<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"></span></p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;">Acid violence is a cruel form of assault which is most often perpetrated against women. It is particularly horrific because it is premeditated: the assailant has to procure the acid and get access to the victim. The acid thrown in the victim's face causes severe burns and long-term physical and psychological damage.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;"><br />Acid violence has existed all over the world, and today it is most common in South Asia. The attacks are often motivated by revenge: a woman has rejected a man's advances, or a family has refused a marriage proposal for their daughter.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;"><br />In Bangladesh the cause is frequently a family or land dispute: women are considered to be chattels, and harming them harms makes them unmarriageable, and unable to find work. Recently, there have been attacks against children: a man who wanted a son may throw acid at his baby daughter at birth. Children also suffer when they are not the intended victims, because they may be sleeping beside their mothers when an acid attack is made.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;"><br />It is difficult to bring the perpetrators to justice: often they abscond, or are are protected by their family or by the criminal underworld.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;"><br />Fortunately, thanks to the work of the Acid Survivors' Foundation (ASF), Bangladesh is working successfully towards the elimination of acid violence in the country.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;"><br />The organisation has existed since 1999. They provide post-attack medical care, physiotherapy, psychological care, rehabilitation, legal aid, and prevention. They produce pressure garments which are used in the treatment of burns. They work in educating the community, for example with their &Uacute;se Water Save Life' campaign. The burns which are being treated today are much less severe than in the past, because people know that they must douse them immediately with large quantities of water. Many victims go on to work in the campaign, offering care and support to fellow-victims.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;"><br />Another aspect of their work is raising awareness: the ASF has managed to gain the support of high profile figures such as pop stars and sports celebrities. The slogan &lsquo;Good Men Don't Throw Acid' has proved to be effective.<br />And the ASF has both the ruling party and the opposition on its side: the law has been changed so that convicted offenders are sentenced to death by hanging. (The sentence is then commuted to life, with a minimum of twenty-seven years served.)</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;"><br />The awareness campaign has been a huge success: on International Women's Day in 2006, acid violence survivors led a huge march. The thousand marchers following them to express their outrage were mostly men: from university professors to rickshaw wallahs.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;"><br />The number of acid attacks in Bangladesh has dropped from 367 in 2002 to 115 in 2010.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;"><br />Bangladesh is proving to be a flagship for the fight against acid violence. Let's hope that the ASF's vision of a &lsquo;Bangladesh free from violence - particularly acid and other burn violence - where all survivors of violence have access to justice and are full members of society' becomes a reality.</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;">for more information, see &nbsp;<a href="Acid violence is a cruel form of assault which is most often perpetrated against women. It is particularly horrific because it is premeditated: the assailant has to procure the acid and get access to the victim. The acid thrown in the victim's face causes severe burns and long-term physical and psychological damage. Acid violence has existed all over the world, and today it is most common in South Asia. The attacks are often motivated by revenge: a woman has rejected a man's advances, or a family has refused a marriage proposal for their daughter. In Bangladesh the cause is frequently a family or land dispute: women are considered to be chattels, and harming them harms makes them unmarriageable, and unable to find work. Recently, there have been attacks against children: a man who wanted a son may throw acid at his baby daughter at birth. Children also suffer when they are not the intended victims, because they may be sleeping beside their mothers when an acid attack is made. It is difficult to bring the perpetrators to justice: often they abscond, or are are protected by their family or by the criminal underworld. Fortunately, thanks to the work of the Acid Survivors' Foundation (ASF), Bangladesh is working successfully towards the elimination of acid violence in the country. The organisation has existed since 1999. They provide post-attack medical care, physiotherapy, psychological care, rehabilitation, legal aid, and prevention. They produce pressure garments which are used in the treatment of burns. They work in educating the community, for example with their &Uacute;se Water Save Life' campaign. The burns which are being treated today are much less severe than in the past, because people know that they must douse them immediately with large quantities of water. Many victims go on to work in the campaign, offering care and support to fellow-victims. Another aspect of their work is raising awareness: the ASF has managed to gain the support of high profile figures such as pop stars and sports celebrities. The slogan &lsquo;Good Men Don't Throw Acid' has proved to be effective. And the ASF has both the ruling party and the opposition on its side: the law has been changed so that convicted offenders are sentenced to death by hanging. (The sentence is then commuted to life, with a minimum of twenty-seven years served.) The awareness campaign has been a huge success: on International Women's Day in 2006, acid violence survivors led a huge march. The thousand marchers following them to express their outrage were mostly men: from university professors to rickshaw wallahs. The number of acid attacks in Bangladesh has dropped from 367 in 2002 to 115 in 2010. Bangladesh is proving to be a flagship for the fight against acid violence. Let's hope that the ASF's vision of a &lsquo;Bangladesh free from violence - particularly acid and other burn violence - where all survivors of violence have access to justice and are full members of society' becomes a reality. for more information, see http://www.acidsurvivors.org/about.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_throwing ">http://www.acidsurvivors.org/about.html</a>&nbsp;and <a href="Acid violence is a cruel form of assault which is most often perpetrated against women. It is particularly horrific because it is premeditated: the assailant has to procure the acid and get access to the victim. The acid thrown in the victim's face causes severe burns and long-term physical and psychological damage. Acid violence has existed all over the world, and today it is most common in South Asia. The attacks are often motivated by revenge: a woman has rejected a man's advances, or a family has refused a marriage proposal for their daughter. In Bangladesh the cause is frequently a family or land dispute: women are considered to be chattels, and harming them harms makes them unmarriageable, and unable to find work. Recently, there have been attacks against children: a man who wanted a son may throw acid at his baby daughter at birth. Children also suffer when they are not the intended victims, because they may be sleeping beside their mothers when an acid attack is made. It is difficult to bring the perpetrators to justice: often they abscond, or are are protected by their family or by the criminal underworld. Fortunately, thanks to the work of the Acid Survivors' Foundation (ASF), Bangladesh is working successfully towards the elimination of acid violence in the country. The organisation has existed since 1999. They provide post-attack medical care, physiotherapy, psychological care, rehabilitation, legal aid, and prevention. They produce pressure garments which are used in the treatment of burns. They work in educating the community, for example with their &Uacute;se Water Save Life' campaign. The burns which are being treated today are much less severe than in the past, because people know that they must douse them immediately with large quantities of water. Many victims go on to work in the campaign, offering care and support to fellow-victims. Another aspect of their work is raising awareness: the ASF has managed to gain the support of high profile figures such as pop stars and sports celebrities. The slogan &lsquo;Good Men Don't Throw Acid' has proved to be effective. And the ASF has both the ruling party and the opposition on its side: the law has been changed so that convicted offenders are sentenced to death by hanging. (The sentence is then commuted to life, with a minimum of twenty-seven years served.) The awareness campaign has been a huge success: on International Women's Day in 2006, acid violence survivors led a huge march. The thousand marchers following them to express their outrage were mostly men: from university professors to rickshaw wallahs. The number of acid attacks in Bangladesh has dropped from 367 in 2002 to 115 in 2010. Bangladesh is proving to be a flagship for the fight against acid violence. Let's hope that the ASF's vision of a &lsquo;Bangladesh free from violence - particularly acid and other burn violence - where all survivors of violence have access to justice and are full members of society' becomes a reality. for more information, see http://www.acidsurvivors.org/about.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_throwing ">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_throwing</a></p> <p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;">&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>