Living with Scars
In Bangladesh, women and girls, and sometimes also men and boys, are attacked with acid due to marriage refusal, sexual harassment, dowry, land disputes, jealousy or money greed. Cases often go unreported and unpunished. The effects of the acid attacks are devastating to the survivors and their families. The acid survivors are often blinded, maimed, disfigured and left to survive with the physical damage, social isolation and psychological scars.
Jan Møller Hansen wants to give the survivors, who have been attacked with acid and living with the severe consequences, a voice and to raise awareness on this inhumane practice. This Project tells the story about heroic survivors, and how they are fighting not only against human evil and stigmatisation but also against corruption and lack of justice in society.
While witnessing first-hand the violence and struggle for survival, the work is a mix of documentary imagery with short stories and portraits of survivors and their families living in Bangladesh. Jan lived in Bangladesh for five years from 2007 to 2012, and in 2018 he went back to shed more light on acid violence in the country. Some of the acid survivors that Jan met in 2011-2012, he revisited in 2018.
The project is based on interviews and statements by acid survivors, their families and the people, who are helping the survivors recovering from and living with their physical and mental scars.
About Acid Violence in Bangladesh
Acid violence is the act of throwing corrosive acid on the face and body with the intent to disfigure, torture or kill the victim. The acid melts the skin and sometimes reaches the bones, causing lifelong scars, physical damage and sometimes permanent disability including blindness and immobility. The acid attacks do not only have a physical impact but also causes intense psychological distress from depression to anxiety to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), to name a few.
Despite a gradual decline in numbers of acid attacks in Bangladesh, the country still has one of the highest numbers of acid attacks in the World, with an average of one person being attacked with acid every week. Many cases go unreported.
In 2002, the Government of Bangladesh enacted two specific laws addressing acid violence, namely the “ Acid Offences Prevention Act 2002” and the “Acid Control Act 2002”. The laws were enacted with the purpose of controlling acid crimes by imposing stringent punishments; controlling the import, production, transportation, hoarding, sale and use of acid; and ensuring provisions for treatment, rehabilitation and legal support to victims of acid violence. Acid is widely used by gold jewelry shops, tanneries, automobile workshops and other types of commercial companies and is easily available on the market.
In Bangladesh, most people are not aware of the legislation on acid violence, and very few know about the provisions in the laws. There is also a general and profound mistrust among people towards the services of the formal duty bearers under the laws, e.g. the local administration, police and judiciary. Most often the acid survivors and their families, as rights holders, are in a very weak position. In many cases their rights are not respected by the duty bearers, as documented by the stories in this project.
There are nearly 2000 on-going cases related to acid violence pilled up in the district courts of Bangladesh. The law says that the cases shall be settled within 90 days, but this rarely happens. The national law can give perpetrators up to life imprisonment or death penalty. It is not uncommon that perpetrators are convicted with imprisonment but released on bail. So far, 15 persons have been sentenced to death for acid attacks in Bangladesh. None of the death penalties have been carried out. The court cases, related to acid attacks, are lengthy, cumbersome and bureaucratic. Many acid survivors and their families give up during the court cases, which often go on for years. There is a lengthy disposal of cases before the district and national acid tribunals.
Often acid survivors and their families are not kept informed about the court sessions. It is not uncommon that they do not know when and where court sessions will take place, and they are often left in the dark about their cases. In general, there is little support to the acid survivors and their families during the judiciary process. If witnesses are called to attend court sessions, the acid survivors and their families will have to bear all costs for the witnesses’ travel, accommodation, food etc. Sometimes the witnesses might even ask for money to attend the court sessions and for supporting the case. In most cases the families are not able to mobilise the money needed to ensure a proper defence of their case, and the witnesses might not appear in court. It is also common that non-family witnesses to acid attacks are not willing to testify in court, because they are afraid of being harassed by the police or revenged by the accused and his or her family.
Most families of acid survivors rely on a public prosecutor. It can turn out to be a costly affaire, and the family might end up becoming highly indebted on top of the expensive costs for years of treatment of the acid survivor.
