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Acid and Burns Violence in Nepal

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Acid and Burns Violence in Nepal Acid and Burns Violence in Nepal A Situational Analysis Burns Violence Survivors-Nepal in partnership with the Acid Survivors Trust International November 2011 Burns Violence Survivors-Nepal (BVS-Nepal) is a not for profit non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 2008. Its main objective is to promote a holistic approach to supporting survivors of burns violence. This entails working with partners to provide quality medical and psychosocial care, whilst also promoting legal advocacy, vocational training and long-term prevention strategies. In 2010, BVS-Nepal initiated a pilot project aiming to set up and develop a specialist team consisting of counsellors, a physiotherapist and nutritionist. This means BVS-Nepal is able to provide medical, physiological and nutrition support to burns violence survivors. Furthermore, BVS-Nepal intends to provide legal counsel and advocacy, and develop burn prevention training. The second phase of the project will establish a rehabilitation home for burns survivors, where they will be provided post-hospital medical care, psychosocial support and vocational training. BVS-Nepal aims at developing a solid partnership network with various governmental and private sector service providers. The aim is to partner with these organizations to provide both medical and psychosocial support to victims and survivors of burns violence, especially to the very poor who cannot afford these services. Acknowledgements Production of this report was funded by a grant to the Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) from the UN Trust Fund (UNTF) to End Violence Against Women, administered through UNWomen. The grant is for a two-year project: “Towards a comprehensive strategy to end burns violence against women” (January 2011 to December 2012.) This report was written by Ingrid Massage, with the assistance of Sulakshana Rana and Prativa Basnet of BVS-Nepal. It is mainly based on a literature review and draws on media reporting on the subject of burns violence. The March 2009 report Burns Violence in Nepal, and other information collected by Alison Marston proved an invaluable source of information to the writer, for which special thanks. We would like to express our thanks to Saathi-Nepal for their continuing support of BVS-Nepal. What is Acid Violence? Acid violence is the deliberate use of acid to attack another human being. The victims of acid violence are usually women and children, and attackers often target the head and face in order to maim, disfigure and blind. Acid has a devastating effect on the human body, often permanently blinding the victim and denying them the use of their hands. As a consequence, many everyday tasks such as working and even mothering are rendered extremely difficult if not impossible. Acid Violence rarely kills but causes severe physical, psychological and social scarring, and victims are often left with no legal recourse, limited access to medical or psychological assistance, and without the means to support themselves. It is not possible to provide the support that survivors require through a single intervention like a cleft palate surgery or the construction of a water-well. In order to rebuild their lives, acid survivors need long-term access to a holistic programme of medical support, rehabilitation, and advocacy that can only be provided by a local organisation. Acid violence is a worldwide phenomenon that is not restricted to a particular race, religion or geographical location. It occurs in developed and developing countries including South Asia, South- East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, and there is anecdotal evidence of attacks in other regions. See ASTI's web site: http://www.acidviolence.org/ 2 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 4 1.1Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 5 2. CONTEXT ....................................................................................................................................... 6 3. ACID AND BURNS VIOLENCE IN NEPAL ........................................................................................... 8 3.1 Incidence ................................................................................................................................. 8 3.2 Profile of victims ...................................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Reasons for attacks ................................................................................................................ 10 3.4 Impact ................................................................................................................................... 14 3.5 Access to acid ........................................................................................................................ 15 4. PERPETRATORS, IMPUNITY AND PROSECUTION ........................................................................... 16 5. SUPPORT FOR SURVIVORS ........................................................................................................... 19 5.1 Specialist medical care ........................................................................................................... 19 5.2 Cost ....................................................................................................................................... 20 6. RAISING AWARENESS................................................................................................................... 22 6.1 Community-level initiatives.................................................................................................... 22 6.2 Education .............................................................................................................................. 22 6.3 Working with traditional healers ............................................................................................ 23 6.4 Women district development officers .................................................................................... 23 6.5 Using the media ..................................................................................................................... 23 7. KEY RELEVANT LAWS ................................................................................................................... 23 7.1 Domestic Violence Act ........................................................................................................... 24 7.2 Laws to criminalize harmful traditional practices.................................................................... 25 7.3 Criminalization of suicide ....................................................................................................... 25 8. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................... 26 8.1 Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 26 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................ 29 3 1. INTRODUCTION In July 2010, Sharada Nepali, a 39-year-old member of the Constituent Assembly and Parliament and mother of six, tried to kill herself by drinking carbolic acid.1 A member of the disadvantaged Dalit community from Bardiya district in the remote west of the country, she never went to school. In 2008, she was nominated to Parliament by the Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist Leninist and is a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Women, Children and Social Welfare. "I could not handle it anymore," she told a journalist. "There was too much pressure from my family and the party. I was mentally tortured by my husband for not handing over my entire salary as a Member of Parliament to him. I couldn't do that since my party was paying me just a fraction of the money we are allotted by the government. When I raised the issue, the party threatened to sack me."2 Sharada’s case symbolizes the current situation for many women in Nepal, despite substantial progress to address gender equality at the legislative and policy level since the end of the armed conflict and the transition to democracy in 2006. Several studies show that domestic violence remains widespread and that this, as well as harmful traditional practices such as child marriage and the dowry system are directly implicated in the continuing problem of acid and burns violence. The government does not collect data on acid and burns violence, and all statistics that have been gathered must be considered with care as survivors often do not reveal the true cause of their burns because of fear or shame. However, various studies do indicate that acid and burns violence remains common in Nepal. A recent study by the Department of Health Services, for example, found that half of suicides in women aged between 15 and 49 followed burns violence. This reflected self- immolation by women and other suicide attempts following domestic violence and, more rarely, attacks by men using acid3 or kerosene. 1 Carbolic acid is an irritant poison, introduced into the system, either by mouth or through an open surface. It is used as an antiseptic and disinfectant, and is widely available and used as a cleaning agent. The chief symptoms of ingestion of carbolic acid are feebleness
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