Mission

Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) is a UK registered charity (no. 1079290) and the only international organisation whose sole purpose is to end acid violence. ASTI was founded in 2002 and now works with a network of six Acid Survivors Foundations in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Uganda that it has helped to form. ASTI has helped provide medical expertise and training to our partners, raised valuable funds to support survivors of acid attacks and helped change laws.A key role for ASTI is to raise awareness of acid violence to an international audience so that increased pressure can be applied to governments to introduce stricter controls on the sale and purchase of acid, survivors compensated and perpetrators prosecuted. At present a litre of acid can be bought over a shop counter for as little as 10 pence.  ASTI’s goal is to eradicate acid and burns violence and to ensure that survivors live with dignity and without fear. Our aim is a 90% reduction in acid violence by 2030.

Category

Health

Additional Information

The shocking acid attack on two British nationals in Zanzibar in August 2013 drew attention to a little known and under-reported form of violence. Acid violence is a particularly vicious form of premeditated violence, where acid is thrown usually at the face to disfigure, maim and blind, but not to kill. The targets are mostly women and girls. Acid causes the skin and flesh tissue to melt, often exposing and dissolving the bones below. Survivors face permanent disfigurement and often social isolation - devastating their self-esteem and psychological wellbeing.  A survivor needs immediate specialist medical treatment, sanctuary, reconstructive surgery, follow up physiotherapy, counselling and long-term support to rebuild their life. A survivor often requires dozens of surgical procedures. Child victims require extra long-term specialist care from paediatric surgeons (reconstructive and ophthalmic), physiotherapists and counsellors – specialist skills that are often lacking in many countries in which acid violence is prevalent. Every year thousands of people across the world are subjected to deliberate and pre-meditated attacks with Nitric, Hydrochloric or Sulphuric Acid. Attacks often occur as a result of domestic or land disputes, a violent act of revenge towards a girl or woman rejected a marriage proposal or spurned sexual advances. During an attack children are often in close proximity to their mother and as a result suffer burns. Sadly children are also deliberate targets of attack.   Attacks are most common in societies with unequal relations between men and women, and where the rule of law is weak. The easy availability of acid, such as Nitric or Sulphuric Acid used in manufacturing and processing cotton and rubber, contributes to incidents of acid violence in many countries. Acid violence can occur anywhere but the countries with the highest recorded levels of acid violence include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Uganda. There are as many as 1500 recorded attacks a year. However the real figure is likely to be far higher. There could be as many as 1000 attacks a year in India alone but many attacks go unreported. Survivors of acid attacks live in fear of reprisals for reporting the attack. They also know that their chances of achieving a prosecution are tiny. Thankfully, the two British girls were able to receive quality medical treatment in the UK. Sadly, this is not an option for the vast majority of victims. Most attacks occur in developing countries where this support is not available. Acid attacks have a lifelong, tragic, consequence for its victims and their families.