There are numerous cases where the accused’s family bribes the local police to handle the case in their favour. Through bribes the accused and his or her family might be able to influence and weaken the investigation by the police or the work of the public prosecutor. As a consequence, convicted perpetrators often get out on bail, ordered by the High Court in Dhaka. Frequent bails and stay orders issued by the High Court is common. Once the accused is set free, the process will be extended and the likelihood of a sentence in favour of the acid survivor diminishes.
Moreover, it is not rare, that the accused receive support from local influential political leaders. The investigation might be flawed both in terms of gaining evidence and preparing documentation in the form of a charge sheet and final report. The accused, with support from influential local leaders, can influence the police to make the investigation and reporting in his/her favour. Often the acid victims are women, children or men from poor families with few financial means and no influential network. The police might also be reluctant to investigate cases of acid attacks, because they are viewed as family matters and often involve poor people. In many incidences corruption is a central element in the investigative and legal handling of acid attack cases in Bangladesh. The attacker is typically more powerful than the victim and able to influence the handling of the case.
The implementation and enforcement of national laws are weak, and the role and function of the National Acid Control Council and District Acid Control Committee are largely inefficient and ineffective. It is documented by studies that the National Acid Control Council rarely meets and that the outcome of the meetings has little impact in the fight against acid violence in the country.
The monitoring of acid use is weak and the process of obtaining license is cumbersome. Only a few large companies have obtained a license to buy and sell acid. Smaller and medium seized companies typically do not have such a license. Acid is available everywhere and is cheap. For less than 150 Taka (2 US dollars) one can buy half a litre of sulphuric acid and for a few more Taka half a litre of nitric acid. If you do not have your own bottle, you can rent a cheap jar. Like in Tantibazaar in Dhaka, not far from the Deputy Commissioner's office, which is responsible for controlling production, transport, storage, usage and sale of acid, one can easily find cheap acid. Neither a licence nor cash memos are necessary for buying acid from any market or shop in Bangladesh.
According to Farjana Sharmin, who is a psychotherapist with the Acid Survivors Foundation, then many of the acid survivors and their families are living with guilt and shame for rest of their life. “When a women is being attacked with acid, one of her first questions is: What have I done wrong to go through this suffering? They wonder why and who did this terrible thing to them. The acid attacks often happen during night. In many cases, the woman does not see the perpetrator in the dark, and she might have got acid in her eyes. She will be panicking. After the attack, the acid survivor has to go through a long and painful treatment and rehabilitation process. In many cases, the treatment will be for rest of their life”, Farjana says.
“Many of the acid survivors get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They get diagnosed with PTSD if they have been traumatised for more than six months. Rural women are often naive and struggling hard in their life. Initially they are in deep shock. Typically they start thinking about what they did wrong. Then they go into a phase where they are worrying about what other people might think of them. People in their community and own family often accuse the acid survivor of being a bad person. When you become an acid survivor, you must have done something wrong – otherwise it would not have happened to you. Acid survivors become stigmatised and excluded from their personal circles”, says Farjana Sharmin from ASF.
“Acid survivors are faced with a complex set of challenges that relate to the physical suffering, the psychological suffering, security issues, social pressure from the community and their own family, livelihood concerns, uncertainty about their future, stigmatisation and isolation in society and family, legal issues and many other issues”, Farjana continues.
The acid survivors often become severely disfigured. They go through intensive skin drafting, plastic surgeries and other operations, depending on their external or internal injuries. “The acid survivors do not want to look at their face in the mirror. But gradually they have to come to terms with the fact, that they have been disfigured, and that they have got a new and different face. They will have to realise that they will never get their face back. As a therapist, I always ask the acid survivor to think about and focus on the positive sides of their life. It is their own fight, but we talk about their potentiality, their will and how to get back to the family and community. It is very emotional and difficult for the survivor”, says Farjana.
“As an acid survivor, you suddenly do not recognise yourself. All relations with your community, family and friends have changed dramatically. Your identity has been taken away. The perpetrator wanted to destroy your beauty and identity. The male perpetrator thinks that he has the power over the woman. He has the right to destroy her, if she does not obey and accept his marriage proposal. This is a common understanding in society”, Farjana says. After the acid attack, the environment around the survivor will change in perception and behaviour. The society, community, family and friends suddenly look and perceive the acid survivor completely differently than before the attack.
