|
Background
The need for an
organisation to provide a range of medical treatment and post-operative services
specifically for the survivors of acid attacks in Cambodia has become
progressively clear to the medical team at CSC over recent years. These
individuals require a unique range of services and a holistic approach to their
physical and psychological rehabilitation.
In Cambodia, as in most of South-East Asia,
the majority of victims of acid attacks are poor rural women. Their children
sometimes become the unintended victims of these attacks as they are often being
held by their mothers when the acid is thrown. The child victims of these
attacks present more complex problems than adults, as their rate of growth
necessitates more staged surgical procedures than an adult would need and more
intensive physiotherapy – a far more resource-intensive load than a purely
surgical facility such as CSC can reasonably handle.
Occurrences of
acid attacks are on the increase, highlighting the growing need for an
organisation dedicated to the comprehensive needs of acid attack survivors.
Acid attacks survivors are resource-intensive as they require extensive,
prolonged medical care and post-operative services. To date, CSC has been
the only medical facility in Cambodia which has provided the immediate and
follow-up surgery for acid attack victims, as well as physiotherapy and
counseling. Full rehabilitation may be accelerated by greater
concentration on their range of needs including post operative care,
physiotherapy, counseling, as well as social and occupational rehabilitation.
CSC was approached in late 2005 by John
Morrison from the Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) of the UK and invited to
Bangladesh to view the ASF operation there. Following this visit,
Cambodian Acid Survivors
Charity (CASC) was registered on 3rd March 2006 in Australia as an
International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO)
and its status is currently being
formalised with the Cambodian Government. Until it attains complete
independence, it will operate under the umbrella of CSC, providing a
long-overdue residential and medical care facility for victims of this crime.
CSC has developed sophisticated surgical techniques for reconstructive burns
surgery and will continue to provide these services to acid attack victims.
Facility
A suitable house
dedicated to the care of acid attack survivors has been rented in a quiet
residential area of Phnom Penh. The house can accommodate 12 patients and
provides bed rooms, an office, space for meeting rooms, surgical/dressing rooms,
dining, bath and laundry facilities. The establishment of this facility
was made possible in part by a very generous grant from Mr. Brian Culbert of
Toronto, however further funding will have to be found to continue using it, and
for the facility's eventual expansion.
Rehabilitation
and social services
Four patients will
soon start massage training with “Seeing Hands Massage” and we have already
arranged employment for these patients once their training is complete.
Other options for rehabilitative training are currently being investigated.
Legal services and reform:
There is little legal assistance available to acid burn
survivors in Cambodia and obtaining redress or justice through the legal system
is very difficult. Clearly there is a need for further legislation to
deter such attacks. After much discussion with its supporters, CASC is
determined to supply legal help and to press for legislative reform and
enforcement of the current laws.
CASC intends to follow the example of ASF Bangladesh to push for significant
social and legal change, and to try to reduce the incidence of this crime in
Cambodia.
Research/Prevention/Public Advocacy:
In the future, a media
campaign aimed at prevention will be designed incorporating the use of TV, radio
and poster messages. Research first needs to be
undertaken to identify the best methods for a focus on behavioural change and
to prevent ‘copycat’
crimes. Similar operations in Bangladesh
identified effective poster use to a largely illiterate population and the
incorporation of simple imagery – particularly in the context of mandatory
punishment. This activity will
be deferred until more experience of the Cambodian situation has been gained and
some funding has been secured to pay for advertisements, etc.
| 