Acid Survivors Foundation
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| Founded | Dhaka, Bangladesh (May 1999) |
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| Type | Non-profit, Interest group |
| Location |
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Region
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Bangladesh |
| Services | Treats victims of acid violence and helps them reintegrate themselves into normal life |
| Fields | Protecting human rights |
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Key people
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Sir John Morrison, Founding Executive Director. Selina Ahmed, Executive Director . Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Chairperson |
| Website | acidsurvivors |
Sir John Morrison, Founding Executive Director. Selina Ahmed, Executive Director .
The Acid Survivors Foundation is a Bangladeshi organisation dedicated to raising awareness and preventing acid attacks and providing survivors with medical and legal aid. It has employed a holistic approach towards acid related crime that has enabled the foundation to reduce the number of attacks considerably.
The Foundation was founded by Dr John Morrison OBE in premises subsidised by the British High Commission and British Women's Association on 12 May 1999 with substantial support from UNICEF and the Canadian International Development Agency. Nasreen Huq a commanding personality in the field of social reform and human rights in Bangladesh campaigned internationally for ASF. For her dedication, in 2005, Monira Rahman the Executive Director of ASF was awarded the Human Rights Award by Amnesty International.
ASF initially began as a service delivery organisation. Currently, it is in the process of moving towards a rights-based development organisation.
Bangladesh's ASF has subsequently been used as a model organisation for the establishment of ASFs in Uganda, Cambodia, and Pakistan, all of which are sustained by Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) also headed by Sir John Morrison.
In 2011 the Acid Survivor's Foundation celebrated its twelve-year anniversary. To mark this occasion ASF invited the government, its partners, donors, the media, and former patients to discuss the progress made and the challenges still necessary to face.
Since its formation, ASF has emerged as a global pioneer in combating gender based violence in the form of acid attacks. ASF has been working towards its vision by providing holistic burn-care services. ASF runs a 20-bed hospital in Banani, Dhaka fully equipped to provide standard burn care services including economic reconstructive plastic surgery. ASF's hospital provides psychological care, legal assistance, and financial support for economic rehabilitation. ASF engages in government and civic activism to ensure that survivors' rights are met and campaigns both nationally and locally for government policy changes. They also run national and local prevention campaigns to raise awareness on the legal and social consequences of acid attacks and disseminate relevant information on how victims and their family/friends should properly handle an acid attack.
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Wikipedia