“The women are concerned about their beauty, skin and look. They have learned from childhood that it is all about being beautiful, innocent and well behaved. That is how the girls are brought up. You have to be pretty and not go outside of the home. That is vital in a girl’s life. Otherwise, she cannot get properly married”, Farjana explains.
The acid survivors develop many different and individual coping strategies, depending on their personality and the nature and consequences of the attack. Each acid attack, and how the survivor is managing afterwards, are unique. Some women are very powerful and able to fight back and to survive. Others get deeply depressed and will never manage to mentally recover from the attack.
Acid violence is often gender-based and deeply rooted in the conservative and male dominated parts of society in Bangladesh. Boys are often brought up by their parents believing that they are worth more than girls. If they propose to a girl, and she refuses, he feel will feel humiliate. As a last option he might choose violence as revenge. Sometimes jealousy or money greed might also be the motive behind an acid attack. Even though, the system and practice of dowry have been prohibited by law in Bangladesh since the early 80’s, it is still widely practiced through the country. Disagreement over dowry (bride price) is also a main reason of acid attacks against women and girls in Bangladesh. Acid attacks are often about honour and shame and rooted in gender inequality.
Gradually, social norms and perceptions are changing, but it takes time. In recently years, Bangladesh has seen an increasing engagement from civil society organisations in the fight against acid violence in the country. Several organisations also recruit acid survivors to assist other acid survivors with treatment, long-term recovery, psychosocial counselling, physiotherapy, legal advice, financial support, skills development, and advocacy work. Many positive results have been gained in recent years, but funding from donors is declining, despite the fact, that acid violence is still highly prevalent in Bangladesh. Many acid survivors are in need of life-long treatment and assistance.
In Bangladesh, the number of acid attacks has declined in recent years, but acid violence is still a very disturbing phenomenon in the country. Every week, hospitals in different parts of the Bangladesh receive acid attack patients, and one acid attack is one too many. Much still remains to be done in terms of improving the way that national and district authorities and law enforcers are handling acid violence in Bangladesh. The two national laws are comprehensive as they are written, however, implementation and enforcement remain weak.
Dhaka July 2018.
Read MoreJan Møller Hansen wants to give the survivors, who have been attacked with acid and living with the severe consequences, a voice and to raise awareness on this inhumane practice. This Project tells the story about heroic survivors, and how they are fighting not only against human evil and stigmatisation but also against corruption and lack of justice in society.
While witnessing first-hand the violence and struggle for survival, the work is a mix of documentary imagery with short stories and portraits of survivors and their families living in Bangladesh. Jan lived in Bangladesh for five years from 2007 to 2012, and in 2018 he went back to shed more light on acid violence in the country. Some of the acid survivors that Jan met in 2011-2012, he revisited in 2018.
The project is based on interviews and statements by acid survivors, their families and the people, who are helping the survivors recovering from and living with their physical and mental scars.
About Acid Violence in Bangladesh
Acid violence is the act of throwing corrosive acid on the face and body with the intent to disfigure, torture or kill the victim. The acid melts the skin and sometimes reaches the bones, causing lifelong scars, physical damage and sometimes permanent disability including blindness and immobility. The acid attacks do not only have a physical impact but also causes intense psychological distress from depression to anxiety to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), to name a few.
Despite a gradual decline in numbers of acid attacks in Bangladesh, the country still has one of the highest numbers of acid attacks in the World, with an average of one person being attacked with acid every week. Many cases go unreported.
In 2002, the Government of Bangladesh enacted two specific laws addressing acid violence, namely the “ Acid Offences Prevention Act 2002” and the “Acid Control Act 2002”. The laws were enacted with the purpose of controlling acid crimes by imposing stringent punishments; controlling the import, production, transportation, hoarding, sale and use of acid; and ensuring provisions for treatment, rehabilitation and legal support to victims of acid violence. Acid is widely used by gold jewelry shops, tanneries, automobile workshops and other types of commercial companies and is easily available on the market.
