Campaign Against Acid Attack
Acid Attack is an attack or attempt to attack a person with the intention to disfigure, torture, or kill, using acid or any other kind of corrosive substance. Such an attack results in permanent physical disfigurement, damage to internal organs, as well as death in some cases. For victims who survive this attack, there is a constant battle of survival for the rest of their life coupled with complete disability and crippling depression. SLIC, through its initiative, aims to provide medical and legal aid, and rehabilitation to such survivors. India records at least 300-500 cases each year. There were no separate statistics for acid violence cases in India until the early 2013 as Indian criminal Law did not recognize it as a separate offence. With the amendment in Indian Penal Code in 2013, incidents of acid attacks are now being recorded as a separate offence under section 326A and 326B.
Despite the aforesaid, there has been a steep rise in the number of cases. While there is a Supreme Court guideline in Laxmi v Union of India (2013) regarding the regulation of sale and procurement of acid, acid is still readily available over-the-counter.
SLIC’s Campaign Against Acid Attack (CaAA) initiative is part of its larger Women’s Justice Initiative (WJI) that seeks to make use of existing laws to oppose all forms of violence against women and gender-based discrimination.