
Servant
NO

13. What happened in your life?

Kidnapping
Sexual harassment
Trafficking
No

14. Why you are here? Or what incidence forced you to come here?

Self
By BMP
By your relative
By Another person
No

15. Are you aware of the same incidence occurring in the country?

Aware
Nor Aware
Willingly
Not Willingly
No

16. Where do you want to go for having more support?

Other Organization
Home
Government Institution

17. What services do you think are missing?

Hobby
Suing
Raising Children

18. No how do you think women experiencing trafficking in rural and remote areas could be better supported?

19. Do you have any history of previous victimization?

20. What do you want to see yourself now?

Job
Self Service
Education
Vocational Training
No

21. Do you think that it was your mistake to be victimized?

Descriptive:

22. What is your advice to improve the situation of violence against women or to stop Acid Attack in women?

Ensure proper women security in job place
Ensure women security in everywhere
Ensure women education properly
Multiple response
No

23. Do you have any other comments?

Appropriate marriage
Strengthen family relationship
Proper security

THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION. WISH YOU BEST OF LUCK

Appendix-B

Victim Related Laws

Victims face a lifetime of discrimination from society and they become lonely. They are embarrassed that people may stare or laugh at them and may hesitate to leave their homes fearing an adverse reaction from the outside world. Victims who are not married are not likely to get married and those victims who have got serious disabilities because of an attack, like blindness, will not find jobs and earn a living. Discrimination from other people, or disabilities such as blindness, makes it very difficult for victims to fend for themselves and they become dependent on others for food and money

Example: Bangladesh’s Acid Crime Prevention Act (2002) and Acid Control Act (2002)

In 2002, the Bangladeshi Government passed two Acts, the Acid Control Act 2002 and the Acid Crime Prevention Act 2002. The Acts address punishment of those involved in the acid attack itself and restrict the import and sale of acid in open markets.

Some important features of the laws include:

Ø Establishment of a National Acid Control Council Fund;

Ø Establishment of a Rehabilitation Centre for victims of acid crimes;

Ø Treatment for victims of acid crimes;

Ø Provision of Legal Aid for victims of acid crimes;

Ø Locking up shops to prevent the sale of acid and banning transport engaged in carrying acid;

Ø Temporary cancellation of acid selling licenses;

Ø Capital punishment of the acid thrower and penalty of up to Tk 1 lakh (approximately US$ 1,709);

Ø Judgment in special tribunals;

Ø Judgment in the absence of the criminal;

Ø Power of the Magistrate to take record of witnesses anywhere.

Ø (See: The UN Secretary-General’s database on Violence Against Women, Full text: Acid Control Act 2002 (Bengali), Acid Crime Prevention Act 2002 (Bengali)

In December, 2012, The Acid Throwing and Burn Crime Bill, 2012 was submitted for further deliberations. The Acid Throwing and Burn Crime Bill, 2012 expands upon the Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention (Amendment) Act, 2010 and proposes the following specific definition of acid attack: “any act or omission, caused by corrosive substance/acid to be thrown or administered in any form on the victim with the intention that such person is likely to cause to the other person permanent or partial damage/injury or deformity or disfigurement to any part of the body or organ or cause death of such victim.” In addition to providing extensive definitions including broad inclusion of a variety of corrosive substances, the bill provides guidelines for investigation, protection of witnesses, as well as the recognition of medical, legal, and finanicail support for victims and their dependents. The bill criminalizes an attempt to commit an Acid Crime and imposes liability to officers for negligence or improper investigations. To promote implementation of its terms, the bill establishes the Acid and Burn Crime Monitoring Board and describes its role and responsibilities. The bill also provides for government funding for the Board’s functioning.

The basic principles of restorative justice are:–

1. Holding the wrongdoer directly accountable for the individual victim and the specific community affected by the wrong act;

2. Requiring the wrongdoer to take direct responsibility for making “things whole again” to the degree that this is possible;

3. Providing the victim(s) purposeful access to the courts and correctional processes, which allows them to assist in shaping the wrongdoers‟ obligations; and

4. Encouraging the community to become directly involved in supporting victims, holding wrong doers accountable, and providing opportunities for wrongdoers to reintegrate into the community. Restorative justice seeks to redefine crime, interpreting it not so much as breaking the law, or offending against the state, but as an injury or wrong done to another person or persons

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