# Why are acid attacks so popular? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 30, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051 "2009-12-30T15:42:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/21 "2009-12-31T00:36:49Z")
**Helix1047** said: > [@](#): > > I dont think this is true or anywhere near true. > > [snip] > > The insinuation that women who dare to go to school or go unveiled in Muslim countries will be disfigured with acid represents the broad stereotyping of “Muslim” countries and Muslims themselves as barbaric. \*\*HorseloverFat \*\* never said “all muslims everywhere will throw acid on a woman who has any schooling”. Your attempts to insinuate that he said that are disrespectful to all Fat Horse Lovers everywhere. (Or would that be Horse Fat Lovers? Love Horse Fatters?) He correctly said that in some Muslim countries, some women and girls have been struck with acids (and presumably bases) for not complying with the local interpretation of religious doctrines, i.e. females should wear a veil in public and should not attend or teach school. He just didn’t explicitly phrase it using the word “some” repeatedly. **Joe Frickin Friday** said: > [@](#): > > This sort of assault would seem to require much more premeditation than, say, the use of fists or a nearby kitchen knife. So why are they so common in those parts of the world? While premeditated domestic violence does take place in other parts of the world, it rarely involves acid. Why the difference? 1. Strong chemicals are much more available. 2. Chemical burns are more permanent disfigurement than some kinds like striking the face. Burns leave a more hideous result. 3. Someone did it, and it created a trend that has become a cultural pattern. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/22 "2009-12-31T01:58:56Z")
Acid attacks seem to be on the rise in Hong Kong, too. So, it’s certainly not just a defect of “Muslim” countries. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/23 "2009-12-31T02:10:25Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > Heaven forbid I dont use perfectly exact language because the easily offended loud mouth derailing PC brigade loves to jump to conclusions to ride their high horses and spout from their soap boxes. > > What I wrote is perfectly fucking correct unless you go out of your way to misinterpret it for the sake of being a smart ass. Nowhere did I write “only in muslim countries” or “all muslims” or anything else to suggest otherwise. Actually, I wasn’t attempting to be a smartass and believe it or not I thought I was being respectful when I posted above, rather than snarling from a soapbox. Which goes to the point that it is easy to misinterpret the written word without outside context. Nowhere did you write “only” or “all”, but also nowhere did you write “some.” The education thing is actually fairly rare in the Muslim world, the issues of hijabs and modesty ( not necessarily veils per se ) less so. But the latter isn’t exceedingly common either. Like I said it is easy to misinterpret your post as being very broad and, no offense, but I don’t really remember you as a poster. I see you have been here about as long as I have, but either you have changed your name, you post rarely or we by happenstance just haven’t interacted much. So not really knowing you even as a poster, **I wasn’t sure what you actually meant.** Honestly. And this is GQ, where it is best to keep things as factual as possible, including for the benefit of lurkers. So no, I wasn’t trying to be PC, I was trying to correct a very possibly factually incorrect statement or at least one that could be easily seen as factually incorrect. I had no issue with **xnylder** ’s post at all, which was simultaneous with your own. > [@HorseloverFat](#): > > Where is your outrage at the comments about India? India has like 30 provinces and very different cultures. I doubt acid throwing is distributed equally amongst them. Or are you just hyper sensitive to purely Islamic concerns? I didn’t see anything that could be as easily misinterpreted in the comments about India. > [@Irishman](#): > > He just didn’t explicitly phrase it using the word “some” repeatedly. Actually he didn’t use the word “some” at all :). Once would have been fine. You don’t see the possibility of honest, reasonable ( not agenda-driven, not hypersensitive ) misinterpretation of his comments? Maybe not, I dunno. Maybe I AM just hypersensitive and needlessly pedantic. I’ve been accused of worse, I guess ;). ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/24 "2009-12-31T03:18:54Z")
**Tamerlane** , I agree with you that the word _some_ is needed to convey what \*\*Horselover Fat actually intended. When _some_ is omitted, this sentence becomes inaccurate: “In Muslim countries its(sic) used against unveiled women or girls who dare go to school.” **Horselover Fat** , I’m sure that you would not want to be misleading in General Questions. I don’t think that anyone expects perfection, but it is reasonable to clarify what another poster intends. I saw a documentary recently about a jeanlous man who threw acid into the face of his attractive girlfriend and blinded her. Several years passed and she ended up marrying the guy. It just made my skin crawl. All I can remember is that her first name is Linda. ---
**Author:** ![priostart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@priostart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priostart)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/25 "2009-12-31T03:20:35Z")
My mum’s friend in Scotland used to carry a glass jar of some type of acid in her purse for safety. Once while walking from Greenock to Gourock she was accosted by a couple of men in a poorly lit area. It was clear to her they wanted try something so she pulled the jar out and took the cap off before they got too close and told them it was acid. If they tried anything they’d have got a facefull she said. They quickly turned and went on their way. Mum said she carried that jar for years! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/26 "2009-12-31T03:30:40Z")
