- Email: [email protected]
Intentional burns – A form of gender based violence in Nepal
JBUR-4731; No. of Pages 2 burns xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/burns
Letter to the Editor
Intentional burns – A form of gender based violence in Nepal Sir, Although studies were conducted in the past on burns in Nepal, they were limited to a particular hospital or population. We are appreciative of the researchers for conducting in depth assessment of burns at a national level [1]. We would further like to share our views on the study upon intentional burns, the cause for under reporting and the associated legal issues. Burns are mostly reported as unintentional/accidental injuries. Intentional burns are also common yet, under reporting of these injuries make them a rarer occurrence. Intentional burns are more fatal with three time higher incidence for mortality. Females are the recognized victims who either self-harm themselves or are assaulted by fire [2]. The critical reason for underreporting of violence by the females is her economic dependency on the spouse and extended family. Illiteracy and an apparent need of keeping the family integral because of children are other linked issues. Women do not report the true cause of burns out of fear or shame. The statistics in any study have to be considered carefully for the same reason as the actual number of intentional injuries may be much higher than what it may seem. Gender based violence is a serious issue in Nepal and to overcome it, the interim constitution of Nepal in declared, ‘Year Against Gender Based Violence, 2010’ [3]. Child marriages, dowry system, preference of son, polygamy, accusations of witchcraft are some of the gender based violence still prevalent in the Nepalese society. Amongst these, the dowry system is directly associated with acid and burn violence; an ugly form of gender based violence upon females. Intentional killings for dowry related issues is a premeditated, deliberate and solely profitable act. Cold-blooded murder where the victim’s is set ablaze pouring kerosene or petrol because her parents could not pay up the demands is a common modus operandi. Chemical burn (vitriolage) on the other hand, is a premeditated crime of passion, where the victim faces horrific
consequences like maiming and blindness. Death due to acid burn is rare so the perpetrator is not even tried for attempted homicide but for the injuries sustained. In many cases the married women sets themselves ablaze to get rid of the continuous dowry harassment [4]. Survivors of gender based violence rarely get the justice due to them. Their preference of community leaders and traditional healers over police and courts for seeking justice add to their woes. Even if complaint is filed with the police, the lengthy investigations followed by prolonged and extended judicial process makes them vulnerable to re-victimization which is another reason for non-reporting of such incidents, and their distrust in the legal system. There is no legal provision to protect the victim or witness who are further threatened by the perpetrators. Aforementioned factors thereby force the female victims to tolerate violence thus, compounding the problem further and leading to under reporting of burn cases.
Conflict of interest No conflict of interest to declare.
Acknowledgement No source of support in the form of grants.
references
[1] Gupta S, Mahmood U, Gurung S, Shrestha S, Kushner AL, Nwomeh BC, et al. Burns in Nepal: a population based national assessment. Burns 2015;41(5):1126–32. [2] Lama BB, Duke JM, Sharma NP, Thapa B, Dahal P, Bariya ND, et al. Intentional burns in Nepal: a comparative study. Burns
§
The correspondence is for the paper recently published in ‘Burns’ detailed as ‘Gupta S, Mahmood U, Gurung S, Shrestha S, Kushner AL, Nwomeh BC, Charles AG. Burns in Nepal: A population based national assessment. Burns. 2015;41(5):1126–32. The corresponding author of the paper is Shailvi Gupta.
Please cite this article in press as: Atreya A. Intentional burns – A form of gender based violence in Nepal. Burns (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.burns.2015.05.029
JBUR-4731; No. of Pages 2
2
burns xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2015.01.006 [Epub ahead of print]. [3] National Plan of Action for Year Against Gender Based Violence; 2010, Available at: http://menengage.org/ wp-content/uploads/2014/06/National_Plan_of_ Action_for_Year_Against_Gender_Based_Violence_2010.pdf (accessed on 25.05.15).. [4] Menezes RG, Kanchan T, Pillay VV, Lobo SW, Subba SH. Self-inflicted burns. Burns 2008;34(3):427.
