Incidents of acid throwing on women dropped to 50 per cent

ISLAMABAD: Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) on Sunday claimed that the reported cases of acid throwing on women have dropped by around 50 per cent as compared to the past five years.

According to ASF’s data, the drop is a major success for acid violence and countering Violence Against Women and girls (VAWG) in the country.

In 2016 and 2017, there were a total of 71 acid attack victims whereas in 2018 and 2019, 62 cases related to acid throwing were reported, besides 11 cases of fire burns and four of multiple burns.

The conviction rate has significantly increased from 17.3 per cent of total registered cases from 2014 to 2019.

38 cases of acid throwing were reported from South Punjab, 11 cases were from Central Punjab, one case was from Islamabad, one was from Sindh, eight were related to Balochistan and three cases were of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

Further, 54 FIRs were registered from 2018 to 2019 whereas 13 cases were prosecuted.

ASFP has been a leading organisation working for the promulgation and implementation of Acid and Burn Crimes Criminal Amendment 2011.

ASFP has supported not only robust monitoring of the implementation of the acid and burn crime legislation but also evidence-based programming and advocacy for acid and burn crime survivors.