Acid attacks are extremely popular in Cambodia. I started [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=467851&highlight=Shake+Girl) awhile back about the graphic novel [Shake Girl](http://www.stanford.edu/group/cwstudents/shakegirl/), the true story of a lovely young lady who was disfigured in this manner by a jealous wife. Almost unheard of in Thailand and other regional countries. Dunno why they’ve taken hold so strongly in Cambodia. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/27 "2009-12-31T17:10:15Z")
From the Acid Survivors Foundation site, which focuses entirely on Bangladesh, they have some stats, but I cannot independently verify them. [http://www.acidsurvivors.org/statistics.html](http://www.acidsurvivors.org/statistics.html) From their site: - From 2007-2008 roughly 2/3 of acid victims were women, 1/3 men. - Since 2002 acid attacks may be declining. - In 2008 more than half of attacks on men and women were due to “land/property/money dispute” Folks might also consider that there was a sensationalized wave of “vitriol” attacks in England and Europe in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s. IIRC there is at least one or two Sherlock Holmes stories where vitriol burns are a prominent plot device. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/28 "2009-12-31T17:19:40Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > I saw a documentary recently about a jeanlous man who threw acid into the face of his attractive girlfriend and blinded her. Several years passed and she ended up marrying the guy. It just made my skin crawl. All I can remember is that her first name is Linda. [Crazy Love](http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Crazy_Love/70059381?strackid=71e1b562e4d97c40_0_srl&strkid=894514513_0_0&trkid=438381), her name is Linda Riss. This thread also made me thing of this case, since it happened in the US. While it may be more common in other parts of the world, it’s not unheard of here, either, and happens for many of the same reasons - jealousy, the desire to posess a woman or destroy her for other men, etc. Unfortunately, in this case, it worked - she was engaged to someone else at the time of the attack, and they broke up fairly soon after. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/29 "2009-12-31T18:13:26Z")
A good acid is like a good woman: A really good one will eat right through your pants. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/30 "2009-12-31T19:33:39Z")
**Tamerlane** said: > [@](#): > > You don’t see the possibility of honest, reasonable ( not agenda-driven, not hypersensitive ) misinterpretation of his comments? Sure, if one or two people post the comment, maybe phrased as a question for clarification. “Excuse me, did you really intend to be saying all muslims in all muslim countries always throw acid on every woman not wearing a veil?” But when an accusation is made that he is _wrong_, and then he clarifies what he meant, and then more people keep saying that he is wrong, then I think there’s something going on besides just an honest, reasonable misinterpretation. There seemed to me to be an unwarranted pile on. I certainly understood what he meant, complete with all the missing "some"s. **Zoe** said: > [@](#): > > Tamerlane, I agree with you that the word some is needed to convey what **Horselover Fat** actually intended. When some is omitted, this sentence becomes inaccurate: “In Muslim countries its(sic) used against unveiled women or girls who dare go to school.” Do you really think that sentence should be read: “In [all] Muslim countries its(sic) used against [all] unveiled women or [all] girls who dare go to school.” ? ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/31 "2009-12-31T19:39:35Z")
if a society is sufficiently lawless to have men do this to women without serious fear of legal retribution, what is to stop male relatives/friends of the victim to go disfigure or otherwise violently damage the offender or his relatives? Or are the victims precisely those who are known to have nobody to stand up for them? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/32 "2009-12-31T19:45:54Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > From the Acid Survivors Foundation site, which focuses entirely on Bangladesh, they have some stats, but I cannot independently verify them. > > [http://www.acidsurvivors.org/statistics.html](http://www.acidsurvivors.org/statistics.html) > > From their site: > > - From 2007-2008 roughly 2/3 of acid victims were women, 1/3 men. > - Since 2002 acid attacks may be declining. > - In 2008 more than half of attacks on men and women were due to “land/property/money dispute” > > Folks might also consider that there was a sensationalized wave of “vitriol” attacks in England and Europe in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s. IIRC there is at least one or two Sherlock Holmes stories where vitriol burns are a prominent plot device. _The Illustrious Client_. > **[The Adventure of the Illustrious Client](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_the_Illustrious_Client)** > > "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client" (1924) is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and one of the 12 stories collected as The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927). It was first published in Collier's in the United States in November 1924, and in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in two parts, in February and March 1925. > Sir James Damery comes to see Holmes and Watson about his illustrious client's problem (the client's iden... Interestingly, it is the _villian_ who is the victim of a vitriol attack (albeit by one of his former victims, who saves Sherlock Holmes by throwing vitriol in the villian’s face just as the villian was about to shoot Holmes - Dr. Watson saves the villian’s life but not his features). In the Granta TV version, this is nicely shown indirectly; Kitty throws the vitriol on the evil Baron (he’s previously thrown vitriol on