Research Proposal

Methodology
Acid attack survivors are predominantly women, and as such they experience compounded exclusion, marginalization and persecution for a number of different reasons. To address the gaps identified in the literature and to make the analysis comprehensive, feminist, public health and anthropological perspectives guide this study. An extensive multi-country literature review and a qualitative exploration of three recent acid attack cases from Pakistan is also employed.

Guiding Principles / Explanations / Hypotheses

This study seeks to explore the issue acid attack violence and to highlight the cultural, historical, societal and individual influences that underpin it. It also extrapolates upon the findings of data collected from organizations and individuals with the purpose of providing the following guiding principles / hypotheses: 1. That socio-cultural, situational and individual determinant contributes to acid attack violence. 2. That motivations and causes for acid attack violence vary from location to location. 3. That shame, loss of face or loss of honor are imperatives that perpetuate attacks and marginalize acid survivors.

Secondary guiding premises of the research will include:

That the experiences and roles of women acid attack survivors are irrecoverably changed post attack including preclusion to marriage and employment.

That the socio-economic status of the survivor/victim pre-attack impacts upon opportunities and access to resources post-attack.

Basically I am looking for information that answered such questions as: Why people commit this violence of acid throwing? Who are the victims of this violence? What are the causes of this violence? Are people aware of this violence of acid throwing? Are people aware of the current facts or incidents? Is government doing anything for the victims of this violence? What are the impacts of this violence?

Moreover, after preparing this questionnaire I have also conducted interviews from the youth, specialists and consultants, NGOs and from the victims of this violence. In addition, I have made videos of the faces of the victims who suffered from this crime. Then I have made the video of a live surgery in which the consultant is operating the victim face. Interviews were specifically instructed to include emphasis on seeking, through the interview process, gender differences in experiences of violence and abuse, and responses to violent victimization. It was anticipated that some individuals would experience emotional stress while telling their stories, particularly in face-to-face interviews.

Arrangements were made for the necessary counseling and other emotional supports and in several cases these supports were used. It was also expected that interviewers might experience stress and anguish while listening to people tell their stories. In some instances, interviewers were appalled at the level, scope and impact of the violence and abuse that had invaded the lives of interview respondents. Interviewers often felt remorse at having to leave participants in situations that were far from ideal. Emotional supports were made available for interviewers. Given that a qualitative research methodology was used in the interviews, the project proved to be a learning experience. A detailed interview guide was designed to capture both brief and discursive interviewee responses concerning the abuse they had encountered and others' responses to their victimization. The development of the guide involved considerable deliberation and care with respect to ensuring that questions were appropriately and respectfully worded, given the sensitivity of the subject. The interview questionnaires were also reviewed by a number of people with disabilities who were advisers on the project. Due to the sensitive nature of the subject and the depth of feeling and scope of memory that opened up, many of the interviews, as expected, took on a life of their own. Interviewers sometimes used the guide in one of two ways. In some instances, it served as an interview questionnaire. In others it served as a reminder to pursue issues that did not surface during the natural flow of the conversation. After the interviews were concluded, many of the respondents' comments were classified according to the data categories used to design the guide. However, several kinds of interviewee response were not anticipated during interview design and pre-testing and so could not be made to fit into the established structure. Coding procedures were revised to include these responses.

Hence these are the methods we have used for our project. We have collected both the primary and secondary data for our research. Primary data in form of questionnaires and interviews and secondary in the form of statistics information as I have included in my literature review the pie charts and tables.