Vitriolage [portable]

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Common terms include:

Historically, vitriolage has appeared in various contexts, from the labor disputes of 19th-century Europe (where acid was a tool of the industrial workplace turned into a weapon) to the streets of modern South Asia, where it remains a prevalent form of domestic terrorism against women. In the Victorian era, it was often associated with the "scorned woman," a trope that unjustly sensationalized female violence while ignoring the systemic nature of the crime. Today, the demographics have shifted, with the vast majority of victims being women attacked by men, often in the context of dowry disputes or sexual rejection. vitriolage

The deep tragedy of vitriolage is the dual sentence it imposes. First, there is the physical agony—the months of bandages, the skin grafts that fail, the infections, and the contractures that freeze joints in painful positions. Then, there is the social death. In a society that places immense value on physical appearance, a face ravaged by acid becomes a magnet for pity, fear, or revulsion. Survivors often speak of the "second death"—the loss of their identity. They grieve not only their former appearance but the way the world used to look at them. The deep tragedy of vitriolage is the dual