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Acid Survivors Foundation Helps to Rebuild Victims Lives
Posted On 02 Jun 2012
Acid survivors struggle for a better life
The world is filled with particularly evil and damaging type of violence. In Bangladesh acid is thrown in people’s faces, most of these victims are women of less than 18 years old.
There are many reasons for this kind of attacks, but mostly are of sexual advances against young girls or women by men. However, there have been acid attacks on children, older women and men as well. The cause for these attacks is often due to a family land dispute, desire for revenge or a rejected proposal of marriage.
The Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) started working since 1999 when these attacks first arise. The ultimate goal of the organization is to eliminate acid violence from Bangladesh. According to the Foundation, in the present there is an acid attack every two days. Victims of acid attacks need physical reconstruction and support to reintegrate fully into society.
ASF helps acid attack survivors
ASF works as a coordinating agency, this allows them to build up the capacity of local NGO’s. ASF also has the help of professionals involved, like doctors, public prosecutors and the police. Their vision is to free Bangladesh from violence, for that purpose ASF works with partners and stakeholders towards the elimination of acid and other forms of burn violence. On a long term, ASF seeks that victims of burn or acid violence have their rights protected and promoted.
This foundation offers acid attack victim’s modern and meticulous medical care, as well as post-operative physiological treatment to the survivors. The scares left by acid besides having a devastating effect on human skin cause a severe psychological trauma. Survivors of these attacks often face isolation and ostracism that seriously harms their self-esteem; this seriously undermines their professional and social lives.
People can help the Acid Survivors Foundation by donating medicines, imparting medical skills and training, sponsoring medical treatment and more. For his entrepreneur work ASF has gained national and international recognition for its dedicated support to acid attack survivors. (AV)
