Acid attacks increase by 75%, more and more women are victims

Sign up for our breaking news emails to get free, real-time breaking news straight to your inbox.

Sign up for our free emails with breaking news

It has been reported that the number of acid attacks has increased by 75 percent, with the number of victims increasingly affecting women.

Shocking new figures from police in England and Wales show that at least 1,244 crimes involving corrosive substances were recorded last year, compared to just 710 in 2022.

The latest increase comes after 2022 already saw a 69 percent year-on-year increase, as experts warn the escalating problem is causing “great concern.”

Worryingly, only eight percent of attacks resulted in the perpetrator being charged, according to figures from Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI).

The aid organization called on the winner of the parliamentary elections to take immediate action. There are fears that the actual total number of victims could be even higher due to under-reporting.

The data was obtained through freedom of information requests to police after a mother was seriously injured in a horrific alkali attack in Clapham earlier this year.

Abdul Ezedi had travelled from Newcastle to London to pour a caustic substance on his ex-girlfriend in the attack on January 31. Her two children were also injured in the attack.

Ezedi, 35, fled the scene but is believed to have taken his own life after his body was pulled from the Thames by police.

According to friends, the mother was still in intensive care a month after the attack because she had lost sight in at least one eye.

ASTI found that of the 1,244 crimes recorded last year, over a third were physical violence against the person, while 790 crimes included threats of attack with corrosive agents, carrying corrosive agents and other serious crimes related to corrosive agents such as rape or robbery.

Its executive director Jaf Shah warned: “Threats must be addressed at the outset to prevent them from escalating into physical attacks.”

While acid attacks in the UK are often associated with violence between men, recent developments show that they are increasingly associated with violence against women and girls.

Half of all violent crimes last year were directed against women – of 1,001 crimes for which data on gender was available, 502 were female victims. For threats of violence, this proportion rises to over 59 percent.

“Our new data shows that acid attacks are a growing problem in our country and women are increasingly at risk,” Shah added. “With a new government soon in office, we call on our politicians to take urgent action and end these gruesome crimes that leave victims forever scarred.”

The north-east of England is also disproportionately affected. A “shocking” number of attacks was recorded in Northumbria. A fifth of all violent crimes involving corrosive substances occurred last year, including 81 violent physical attacks. The perpetrators most frequently used ammonia.

They recorded more incidents than the capital; the Metropolitan Police recorded 72 violent physical attacks.

Professor Francisco C. Figueiredo, an ophthalmology expert at Newcastle University, said: ‘Over the last five years there has been a worrying increase in the number of acid attacks, particularly in the north-east of England.

“Eight percent of victims are young white men and 90 percent of them are not reported to Northumbria Police. Ammonia is the most commonly used chemical in the north-east of England.

“The use of harmful chemicals to cause injury, particularly eye damage, is becoming a popular method of attack in the UK and represents a serious medical and social problem that requires further investigation to increase public awareness, implement stricter regulations, better monitoring and prevention, and provide appropriate support to victims.”

Acid attacks all too often go unpunished, and only eight percent of cases result in charges or summons, according to the aid organization.

In many cases, survivors live in fear of reprisal. Almost a third of victims withdraw their support for police actions, even though officers have identified a suspect.

Dr Matt Hopkins, associate professor of criminology at the University of Leicester, said the increase was a “great concern”.

“However, we should also remember that incidents tend to be concentrated in a limited number of areas. We need to further investigate whether this is due to better police documentation and we need to determine what types of substances are used in the attacks in order to be able to improve prevention,” he added.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Attacks on people with acids or other corrosive substances can cause great suffering and life-changing injuries.”

“Under the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, the sale and supply of corrosive products to persons under 18 years of age and the possession of corrosive substances in public is illegal.”