In Bangladesh, one particularly vicious and damaging form of violence is acid throwing. Acid attacks have traumatic consequences - physically, psychologically, and socially. Most seriously, acid striking the eyes permanently damages them, and many survivors lose one or both eyes. Most survivors experience a dramatic change in their lifestyle. Most must stop their education or work during a lengthy recovery and beyond due to disfigurement.
Victims often face social isolation damaging to self-esteem and economic position.
An unmarried woman attacked with acid likely will never be able to marry. Isolated incidents of acid violence in other countries, but nowhere else do high numbers of incidents occur. The number of unreported cases is thought to be high. Acid violence is a relatively recent phenomenon, with the first documented acid violence case occurring in 1967. Victims are attacked for many reasons, such as for spurning the sexual advances of predatory males or rejecting marriage proposals.