INTRODUCTION
Acid Attack Survivors are the people (mostly women) who became the victim of the crime of acid throwing. India is among the countries where the highest number of acid attacks happen.These incidents often leave the victim with disfigured face and other body parts. Recently, the Indian government has included Acid Attack Survivors in the list of recognized disabilities under RPWD Act 2016.
According to 2016 annual report of National Crimes Record Beauro (NCRB), India recorded 283 incidents of acid attacks. These incidents affected 307 survivors. Of these, among the states, West Bengal topped the list with 76 incidents and 60 survivors.
According to RPWD Act 2016, an acid attack victim means a person disfigured due to violent assaults by throwing of acid or similar corrosive substance.
INJURIES IN ACID ATTACKS
Following is a partial list of bodily injuries often caused by acid attacks:
1. The skull is partly destroyed/deformed and hair lost.
2. Ear cartilage is usually partly or totally destroyed; deafness may occur.
3. Eyelids may be burned off or deformed, leaving the eyes extremely dry and prone to blindness. Acid directly in the eye also damages sight, sometimes causing blindness in both eyes.
4. The nose can become shrunken and deformed; the nostrils may close off completely due to destroyed cartilage.
5. The mouth becomes shrunken and narrow, and it may lose its full range of motion. Sometimes, the lips may be partly or totally destroyed, exposing the teeth. Eating and speaking can become difficult.
6. Scars can run down from the chin to neck area, shrinking the chin and extremely limiting range of motion in the neck.
7. Inhalation of acid vapors usually creates respiratory problems, exacerbated restricted airway pathways (the esophagus and nostrils) in acid attack survivors.
SOME OF THE PROBLEMS FACED BY ACID ATTACK SURVIVORS ARE :
· Permanent scarring of the face and body
· Deafness
· Loss of vision
· Loss of ability to communicate and eat
· Respiratory problems
· Social difficulties
· Psychological difficulties
· Economic difficulties
CAUSE OF ACID ATTACK
Perpetrators of the crime act cruelly and deliberately and are often motivated by deep-seated jealousy or feelings of revenge against a woman. An offender first obtains the acid, carrying it on him and then throws to the victim. It also often occurs as revenge against a woman who rejects a proposal of marriage or a sexual relation, another cause of acid attack is conflicts related to dowry or domestic violence. Sometimes conflicts regarding inheritance and other property issues are a cause of acid attacks.
TREATMENT PROVISION FOR ACID ATTACK VICTIMS
Now the section 357B has been newly inserted in Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 which reads as: “The compensation payable by the State Government under section 357A shall be in addition to the payment of fine to the victim under section 326A or section 376D of the Indian Penal Code”. 357C has been newly inserted whereby all hospitals, public or private are required to provide first aid or medical treatment free of cost. The section reads as: “All hospitals, public or private, whether run by the Central Government, the State Government, local bodies or any other person, shall immediately, provide the first-aid or medical treatment, free of cost, to the victims of any offence covered under section 326A, 376, 376A, 376B, 376C, 376D or section 376E of the Indian Penal Code and shall immediately inform the police of such incident”. Reservation provision for acid attack victims As per RPWD Act, 2016 every appropriate Government shall appoint in every government establishment, not less than four percent of the total number of vacancies. In which one percent shall be reserved for persons with benchmark locomotor disability (5,436,604 movement disabled persons by Census, 2011) including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy. The population of locomotor disability is more than 54 lakh in 2011, while new policy includes cerebral palsy, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy in locomotor disability without increasing any percentage in reservation till now it is only one percent. So, there is a very big need to revise reservation policy as per population, types and severity of disabilities and acid attack victims.