In Bangladesh, most people are not aware of the legislation on acid violence, and very few know about the provisions in the laws. There is also a general and profound mistrust among people towards the services of the formal duty bearers under the laws, e.g. the local administration, police and judiciary. Most often the acid survivors and their families, as rights holders, are in a very weak position. In many cases their rights are not respected by the duty bearers, as documented by the stories in this project.
There are nearly 2000 on-going cases related to acid violence pilled up in the district courts of Bangladesh. The law says that the cases shall be settled within 90 days, but this rarely happens. The national law can give perpetrators up to life imprisonment or death penalty. It is not uncommon that perpetrators are convicted with imprisonment but released on bail. So far, 15 persons have been sentenced to death for acid attacks in Bangladesh. None of the death penalties have been carried out. The court cases, related to acid attacks, are lengthy, cumbersome and bureaucratic. Many acid survivors and their families give up during the court cases, which often go on for years. There is a lengthy disposal of cases before the district and national acid tribunals.
Often acid survivors and their families are not kept informed about the court sessions. It is not uncommon that they do not know when and where court sessions will take place, and they are often left in the dark about their cases. In general, there is little support to the acid survivors and their families during the judiciary process. If witnesses are called to attend court sessions, the acid survivors and their families will have to bear all costs for the witnesses’ travel, accommodation, food etc. Sometimes the witnesses might even ask for money to attend the court sessions and for supporting the case. In most cases the families are not able to mobilise the money needed to ensure a proper defence of their case, and the witnesses might not appear in court. It is also common that non-family witnesses to acid attacks are not willing to testify in court, because they are afraid of being harassed by the police or revenged by the accused and his or her family.
Most families of acid survivors rely on a public prosecutor. It can turn out to be a costly affaire, and the family might end up becoming highly indebted on top of the expensive costs for years of treatment of the acid survivor.
There are numerous cases where the accused’s family bribes the local police to handle the case in their favour. Through bribes the accused and his or her family might be able to influence and weaken the investigation by the police or the work of the public prosecutor. As a consequence, convicted perpetrators often get out on bail, ordered by the High Court in Dhaka. Frequent bails and stay orders issued by the High Court is common. Once the accused is set free, the process will be extended and the likelihood of a sentence in favour of the acid survivor diminishes.
Moreover, it is not rare, that the accused receive support from local influential political leaders. The investigation might be flawed both in terms of gaining evidence and preparing documentation in the form of a charge sheet and final report. The accused, with support from influential local leaders, can influence the police to make the investigation and reporting in his/her favour. Often the acid victims are women, children or men from poor families with few financial means and no influential network. The police might also be reluctant to investigate cases of acid attacks, because they are viewed as family matters and often involve poor people. In many incidences corruption is a central element in the investigative and legal handling of acid attack cases in Bangladesh. The attacker is typically more powerful than the victim and able to influence the handling of the case.
The implementation and enforcement of national laws are weak, and the role and function of the National Acid Control Council and District Acid Control Committee are largely inefficient and ineffective. It is documented by studies that the National Acid Control Council rarely meets and that the outcome of the meetings has little impact in the fight against acid violence in the country.
The monitoring of acid use is weak and the process of obtaining license is cumbersome. Only a few large companies have obtained a license to buy and sell acid. Smaller and medium seized companies typically do not have such a license. Acid is available everywhere and is cheap. For less than 150 Taka (2 US dollars) one can buy half a litre of sulphuric acid and for a few more Taka half a litre of nitric acid. If you do not have your own bottle, you can rent a cheap jar. Like in Tantibazaar in Dhaka, not far from the Deputy Commissioner's office, which is responsible for controlling production, transport, storage, usage and sale of acid, one can easily find cheap acid. Neither a licence nor cash memos are necessary for buying acid from any market or shop in Bangladesh.
According to Farjana Sharmin, who is a psychotherapist with the Acid Survivors Foundation, then many of the acid survivors and their families are living with guilt and shame for rest of their life. “When a women is being attacked with acid, one of her first questions is: What have I done wrong to go through this suffering? They wonder why and who did this terrible thing to them. The acid attacks often happen during night. In many cases, the woman does not see the perpetrator in the dark, and she might have got acid in her eyes. She will be panicking. After the attack, the acid survivor has to go through a long and painful treatment and rehabilitation process. In many cases, the treatment will be for rest of their life”, Farjana says.
