Acid attacks on the rise in UK, according to victim report figures

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/10/acid-attacks-uk-rise-gangs

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The number of victims deliberately burned or disfigured by acid attacks rose sharply last year, triggering calls for the police to more closely monitor the offence.

Figures obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act show 21 offences involving the throwing or sending of dangerous substances reached a first hearing at a magistrates' court in the UK last year – more than four times as many as in 2012 when just five did.

Between 2008 and 2013, the Crown Prosecution Service started court proceedings in relation to 63 acid attack-related offences – 20 of which resulted in convictions.

The figures have sparked concern from Acid Survivors Trust International, a global charity whose headquarters is in London.

Jaf Shah, the charity's executive director, said reasons for the rise could be gang related because data from hospital admissions in previous years show most of the victims are male. "It may be that more people are reporting attacks ... It's something that needs more research. There does seem to be an increase in reporting of acid violence in Europe and the US."

It comes after a man was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton on Tuesday with acid on his face and hands. Sussex police believe the attack was targeted. No arrests have been made and the victim has been discharged from hospital.

In 2008, model Katie Piper sustained horrendous injuries when an ex-boyfriend arranged for sulphuric acid to be thrown in her face. The television presenter has undergone more than 100 operations to rebuild her face and has set up the Katie Piper Foundation for burns survivors.

In 2012, Naomi Oni, 22, was the victim of a "premeditated and callous" attack in Essex when former school friend, Mary Konye, threw acid in her face while disguised in a veil.

The shocking attack caused Oni's hair and eyelashes to burn away, and her face remains disfigured.

Konye was jailed for 12 years last month.

It is thought Konye copied the attack on Piper, as she knew that Oni had watched a documentary about it.