“Globally victims tend to be young women and girls, here in the UK the majority of the perpetrators are young men but the majority of the victims are also young men,” said Jaf Shah with Acid Survivors Trust International.
It’s 8:30 pm, a 47-year-old man is walking down a street in London. Suddenly, a moped with two people on it pull up and spray him in the face with a burning liquid. Emergency crews rushed him to the hospital. The victim said they wanted his watch.
The week prior, two men were sprayed with acid in East London, police say they knew their attacker. Just the day before, London saw five separate acid attacks in 90 minutes. Two teenagers have been arrested for those assaults. These are just the latest cases in a spate of acid attacks on the streets of London. What makes them different to almost anywhere else in the world is the motivation behind them.
“Globally victims tend to be young women and girls, here in the UK the majority of the perpetrators are young men but the majority of the victims are also young men,” said Jaf Shah with Acid Survivors Trust International.
Most of Britain’s acid attacks are linked to robberies or gang violence. Simon Harding, a senior lecturer in criminology at Middlesex University, says, “Where these attacks have been used by urban street gangs, it is to build a level of status and fear. They may take to retaliation or revenge because someone has disrespected them.”
He says the motivation is different in robberies, “it is to incapacitate. Acid is thrown and then the assailant moves on to complete a robbery and, of course, it would be difficult for the victim to identify the assailant.”
According to the Metropolitan Police, assaults using corrosive substances have more than doubled in England since 2012. There were 162 reported acid attacks just 5 years ago and last year there were 454.
Carrying acid is not a crime and criminals have exploited the weakness in the law. “At present in the UK it is very easy to obtain this liquid. You don’t even need a license,” says Dr Harding.
The British government says it has a new strategy to tackle the crime. In a statement to DNA, Sarah Newton, Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability said, “Key actions will include a review of the Poisons Act to assess whether it should cover more acids and harmful substances and further work with retailers to agree measures to restrict the sales of corrosive substances.”
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