On average, there are 100 acid attacks in Colombia per year — the victims usually women and the perpetrators almost always men. President Juan Manuel Santos has signed a new law that says anyone who uses a “chemical agent” to attack another person will receive 12 years minimum behind bars, or 50 years if the victim is permanently disfigured, according to the Global Post. Before the president’s action this week, a legal loophole allowed assailants caught throwing acid to often be let go without punishment.
“Despite the human misery that is hidden behind these acts, it is admirable to see how in the end the inner strength in the souls and hearts of the victims triumphs,” El Tiempo reported President Santos as having said.
With the exception of Colombia, acid attacks are an uncommon mode of violence in Latin America. The Global Post said that figures suggest that there have been 628 victims total, but because few women come forward to report their injuries in a country that fails to keep an official record of such attacks, the number is likely higher.
Read the full story at the Global Post.