GRUESOME ACT-ACID ATTACKS AGAINST WOMEN

                                                                           -V.G.Ranganath M.L (Ph.D.,)

Acid attacks are becoming a mounting observable fact in India. Acid-throwing is one of the most frightening and horrendous forms of violence especially targeted at women. Unfortunately, India has the highest incidence of such attacks. Despite increased public awareness and efforts of the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to tackle the problem, the number of acid attacks in the country is on the mount. Acid-throwing has a overwhelming effect on the victims. It inflicts lifelong suffering on them. Even a small amount of acid - sulphuric or nitric - melts the skin tissues, often with the bones underneath exposed or dissolved. Other effects include permanent disfigurement, scars on the face and body and narrowing of the person’s nostrils, eyelids and ears. In most cases, vital organs of the survivors, especially the eyes, are permanently damaged. It has a cataclysmic impact on the lives of the victims psychologically, socially and financially. Victims have to handle too with the horror expressed by other people who look at them. They have to stop studying or working to avoid any humiliation or embarrassment, and it takes a long time for them to recover. Their lifestyle changes completely. In practice, they are almost isolated from society.

In addition, survivors need highly complicated and long-drawn-out medical care and the cost of treatment is very high. Just a one-hour operation costs very expensive and victims usually have to undergo more than one surgical treatment. Most of the victims are from poor families and cannot pay for this expense. Their families have to spend all their money and even need to borrow money to pay for the treatment. By examining cases over the past few years, seven main causes of the crime are found, namely: land disputes, refusals of a relationship or marriage proposal, failures of a girl to bring a dowry to her husband, family disputes, marital disputes, political rivalries and the accidental presence of the victims at the scene. Refusals of a relationship or marriage proposal are another important factor in acid attacks, particularly on adolescent girls. In many cases, especially in rural areas where the enforcement of law and order is not very strict, the spoiled young men take revenge by throwing acid on the girls. The victims mostly come from poor families and are not well protected by their families. Girls and children are vulnerable to acid attacks or attacks of any kind at any time as they can be easily approached by anyone on their way to school or when they go out to fetch water or collect firewood. The access of poor people to police and legal assistance, as well as medical facilities, is very limited. The lack of security for poor girls and children has also contributed to the rising number of acid attacks on those who were accidentally present at the scene. As most cases have occurred at night when the victims have been asleep, anyone who was with the victims at the time of the attacks - usually a friend, sister, relative or child - was also injured. Dowry, which is a known cause of violence against women, in general, is also a source of acid attacks. Growing social and political intolerance, declining moral values, the easy availability of acid, the deterioration of law and order and the traditional mindset of men who refuse to tolerate the advances of women in social life have translated into acid violence against women. To combat the problem rigorously, all of the socio-economic determinants behind this violence must be taken into consideration and be addressed simultaneously. Acid survivors are never cured completely. Their lifestyle becomes different from an ordinary person, and they must follow all of the restrictions prescribed by doctors carefully to avoid further physical complications. First, however, the victims need sophisticated medical facilities for specialised plastic surgery. They have to undergo several operations, which are very costly. It is nearly impossible for most families to pay for the extensive surgery needed to reconstruct the damaged faces of the victims. The acid survivors also need specialised psychological treatment to emerge from the horror and trauma they have experienced.  Along with the physical suffering, the 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. The fact that acid survivors can never regain their original appearance has a severe impact on their social lives. No disease or catastrophe can make such a terrible change to a human face like acid-throwing. It is tough for the victims to accept their new identities. It is even harder for them to face the reality that people around them are horrified at the sight of their looks and that they are no longer accepted in society, for many people are not ready to accept the victims when they return to their villages after treatment. Even the victims’ own families see them as a burden because the cost of taking care of them is very high.

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. Although there are efforts by NGOs and benevolent funds to help the acid survivors integrate back into society, a complete reintegration has not been possible yet. The physical incapability of the victims, along with social and economic barriers, makes reintegration very difficult. Moreover, very often the victims are deprived of justice: perpetrators are not penalised and can continue to harass the victims.

The lives of acid victims and their family members are often at risk when they try to bring the perpetrator to justice. In cases where the culprits belong to rich and influential families, the situation becomes worse. The offenders often threaten the victims and their families that, if they do not withdraw their cases, there will be further suffering for them. For example, the sister of an acid survivor named Iva was brutally killed because she filed a case against the culprits. These incidents occur because the victims generally come from poor families and are incapable of defending themselves against influential perpetrators, especially when state organs, such as the police, are not supportive. This explains why the victims cannot return home in most cases and must live lives isolated from their families in NGO rehabilitation centres.

Despite new laws to curb acid violence, there is little improvement, for the laws have not been properly implemented. Only a handful of perpetrators are brought to justice and given punishment. Any negligence on the part of doctors, the police, lawyers and the judiciary weakens the cases of victims, and, as a result, the perpetrators remain at large.

