On June 30, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah promised employment to an acid attack survivor from Sunkadkatte in Bengaluru. Listening to her plight during the ‘Janata Darshan’ at his house, he promptly directed the officials to offer her a job at the secretariat.
While the gesture is appreciated, activists and survivors note that it shouldn’t be a one-off incident, and emphasize the need for an institutionalised system in place for supporting, rehabilitating and reintegrating acid attack survivors into society.
Pragya Singh, a survivor herself and founder of the Atijeevan Foundation, says, “This kind of opportunity should be given to other survivors as well. Making them independent is very important.”
“There should be a proper system in place to offer them government jobs and medical and legal support. Not only at government hospitals but even in private hospitals reconstructive surgery for victims should be made free of cost because medical assistance is the first step towards rehabilitation,” she adds.
Existing mechanism
As per the Victim Compensation Scheme 2018, the acid attack survivor is eligible for a minimum compensation of Rs 3 lakhs and a maximum of Rs 8 lakhs. In the case of loss of life, ₹5 to ₹10 lakhs is provided to the next of kin.
An interim compensation of ₹1 lakh is to be provided by the State Legal Services Authority within 15 days of registration of FIR.
“The compensation is provided according to the level of injury caused. In some cases, the court will also make recommendations,” says Raghavendra Shettigar, Deputy secretary at Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA).
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While acid attack cases are considered on priority, Mr. Shettigar admits there could be delays due to factors like shortage of funds and procedural delays.
“If we have a shortage of funds, we’ll write to the government and release it as soon as we get it. Sometimes the party approaches the DLSA late due to lack of awareness or the police not assisting them with the compensation formalities. But in most cases, the interim amount is disbursed immediately, and the final amount will be disbursed after the court verdict.”
However, such delays leave the survivors in a lurch as the treatment for acid attacks involves multiple surgeries and the cost runs into several lakhs. Advocate Sumitra Acharya, lawyer and legal consultant at the Centre for Women and Law, points out that there are several women who have stopped treatment midway due to shortage of money.
“When they apply for compensation, they are asked to produce each and every bill. The NALSA (National Legal Service Authority) scheme allows compensation of up to Rs 8 lakh. But for the majority of the women, the first admission itself would cost ₹5-7 lakhs. For further operations, they will need another Rs 15-18 lakhs. Compared to all that Rs 8 lakh is a pittance,” she says, adding that the existing system talks only of compensation and is silent on reimbursing the medical expenses.
Medical treatment including surgeries is currently free in government hospitals in Karnataka for acid attack victims. However, most government hospitals barring Victoria Hospital do not have dedicated burn wards or adequate infrastructure including specialised medical practitioners to treat burn victims. While the Supreme Court in 2015 had directed that free treatment for acid attacks should be provided at all hospitals including private hospitals, no policy moves have been made in this regard.
In many cases due to the lack of facilities in the nearby government facilities or prohibitive costs in private hospitals, victims are taken to far-flung facilities. This can result in fatal delays or make survivors more prone to infections.
“Acid attack treatment is complex and involves multiple surgeries, and even after all that you may not get the desired results,” says Dr. Ramesh K.T. who heads the plastic surgery and burns department at Victoria Hospital.
“The tissue reaction is very bad in acid burns which are deep burns. Even after several surgeries complications can continue. There are chances of tissues not responding properly even after recovery. Over the years, there have been advancements in the medical field, but still, the response of the patient to the treatment can be unpredictable.”
Cases reduced, but more to be done
As per data from the state police department the number of acid attacks in Karnataka has significantly come down in the last few years. In the years 2019, 2020 and 2021, seven, five and three cases were reported respectively. This has been a significant improvement compared to the state of affairs in the early 2000s.
According to a report published in 2007 by Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW,) there were 56 cases of acid attacks against women between 1999 and 2007.
“The situation has improved. But that is not to say that is all that could be done in that direction,” says Mallige who worked as part of the collective.
The demands of the 2007 report included the state assuming complete responsibility for first aid and long-term surgical assistance and rehabilitation of the survivors, regulation of acid sales, and booking of cases under sections 320 and 326 among others.
According to Ms. Mallige, more could be done in terms of prevention of such incidents, building awareness around the crime, and facilitating a quicker and lesser complicated mechanism that doesn’t force the survivor to run from pillar to post and wait several years for the compensation.
Rehabilitate and reintegrate
Incidents of acid attacks impact the survivors physically, mentally and socially. Often survivors lose their job, struggle to find the money for treatment or for the education of their children and go into depression. Therefore, the state needs to think in terms of rehabilitation and reintegration, and not just compensation, says Adv Acharya.
“Majority of the survivors are poor women. They need money. The release of the compensation should therefore be immediate. The trial should be speedy and the case should be closed at the earliest,” she adds.
In 2022, then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced housing and financial assistance of Rs 5 lack for acid attack survivors. Satya Devi, the project coordinator for Aweksha NGO at Victoria Hospital, points out that the survivors need to approach the revenue department to avail them.
“When the KSLSA itself takes so much time to release the money, the women often find no hope in other departments. They are already going through so much shock that they even find it difficult to get back to their routine life,” Ms. Devi says, remembering the case of a survivor who took about three years to return to normalcy.
“It breaks the women. When they don’t receive the promised sum, it makes them angry, anxious and leaves them with no hope.”
Insensitivity within and outside the system
Ms. Mallige remembers how only a couple of decades ago, women were often blamed and subjected to character assassination for acid attacks against them.
“The whole state machinery was extremely hostile against the woman and the perpetrator was seen as a ‘poor broken-hearted boy’. Today, it is identified as a gender-based violence and people see the need for something to be done so that the survivor can stand on her feet and lead a respectable life,” she says.
KSLSA regularly conducts sensitisation programmes at district and taluk levels for police personnel, advocates and judges, points out Mr Shettigar. “In NIMHANS we have a legal services clinic,” he adds.
All said and done, instances of victim blaming are not entirely rare even today. According to Ms Devi, while the number of reported cases of acid attacks has come down significantly, there are also instances of the incident not being reported as the survivor fears she would be blamed or would cause dishonour to the family.
“Last year there was a case of a woman who took treatment in a private hospital and was not ready to report it. Especially when the husband is the perpetrator, those with acid burns would report it as normal burns to protect the honour of the family,” she says.
Ms. Devi also recollects several other cases of social apathy. A sex worker had to go through the traumatic experience of being blamed by her family while also suffering the seething pain from the acid burns on her eyes and throat. A surrogate mother from West Bengal who came to Bengaluru was attacked by her husband who ran away after throwing acid at her.
“Sometimes the officials are also insensitive,” she points out. “When the police are probing the survivor for details, they are doing their job, but they also need to be sensitive. Officials in the legal services authority at times say insensitive things like ‘if you are going to compromise tomorrow, we will take the compensation money back.’”
Make prevention a priority
As per the Karnataka Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules 2015, the suppliers should sell the acid only after obtaining the identity card and address of the buyer and ascertaining the purpose of the purchase. record the details of people who procure acid and the purpose of procurement. Any unused acid is to be returned to the storekeeper.
But the perpetrators often resort to faking documents. In the case of the Sunkadkatte acid attack too, the accused reportedly procured the acid by misrepresenting the letterhead of a housekeeping services company.
Instances of police taking threats against women lightly are also not uncommon.
Adv Acharya says, “It should be incorporated into the law that any kind of threat should be taken seriously so that prevention of such incidents can be a priority instead of waiting for it to happen and then talking about justice.”
