Acid attacks and threats up by 75 per cent in a year

Acid attacks and threats have increased by 75 per cent in a year with women now identified as victims in half the cases, police figures show.

The number of offences involving corrosives rose from 701 in 2022 to 1,244 last year, data obtained through Freedom of Information requests show.

More than a third – 454, equivalent to 36 per cent – consisted of physical attacks against an individual. The remainder involved threats to attack, carrying corrosives or where they were used in other serious crimes such as rape or robbery, according to the research by the charity Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI).

The use of corrosive liquid in attacks was highlighted last February when convicted sex offender Abdul Ezedi threw an alkaline substance over a mother and her three-year-old daughter before going on the run. His body was eventually found in the Thames after a nationwide hunt.

However, there is evidence that the increase is linked to the ease with which such substances can be obtained, despite new laws on possession. Another factor is that a victim can be harmed at a distance by squirting liquid at them and the perpetrator can then run away.

‘Acid is the new threat’

Beth Murray, who works at a gangs exit charity, said: “People aren’t scared of knives or being stabbed any more. Acid is the new threat.”

ASTI’s research found that women accounted for half, or 502 of the 1,001 corrosive substance offences where gender data was available. This rose to more than 59 per cent for threats of violence with women accounting for 326 of the 552 threats of corrosive substance or other serious crimes involving acids.

Despite the rise, the charity found that acid violence often went unpunished with only 8 per cent of the cases leading to a charge or a summons.

The data also suggested that many survivors of acid attacks lived in fear of reprisals for reporting the attack. A third of cases (32 per cent) saw the victim refuse to support further action even when a suspect had been identified.

The 2019 Offensive Weapons Act made it an offence to carry a corrosive substance. Anyone caught twice doing so, or using it to threaten someone, can face up to six months in jail.

ASTI said there had been a slight decline in corrosive substance offences following the introduction of the act, which coincided with the Covid pandemic. However, there had now been two successive years of increases following a 69 per cent year-on-year rise recorded in 2022.

‘Devastating harm’

Almost a fifth (18 per cent) of all corrosive substance violent offences against people were recorded by Northumbria Police (81 violent physical attacks), followed by the Met Police (72 violent physical attacks).

Jaf Shah, ASTI’s executive director, called for urgent action by the next government, saying: “While there are laws in place that restrict access to corrosive substances, the growing number of offences shows that the government and businesses must tighten the enforcement of these regulations and do more to stop corrosive substances being weaponised to cause devastating harm.”

Francisco C. Figueiredo, a professor of ophthalmology at Newcastle University, said: “Using noxious chemicals to cause harm, and ocular harm in particular, is becoming a popular mode of assault in the UK, and is a serious medical and social concern that requires further investigation to be able to increase public awareness, implement stricter regulations, better surveillance and means of prevention, as well as to provide adequate support to the victims.”