Acid attacks on the rise
Acid attacks, the throwing or spraying of a corrosive substance in order to disfigure or maim an intended victim, have experienced a startling spike in numbers in Britain and elsewhere in the West over the last five years. The practice, widely considered a form of violent assault, has long been considered an issue of developing countries, however recent figures have suggested the issue is increasingly a global one.
The number of acid attacks has more than doubled in England since 2012, with the majority taking place in London. In the capital city, the number of attacks has jumped 74% from 261 in 2015 to 454 in 2016. According to Jaf Shah, the executive director of Acid Survivors Trust International, acid attacks in other countries frequently involve men targeting females as revenge for spurned marriage proposals or sexual advances. In the UK, however, acid attacks are often gang related. A number of recent cases, including that of Resham Khan and her cousin Jameel Mukhtar who were victims of an acid attack hate crime, have resulted in a presumption that the rise of acid attacks is a consequence of prejudice against ethnic minorities. Nevertheless, the Metropolitan Police head of corrosive-based crime has stated that the use of corrosive substances was an emerging trend among gangs. Furthermore, Dr Simon Harding, a senior lecturer in criminology at Middlesex University, has said that the majority of attacks were men against men, which fit into the theme of acid being used in gang attacks.
Following on from the crack down on knives and guns, gangs are turning to acid to fill the gap that the removal of these methods has left. Because acid is more readily available than other devices, they are an accessible alternative for individuals looking to cause harm. Most noxious substances are easy to buy over the counter, and are thus hard to track back to perpetrators of an acid attack, subsequently frustrating any future investigation. Furthermore, the tariff for prison sentences is much less for acids attack than if a knife or a gun were used, giving perpetrators a relatively minor punishment for the crime they have committed, making it a more desirable method. Acid is likely to be charged as ‘GBH with intent’ whist the use of a knife by an attacker would lead to them being charged with attempted murder and possible serving 25 years in prison. Additionally, there is currently no licensing or legal consequences for persons found to have illegally obtained acids or other corrosive substances, whereas illegal possession of guns and knives carry a prison sentence of 4–5 years. It is easy to understand why acid is seen as a more desirable method.
In order to remedy the rise in acid attacks, the ease with which such substances can be bought must be corrected. In a report sent to the Home Office last year by the former MP for Kingston and Surbiton, suggestions were made that the government should introduce a licence system to purchase concentrated acid and perhaps even call for the industry to reformulate common cleaners to reduce their corrosive content or make them more viscous. Jaf Shah, however, has stated that this licensing system provides only a short-term response. His suggestion for a longer-term remedy provides some more insight into what is really causing this rise in the use of acid. The suggestion that the government conduct detailed research in order to truly understand the problem and to tackle the root causes of acid violence includes Shah’s belief that a root causes are toxic ideas around masculinity. According to Harding, acid throwing “is a way of showing dominance, power and control, building enormous fear among gang peer groups”. As opposed to knife or gun crime, which can easily result in the death of a victim, deaths from acid attacks are rare with only 3 fatalities out of the 1.805 attacks carried out between 2010 and 2016. Instead of having a short –lived dominance and control over a person, perpetrators of acid attacks have the perverse satisfaction of knowing that they have caused long-term psychological trauma and physical damage to a person that will stay with them forever. This extends the power that they have over their victims. Not only do acid attack survivors have to deal with the physical effects of their trauma, including having to undergo multiple operations that drag the impact of the attack out for years after the event occurred, but they also have to endure the psychological torture that prevails. Most survivors have to deal with the residual fear that follows them after an attack, giving perpetrators the extra satisfaction that they have ingrained themselves into the psyche of their victim. Knowing that they have such power and control reinforces twisted notions of masculinity in the perpetrator, something that is ingrained into the hyper masculine mentality of gang life. Additionally, by disfiguring and destroying a person’s body and life to such an extent, gang members are able to gain notoriety and ‘street capital’, which is something young gang members are constantly hoping to achieve notoriety and exude dominance.
The only real way to remedy the rise of acid attacks is to try and combat the prevalence of gangs and the hyper masculine gang mentality in the UK. In order to prevent the prevalence of acid attacks, individuals who are most at risk of becoming involved in gangs must be protected in order to combat the rise in gang violence. For example, supporting domestic violence victims and their children and improving the education offered to excluded pupils to reduce their risk of involvement in gang violence is integral to prevent young people becoming involved in violence, including acid attacks, in the first place. Enrolling such individuals in programmes that aim to build their confidence, interpersonal and employability skills and allow them to gain practical experience that will hopefully lead them to gain employment and thus stay out of gangs, is one effective way that will combat gang numbers and gang-related violence and has been shown to work in areas of Glasgow in Scotland. The idea of hyper masculinity also has to be tackled in order to confront the reason behind the choice in acid as a method of attack. This exaggeration of male stereotypical behaviour such as being aggressive and having no emotional engagement allows for the devastating act of acid attacks to take place, as male gang members feel like they have to live up to this image. The media’s portrayal of men, especially men in gangs, as hard, angry and violent creates this ideal that many young men try to aspire to. A change in media would be a start to challenging the idea that men have to be cruel and callous in order to be seen as a ‘real’ man. Educating males in schools or outreach programmes would also be a way to combat this hyper masculine image, by showing that this persona is backwards and can be damaging.
Acid attacks are a devastating and horrifying new trend that needs to be combated. Although licensing systems provide a good short-term remedy, combating the prevalence of gangs and the hyper masculine gang mentality is the only real way to remedy the rise of acid attacks in the UK and will provide a long-term solution.
Edited by Ed McCombe.
