EFFORTPOST 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬! 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐬. (𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭)

Part 2 of my mini series of injury & illnesses. This particular topic will cover intentional exposure to various corrosive substances. If you enjoy my content 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐩𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 & 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰.

𝐀𝐜𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬, 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 & 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭.

Acid has been used in metallurgy and for etching since ancient times. The rhetorical and theatrical term "La Vitrioleuse" was coined in France after a "wave of vitriolage" occurred according to the popular press where, in 1879, 16 cases of vitriol attacks were widely reported as crimes of passion perpetrated predominantly by women against other women. Much was made of the idea that women, no matter how few, had employed such violent means to an end. On October 17, 1915, acid was fatally thrown on Prince Leopold Clement of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, heir to the House of Koháry, by his distraught mistress, Camilla Rybicka, who then killed herself. Sensationalizing such incidents made for lucrative newspaper sales.Similarly, multiple acid attacks were reported in the UK in the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. Again, these were seen as a crime carried out by women, although in practice perpetrators were as likely to be male as female.

The use of acid as a weapon began to rise in many developing nations, specifically those in South Asia. The first recorded acid attacks in South Asia occurred in Bangladesh in 1967, India in 1982, and Cambodia in 1993. Since then, research has witnessed an increase in the quantity and severity of acid attacks in the region. However, this can be traced to significant underreporting in the 1980s and 1990s, along with a general lack of research on this phenomenon during that period.

Research shows acid attacks increasing in many developing nations, with the exception of Bangladesh which has observed a decrease in incidence in the past few years.

The first known instance of an acid attack occurred in East Pakistan in 1967. According to the Acid Survivors Foundation, up to 150 attacks occur every year. The foundation reports that the attacks are often the result in an escalation of domestic abuse, and the majority of victims are female.

An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another "with the intention to disfigure, maim, torture, or kill". Perpetrators of these attacks throw corrosive liquids at their victims, usually at their faces, burning them, and damaging skin tissue, often exposing and sometimes dissolving the bones. Acid attacks can lead to permanent, partial, or complete blindness.

The most common types of acid used in these attacks are sulfuric and nitric acid. Hydrochloric acid is sometimes used but is much less damaging. Aqueous solutions of strongly alkaline materials, such as caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) or ammonia, are used as well, particularly in areas where strong acids are controlled substances.

The long-term consequences of these attacks may include blindness, as well as eye burns, with severe permanent scarring of the face and body, along with far-reaching social, psychological, and economic difficulties.

Today, acid attacks are reported in many parts of the world, though more commonly in developing countries. Between 1999 and 2013, a total of 3,512 Bangladeshi people were attacked with acid, with the rate of cases declining by 15–20% every year since 2002 based on strict legislation against perpetrators and regulation of acid sales. In India, acid attacks are at an all-time high and increasing every year, with 250–300 reported incidents every year, while the "actual number could exceed 1,000, according to Acid Survivors' Trust International".

Although acid attacks occur all over the world, this type of violence is most common in South Asia. Statistics from Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) suggest that 80% of victims worldwide are women.

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠:

𝐀𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐬: Sulfuric, nitric, hydrofluoric, hydrochloric, acetic acid, formic, phosphoric, phenols, and chloroacetic acid

𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬: Sodium and potassium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, sodium and calcium hypochlorite, ammonia, phosphates, silicated, sodium carbonate, lithium hydride

𝐎𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬: Bleaches like chlorites used in the home, peroxides, chromates, magnates

𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬: White phosphorus, metals, hair coloring agents, airbag injuries

𝐕𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 like mustard gas

𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞!

𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_attack#:~:text=The first known instance of,majority of victims are female.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499888/#:~:text=Acids: Sulfuric, nitric, hydrofluoric,phosphoric, phenols, and chloroacetic acid