her so this is apt revenge); you don’t see the effect on him, you just see the effect of the chemical on a portrait of his, also splashed in the attack … ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/33 "2009-12-31T20:18:36Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > There seemed to me to be an unwarranted pile on. It seems that way to me too. Then again, I’ve been libeled of being “anti-Muslim” on this message board more than once, thanks to posts where I dared to object to the treatment of women in Muslim countries as second-class citizens or chattel, as well as the treatment of LGBT folks in said countries, so obviously my opinion means nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/34 "2009-12-31T23:13:15Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > But when an accusation is made that he is _wrong_, and then he clarifies what he meant, In his fourth post. Or to be more accurate he clears up his potentially non-factual comment in his fourth post. I hate to be Parsey McParserson here, but just to be clear… 1rst post - tendentious comment. 2nd - he says it is fair to mention Islam. No argument from me, it is, but that’s not what I objected to in his first post. 3rd - Repeats his original comment and says he didn’t mean ALL acid attacks are due to Islam. Sure - but that’s still not what I was objecting to. I never thought he said that either. 4th - Notes ( amidst much annoyance ) that he did not intend to mean “all Muslims” did such. _That_ was my objection. > [@](#): > > …and then more people keep saying that he is wrong… > > I certainly understood what he meant, complete with all the missing "some"s. Far as I could tell, he might have been and sadly, I did not. > [@](#): > > then I think there’s something going on besides just an honest, reasonable misinterpretation. Maybe. I can only speak for myself. Frankly, I thought I was pretty polite. > [@](#): > > There seemed to me to be an unwarranted pile on. > > Do you really think that sentence should be read: > “In [all] Muslim countries its(sic) used against [all] unveiled women or [all] girls who dare go to school.” ? Unfortunately, I’ve seen such things before - there is a lot of ignorance in the world. So, yes, I consider it a reasonable interpretation. In fact, to be 100% honest, my first assumption is that is _exactly_ what he meant, which maybe speaks to an intrinsic lack of faith in my fellow man. My second impulse was to give the benefit of the doubt, which I did. Heck, I would have nitpicked that comment had it been anyone, even someone I _knew_, knew better. > [@Una\_Persson](#): > > , so obviously my opinion means nothing. You know better than that. Or if you don’t, you should. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/35 "2009-12-31T23:48:04Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > Heaven forbid I dont use perfectly exact language because the easily offended loud mouth derailing PC brigade loves to jump to conclusions to ride their high horses and spout from their soap boxes. > > What I wrote is perfectly fucking correct unless you go out of your way to misinterpret it for the sake of being a smart ass. Nowhere did I write “only in muslim countries” or “all muslims” or anything else to suggest otherwise. [Moderating] OK, let’s dial it back a bit and try to keep this thread civil. If you have a problem with another poster’s remarks, please report it and let the moderators deal with it. Colibri General Questions Moderators ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/36 "2010-01-01T01:06:46Z")
**sqweels** said: > [@](#): > > A good acid is like a good woman: A really good one will eat right through your pants. Only problem is, with the acid, it might keep eating. :eek: **code\_grey** said: > [@](#): > > if a society is sufficiently lawless to have men do this to women without serious fear of legal retribution, what is to stop male relatives/friends of the victim to go disfigure or otherwise violently damage the offender or his relatives? The family members are the ones who do it? The family members agree she deserved it? Rereading the thread, I see that **HorseLoverFat** did get a bit testy early. **even sven** ’s comment is couched in neutral enough terms that indicate the interpretation could be on the reader’s part. His response is a little high-handed. **Tamerlane** said: > [@](#): > > 2nd - he says it is fair to mention Islam. No argument from me, it is, but that’s not what I objected to in his first post. But that was what **even sven** objected to, and he was the only response at that time. > [@](#): > > 3rd - Repeats his original comment and says he didn’t mean ALL acid attacks are due to Islam. Sure - but that’s still not what I was objecting to. I never thought he said that either. **RickJay** ’s objection is that it isn’t only Muslims, and in fact appears to be linked to cultures in a geography rather than one religion. It’s only then that you comment on the other half of the complaint. Also, I wasn’t necessarily pointing at you for being unfair, just my original take on the gist of the responses as a whole. **priostart** said: > [@](#): > > My mum’s friend in Scotland used to carry a glass jar of some type of acid in her purse for safety. That seems more awkward than a taser or pepper spray, and has much more serious consequences if you get your acid used against you, or if something disturbs your aim and you get yourself. **Una Persson** said: > [@](#): > > … so obviously my opinion means nothing. Well, you’re just one person. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051/37 "2010-01-01T03:55:06Z")
Slight hijack, but one unfortunate Iranian woman Ameneh Bahrami, was blinded by a marriage suitor and won a judgement for him also to be blinded under the Sharia principle of Qisas. This was back in February with the sentence to be carried out in April last year. Google fails to find out whether this took place. Does anyone know whether the sentence was carried out? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-acid-attacks-so-popular/523051.md?page=1)