The workshops conducted by so  many organizations identified the problems hindering victims from obtaining justice. These problems included the unavailability of a medical certificate containing all of the vital information about the acid burns that ought to be issued by the doctor, reluctance of the doctor to act as a witness in court, delays in the court proceedings and lack of a detailed investigation by the police.

 The then Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury said at a workshop convened by National Commission of Women to discuss amendments in Dowry Prohibition Act and issue of acid attacks on women

“He should be liable as he was responsible for spoiling the life of the woman. The Bill will also ensure exemplary punishment to the person indulging in such a heinous crime”[1].

Expressing concern over reported lack of employment opportunities for such victims, the Government would approach companies, industrial organisations to consider appointment of such victims on priority basis as a part of their social responsibility.

The Law Commission of India submitted 226 report on “The Inclusion of Acid Attacks as Specific Offences in the Indian Penal Code and a law for Compensation for Victims of Crime”[2].

In some of the positive cases the accused have been charged with murder, as the intention of the attacker has been construed as an intention to kill the victim. Even in these positive cases however the amount of fine which has been levied has often been an insignificant amount. The victim has also often not been given this fine by the court.

In a 1998 Maharashtra case[3] acid was thrown on a woman, while she was holding her two and a half year old baby, by her brother-in-law for refusing to give money to maintain her husband’s second wife. She sustained acid burns on the left side of her face, left hand and left breast and both she and her infant daughter lost their eyesight. The woman finally died due to burn injuries. In this case, the brother-in-law was sentenced by the Court under Section 302 of IPC, to undergo imprisonment for life and pay a fine of Rs. 1000 and also sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for a month. Under Section 326 of the IPC he was awarded 5 years of imprisonment apart from a fine of Rs. 2000/-and 3 months of rigorous imprisonment. Though the accused was found guilty the learned Judge failed to appreciate that he should levy an adequate amount as fine and give this fine to the victim’s child, who suffered from the attack in multiple ways.

In a 2002 case[4], the accused was suspicious about the character of his wife and inserted mercuric chloride into her vagina, she died due to renal failure. The accused was charged and convicted under Section 302 and 307 IPC.

In another case[5] before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in 1975, acid was poured on a woman by her husband for refusing to grant him divorce. The husband was involved in an extra-marital affair. Due to the attack, the victim suffered multiple acid burns on her face and other parts of her body, leading to her death. The accused was charged and convicted under Section 302 of the IPC. However, life imprisonment was not imposed even though the victim had died.

What is Remedy?

To improve the situation, firstly, law enforcement agencies must step up their efficiency in combating the crime of acid-throwing, and the judicial system has to implement the country’s laws. A clear signal has to be sent to society that criminals will be brought to justice and punished no matter how powerful they are. Secondly, the selling of acid or other corrosive substances needs to be strictly controlled. Mere legal provisions are not enough. There should be a high-powered authority to control the sale of acids. Building public awareness in this regard may also help. Thirdly, there should be proper medical facilities available in all district hospitals to provide much-needed primary care to acid-burn victims. Fourthly, making use of the distorted face of the victims in public awareness programmes should be stopped because it may encourage others to commit acid-related crimes. According to the law, a victim’s name and identity should not be disclosed in the media. This legal provision is important to prevent additional social humiliation and isolation for victims.

Inspiring confidence

There was an acid attack on swapnika and Pranitha studying engineering at Warangal (Andhra Pradesh) in 2008. The former died in the hospital and latter lying on bed three months recovered with ten surgical treatments. Without losing faith, she wrote confidently the engineering examination securing distinction. Pranitha selected in Campus interview for Infosys and trained and appointed recently as Software Engineer in Hyderabad. Finally, there should be efforts to change the public attitude towards acid survivors. The victims should be treated as normal human beings. Instead of isolating the victims, the public should be encouraged to help the victims restore their confidence and strength. A public awareness programme is needed.

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, India needs efficient law enforcement agencies and an effective judicial system to work together with the public to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Author is V.G.Ranganath, Asst.professor, Padala Rama Reddi Law College, Hyderabad and Research Scholar(part-time),Dr.B.R.Ambedkar College of Law, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam .

[1] New Bill to provide compensation to acid attack victim, available at http://news.oneindia.in/2008/09/18/new-bill-to-provide-compensation-to-acid-attack-victim-1221743050.html (Last Visited on July 6, 2010).

[2] Nineteenth Law Commission(2009-2012) 226th report, available at http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/report226.pdf (Last Visited on July 6, 2010).

[3] Gulab Sahiblal Shaikh Vs. The State of Maharashtra, (1998 Bom CR(Cri))

[4] Marepally Venkata Sree Nagesh Vs. State of A.p ( 2002 CriLJ3625)

[5] Revinder Singh Vs. State of Harayana(AIR 1975 SC 856)

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