Alok Atreya Department of Forensic Medicine, Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal Samata Nepal Department of Community Medicine, Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal
Tanuj Kanchan* Department of Forensic Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal University, India *Corresponding author at: Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Kasturba Medical College (A Constituent Institute of Manipal University), Mangalore, India. Tel.: +91 824 2444590x5565/9448252394; fax: +91 824 2428183 E-mail addresses: [email protected] [email protected] (T. Kanchan)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2015.05.029 0305-4179/# 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Atreya A. Intentional burns – A form of gender based violence in Nepal. Burns (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.burns.2015.05.029
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/burns
Letter to the Editor
Intentional burns – A form of gender based violence in Nepal Sir, Although studies were conducted in the past on burns in Nepal, they were limited to a particular hospital or population. We are appreciative of the researchers for conducting in depth assessment of burns at a national level [1]. We would further like to share our views on the study upon intentional burns, the cause for under reporting and the associated legal issues. Burns are mostly reported as unintentional/accidental injuries. Intentional burns are also common yet, under reporting of these injuries make them a rarer occurrence. Intentional burns are more fatal with three time higher incidence for mortality. Females are the recognized victims who either self-harm themselves or are assaulted by fire [2]. The critical reason for underreporting of violence by the females is her economic dependency on the spouse and extended family. Illiteracy and an apparent need of keeping the family integral because of children are other linked issues. Women do not report the true cause of burns out of fear or shame. The statistics in any study have to be considered carefully for the same reason as the actual number of intentional injuries may be much higher than what it may seem. Gender based violence is a serious issue in Nepal and to overcome it, the interim constitution of Nepal in declared, ‘Year Against Gender Based Violence, 2010’ [3]. Child marriages, dowry system, preference of son, polygamy, accusations of witchcraft are some of the gender based violence still prevalent in the Nepalese society. Amongst these, the dowry system is directly associated with acid and burn violence; an ugly form of gender based violence upon females. Intentional killings for dowry related issues is a premeditated, deliberate and solely profitable act. Cold-blooded murder where the victim’s is set ablaze pouring kerosene or petrol because her parents could not pay up the demands is a common modus operandi. Chemical burn (vitriolage) on the other hand, is a premeditated crime of passion, where the victim faces horrific
consequences like maiming and blindness. Death due to acid burn is rare so the perpetrator is not even tried for attempted homicide but for the injuries sustained. In many cases the married women sets themselves ablaze to get rid of the continuous dowry harassment [4]. Survivors of gender based violence rarely get the justice due to them. Their preference of community leaders and traditional healers over police and courts for seeking justice add to their woes. Even if complaint is filed with the police, the lengthy investigations followed by prolonged and extended judicial process makes them vulnerable to re-victimization which is another reason for non-reporting of such incidents, and their distrust in the legal system. There is no legal provision to protect the victim or witness who are further threatened by the perpetrators. Aforementioned factors thereby force the female victims to tolerate violence thus, compounding the problem further and leading to under reporting of burn cases.
Conflict of interest No conflict of interest to declare.
Acknowledgement No source of support in the form of grants.
references
[1] Gupta S, Mahmood U, Gurung S, Shrestha S, Kushner AL, Nwomeh BC, et al. Burns in Nepal: a population based national assessment. Burns 2015;41(5):1126–32. [2] Lama BB, Duke JM, Sharma NP, Thapa B, Dahal P, Bariya ND, et al. Intentional burns in Nepal: a comparative study. Burns
§
The correspondence is for the paper recently published in ‘Burns’ detailed as ‘Gupta S, Mahmood U, Gurung S, Shrestha S, Kushner AL, Nwomeh BC, Charles AG. Burns in Nepal: A population based national assessment. Burns. 2015;41(5):1126–32. The corresponding author of the paper is Shailvi Gupta.
Please cite this article in press as: Atreya A. Intentional burns – A form of gender based violence in Nepal. Burns (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.burns.2015.05.029
JBUR-4731; No. of Pages 2
2
burns xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2015.01.006 [Epub ahead of print]. [3] National Plan of Action for Year Against Gender Based Violence; 2010, Available at: http://menengage.org/ wp-content/uploads/2014/06/National_Plan_of_ Action_for_Year_Against_Gender_Based_Violence_2010.pdf (accessed on 25.05.15).. [4] Menezes RG, Kanchan T, Pillay VV, Lobo SW, Subba SH. Self-inflicted burns. Burns 2008;34(3):427.
Alok Atreya Department of Forensic Medicine, Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal Samata Nepal Department of Community Medicine, Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal
Tanuj Kanchan* Department of Forensic Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal University, India *Corresponding author at: Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Kasturba Medical College (A Constituent Institute of Manipal University), Mangalore, India. Tel.: +91 824 2444590x5565/9448252394; fax: +91 824 2428183 E-mail addresses: [email protected] [email protected] (T. Kanchan)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2015.05.029 0305-4179/# 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Atreya A. Intentional burns – A form of gender based violence in Nepal. Burns (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.burns.2015.05.029