Jilted boyfriend forces ex to DRINK acid

A teenage Indian girl was admitted to a hospital after her former boyfriend forced her to drink acid. The crime occurred in the coastal city of Mumbai. After the acid attack, he attempted to push her into the sea.

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MUMBAI, INDIA (Catholic Online) - An Indian teenager appears to have survived an especially cruel acid attack, perpetrated by a jilted ex-boyfriend. The 18-year-old victim was brutally attacked by her 21-year-old ex-boyfriend. She became a target after her family did not approve of his marriage proposal.

The angry young man had been parted from her for a few months previously before he persuaded her to meet him on the beach in the coastal city of Mumbai on Saturday. The assignation turned to violence when he allegedly forced her to drink acid, pouring some of it down her throat. He then attempted to push her into the sea.

The girl screamed and another person who was nearby came to her immediate rescue, apprehending the young man who was promptly handed over to police.

The girl suffered severe acid burns to her face, lips and tongue.

There are perhaps thousands of acid attacks each year in Southeast Asia with the London-based charity, Acid Survivors Trust International saying the majority of victims are women and children. There are at least 1,500 reported attacks each year and perhaps thousands more that go unreported out of shame.

Acid, which is used in processing cotton and rubber, is readily available in many parts of the world. Other acids can be used. Acid attacks have occurred on every continent. They are typically the result of jealously as former love interests attempt to scar their victims for life as a means of destroying them financially and socially.

About 90 percent of the victims are female. In countries without comprehensive healthcare or social services, many victims are unable to marry and unable to work. They are sentenced to a life of extreme poverty in addition to their handicap and disfigurement. For many victims who cannot come to terms with the damage, it is close to a living form of death. Social rejection of victims is common.

To combat the epidemic, many countries have passed acid-specific laws and punish the crimes aggressively. However, as long as a culture of patriarchy and shame exists, and powerful acids such as nitric or sulphuric acids remain easily obtainable, the attacks are likely to continue.

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