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Stop Acid Attacks

Stop Acid Attacks (SAA) is one of the campaigns started in India in early 2013 that stands against acid violence and works as a bridge between victims and the society. Most of the victims of this crime isolate themselves after losing their face. Laxmi Agarwal (c.1990 -) who is leading the campaign and its activists argue that most survivors find no hope and stay like an outcast due to the ignorance of the government and civil society. SAA works towards elimination of acid and other forms of burn violence and protection of survivors' rights. The goal is to empower the victims by providing access to fast justice and enforce new laws to free India from this crime.

Background

Acid violence has been reported in India over the years at different locations that has created great public awareness for positive action.

After the attack, Laxmi asked the Supreme Court to order the central and state governments to regulate the sale of acid, and the Parliament to make prosecutions of acid attacks easier to pursue.

She is the director of Chhanv Foundation, a NGO dedicated to help the survivors of acid attacks in India. Laxmi received a 2014 International Women of Courage award by US First Lady Michelle Obama. She was also chosen as the NDTVIndian of the Year.

Stop Acid Attacks is a campaign to stop and rehabilitate acid attacks survivors and their toughest survivor, Laxmi recently bagged the International Women of Courage Award for spearheading the year-old campaign.the campaign relies on crowd-sourcing platforms like Kickstarter.com, Indiegogo.com and Bitgiving.com. Laxmi was 16 when a suitor threw acid on her after she refused his advances. She went to court, and ensured that her attacker was jailed. Since then, she has survived more than six surgeries and pushed for changes in the law. In the year-old campaign, 24-year-old Laxmi is aided by a group of activists that go to meet survivors in their families and help them come out, intervene when the police does not take up a complaint, and follow up on the medical treatment and the ensuing legal procedure.

Demands

1. Life imprisonment as minimum sentence for perpetrators.
2. The need of a concrete law that categorise acid attacks under violence against women.
3. Fast track courts where acid attack cases are solved within a three month period.
4. Government's support must constitute an agency to process the cases of acid attacks and help the victims get justice.
5. Prevent and stop acid attacks through officers to deal with threats and potential risks to women's safety.
6. Acid attack victims must be given complete legal support to ensure they do not have to struggle a lot to get justice.
7. The Centre and state governments must facilitate the victims with compensation and government jobs to help them take charge of thnstreams of life.their lives.
8. The women victims of acid attacks mainly face the struggle of expensive surgeries, which hinders their appropriate and speedy treatment. Hence, government must take the responsibility of their treatment.
9. The open sale of acid for domestic purposes should be controlled and preferably banned by the government. For, industrial, commercial and all other purposes, it must be sold under licenced dealers and its procurement be made possible against production of suitable identity proof.
10. The government must take steps to rehabilitate acid attack survivors with counselling and other provisions.

Supporting networks

Chhanv Foundation

Inaugurated on may 19, 2013 in Delhi is a centre that aims at providing shelter and medical assistance to acid attack victims. The centre is managed and run by acid attack fighters who have recovered with their true grit and thus, is a source of inspiration and motivation for many others, who are often deserted by the hypocritical society; in some cases even by their own families.

The Natalia Ponce De León foundation

Is a non-profit organisation that has been formed to promote, defend and protect the human rights of chemical attack victims based in Colombia. Colombia is a country with high number of acid attacks towards women, a reality that was invisible until March 27th, 2014, when a video of Natalia Ponce being attacked was telecasted in national news channels. She became a fighter for victim’s rights, recognised by all for the mask she wears, for convincing the congress to pass a law that gives 50 year sentence against aggressors.

Human Rights Law Network's Campaign Against Acid Attack

HRLN’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.

In popular culture

Priya's Mirror

In an age when women struggle for positive representation in books and the media, and feminist champions are often marginalised, it is heartening to see the bravery of ­acid-attack survivors celebrated in a comic book.

The plot of "Priya’s Mirror" revolves around three kinds of wronged people: the acid-attack survivors; Priya, a rape survivor; and the perpetrator of the crime, who was himself abused before turning into a demon. The book was premiered at the New York Film Festival, at Film Society of Lincoln Center, NYC from Sept. 30 to Oct. 16, 2016.

Chasni

Chasni (Sugar syrup) is a an animation film by Abhishek verma, a design student from IIT Bombay, which captures the plight of an acid attack survivor as she battles isolation, social stigma and pain from her wounds. Chasni has travelled to 11 film festivals in India and abroad, recently won an award for the Best Short Animation Film at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and was nominated for an award at the Animafest, Zagreb, Croatia, in June.