부산대학교 도서관

Acid attack refers to the act of hurling acid or any other corrosive substance on a person with the intention of injuring, harming, maiming, disfiguring or killing. Despite the fact that the number of acid attack cases in India have been rising, a separate section for acid attacks was not included in the Indian Penal Code until the year 2013. Even after the inclusion of this crime in the Indian Penal Code, the discourse about the crime and the condition of victims in the aftermath of the crime remains largely incomplete due to the selective focus on the medical treatment of the victims and punishment for the offenders. Therefore, the present paper attempts to explore social isolation as a consequence of the crime and the role of social support in the psychological rehabilitation of acid attack victims. The present research involved narrative interviews of a homogenous purposive sample of 30 female acid attack victims which were analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings suggest that victims of acid attack experience non‐social support in the form of social isolation social exclusion as a consequence of acid attack in addition to the lack of informational and instrumental social support. Results also suggest that social support plays a crucial role in the coping process of the acid attack victims. The insights of the present research will help in improving the understanding of the psychosocial correlates of acid attack victims and the recovery process of the acid attack victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]