May 19, 2013
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Description
Acid throwing, also called an acid attack or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault. It is defined as the premeditated act of throwing acid onto the body of a person "with the intention to disfigure, maim, torture, or kill.”Perpetrators of these attacks throw acid at their victims, usually at their faces, burning them, and damaging skin tissue, often exposing and sometimes dissolving the bones. The most common types of acid used in these attacks are sulfuric, nitric, or hydrochloric acid. The long term consequences of these attacks include blindness and permanent scarring of the face and body, along with far-reaching social, psychological, and economic difficulties.
These attacks are most common in Cambodia, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and other nearby countries. Globally, at least 1500 people in 20 countries are attacked in this way yearly, 80% of whom are female and somewhere between 40% and 70% under 18 years of age. Because most of their victims are women, acid attacks have been characterized as a form of gender apartheid.
(via Freebase)
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