Acid attack victims seek justice

When Ugandan university student Linette Kirungi rejected her former boyfriend’s marriage proposal, he responded by throwing acid at her. She now supports survivors of acid attacks in Uganda and is attempting to close a legal loophole that allows attackers to evade justice. A report on the News24 site notes that 42 cases were reported to the End Acid Violence campaign group in 2018. ActionAid, an international organisation working for social justice, say acid attacks mainly target women – and the method is used because of the importance placed on a woman's physical appearance. Activists say more go unreported and they are pushing the government to declare acid attacks a ‘serious crime’. ‘We are working to see that a new law is in place to stop this crime,’ said Justice Minister Ephraim Kamuntu.