“Many of the acid survivors get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They get diagnosed with PTSD if they have been traumatised for more than six months. Rural women are often naive and struggling hard in their life. Initially they are in deep shock. Typically they start thinking about what they did wrong. Then they go into a phase where they are worrying about what other people might think of them. People in their community and own family often accuse the acid survivor of being a bad person. When you become an acid survivor, you must have done something wrong – otherwise it would not have happened to you. Acid survivors become stigmatised and excluded from their personal circles”, says Farjana Sharmin from ASF.
“Acid survivors are faced with a complex set of challenges that relate to the physical suffering, the psychological suffering, security issues, social pressure from the community and their own family, livelihood concerns, uncertainty about their future, stigmatisation and isolation in society and family, legal issues and many other issues”, Farjana continues.
The acid survivors often become severely disfigured. They go through intensive skin drafting, plastic surgeries and other operations, depending on their external or internal injuries. “The acid survivors do not want to look at their face in the mirror. But gradually they have to come to terms with the fact, that they have been disfigured, and that they have got a new and different face. They will have to realise that they will never get their face back. As a therapist, I always ask the acid survivor to think about and focus on the positive sides of their life. It is their own fight, but we talk about their potentiality, their will and how to get back to the family and community. It is very emotional and difficult for the survivor”, says Farjana.
“As an acid survivor, you suddenly do not recognise yourself. All relations with your community, family and friends have changed dramatically. Your identity has been taken away. The perpetrator wanted to destroy your beauty and identity. The male perpetrator thinks that he has the power over the woman. He has the right to destroy her, if she does not obey and accept his marriage proposal. This is a common understanding in society”, Farjana says. After the acid attack, the environment around the survivor will change in perception and behaviour. The society, community, family and friends suddenly look and perceive the acid survivor completely differently than before the attack.
“The women are concerned about their beauty, skin and look. They have learned from childhood that it is all about being beautiful, innocent and well behaved. That is how the girls are brought up. You have to be pretty and not go outside of the home. That is vital in a girl’s life. Otherwise, she cannot get properly married”, Farjana explains.
The acid survivors develop many different and individual coping strategies, depending on their personality and the nature and consequences of the attack. Each acid attack, and how the survivor is managing afterwards, are unique. Some women are very powerful and able to fight back and to survive. Others get deeply depressed and will never manage to mentally recover from the attack.
Acid violence is often gender-based and deeply rooted in the conservative and male dominated parts of society in Bangladesh. Boys are often brought up by their parents believing that they are worth more than girls. If they propose to a girl, and she refuses, he feel will feel humiliate. As a last option he might choose violence as revenge. Sometimes jealousy or money greed might also be the motive behind an acid attack. Even though, the system and practice of dowry have been prohibited by law in Bangladesh since the early 80’s, it is still widely practiced through the country. Disagreement over dowry (bride price) is also a main reason of acid attacks against women and girls in Bangladesh. Acid attacks are often about honour and shame and rooted in gender inequality.
Gradually, social norms and perceptions are changing, but it takes time. In recently years, Bangladesh has seen an increasing engagement from civil society organisations in the fight against acid violence in the country. Several organisations also recruit acid survivors to assist other acid survivors with treatment, long-term recovery, psychosocial counselling, physiotherapy, legal advice, financial support, skills development, and advocacy work. Many positive results have been gained in recent years, but funding from donors is declining, despite the fact, that acid violence is still highly prevalent in Bangladesh. Many acid survivors are in need of life-long treatment and assistance.
In Bangladesh, the number of acid attacks has declined in recent years, but acid violence is still a very disturbing phenomenon in the country. Every week, hospitals in different parts of the Bangladesh receive acid attack patients, and one acid attack is one too many. Much still remains to be done in terms of improving the way that national and district authorities and law enforcers are handling acid violence in Bangladesh. The two national laws are comprehensive as they are written, however, implementation and enforcement remain weak.
Dhaka July 2018.
