Acid attacks: Nothing’s more heinous

There are few crimes more debilitating than an acid attack - it often leaves the victim permanently disfigured and inflicts a psychological impact which makes many of them shun society.

On Monday, a spurned youth attacked three preuniversity students at a college in Dakshina Kannada district leaving them with burn injuries which would necessitate extensive treatment and even skin grafts.

While it is for medical experts to determine the extent of damage to the skin, sensory organs like the eyes, ears, nose and other parts of the body, what is abundantly clear is that acid attack injuries require costly and extensive treatment and the wounds may take quite some time to heal.

And yet, miscreants, frustrated lovers and those who do not know how to respect women, continue to wreak havoc on the fair sex with impunity, leaving them devastated for life.

There are deterrents of course to prevent such attacks; There is the Acid Attack Control Act and there is Section 326A of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) which prescribes a minimum 10 years imprisonment for the offence of causing hurt by acid attack, plus penalties.

The top court of the country, considering the gravity of the offence, has ruled that to sell acid, one requires a licence. Customers will also have to furnish the reason for buying acid and provide identity proof so that they can be tracked in case the product is used for the wrong purposes.

Acid attacks are a non-bailable offence and yet men continue to attack punish and helpless and vulnerable women with their cruel acts condemning them to a life of tortuous misery.

And why do such attacks happen so often? There are multiple reasons - poor education, an abysmal lack of awareness about the rights of women and the fact that despite the advances women have made in recent decades, society continues to remain male-dominated.

The physical effects of these attacks are agonising to say the least; the acid depending on its intensity, corrodes the skin, fat and muscle layers and could even dissolve the bones.

Girls and women full of life and vigour, are reduce to mental and physical wrecks and inevitably suffer from an inferiority complex with their marital prospects and social life taking a severe hit.

Incidentally, Bengaluru tops among Indian cities in the number of acid attacks on women, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

In 2022 alone, eight women were attacked with acid in Bengaluru, which is higher than any other Indian city, say reports. There have been attempts to rehabilitate the victims of such attacks in the best manner possible.

Associations have been formed to lend them a helping hand and also provide them gainful employment with even a string of cafes being opened where they can secure jobs.

Considering the enormity of the offence committed on them, such victims are also entitled to reservation in government jobs along with disadvantaged sections of society.

But is this all that can be done to stop these heinous attacks which no civilised society can endure?

Do the laws need to be firmed up with more stringent provisions to make sure that anyone even entertaining the thought of hurting women in this manner, are discouraged from crossing the brink?

Heightened awareness and national and state campaigns with a generous helping hand from the governments concerned and NGOs about the incalculable effect acid attacks can have on fellow human beings, seems to be one way to dissuade those even entertaining such thoughts, to not commit the unpardonable act.

Sale of acid which can destroy lives should be rigorously monitored to prevent misuse. For, as an acid attack survivor poignantly remarked, “Acid attacks don’t just burn skin, they also burn hope, dreams and aspirations.”