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Make Love Not Scars started off just as an idea for a documentary a year ago. The concept was simple – we wanted to make a documentary that showcased the lives of acid attack survivors in India. While producing this documentary we discovered that there are so many acid attack survivors in India who had fallen through the cracks and were not able to seek the help that they deserved as victims of violence.
It was then that we formed a team of young individuals who were eager to seek justice for these survivors and before we knew it, we were engaged in coming up with interventions and plans for rehabilitation. The fact that we helped so many women on the pretext of just making a film was motivation enough to set up an organization. Since existing (or rather, non-existent) safety nets were not in place to help the survivors, we decided to become a net for them. Then we Make Love Not Scars as an NGO for acid attack survivors and burnt pateints
MLNS was born with the aim to be a source of support for victims of acid attacks, regardless of their gender, socioeconomic status, or religion.
MLNS operates in three core areas:
a) Identify cases of acid attack and other forms of gender-based violence and help in providing emergency medical and legal assistance required.
b) Support the rehabilitation of survivors of acid attacks and other forms of gender-violence (including burning and rape) through need-based training and assistance for stable employment.
c) Actively work with the government and non-government organizations, the media and other social institutions to campaign against acid attacks and other forms of gender-based violence and help in brining a “new normal” in society, where such acts are seen as archaic and condemnable.
Currently, MLNS operates on these three strategies without a pyshical space or office where team members can come together. Team meetings, and discussions, organizational planning and case management of our increasing number of survivors are all done with other modes of communication such as mobile and social media. The petition to End Acid Sale featuring our survivor Reshma has received over 2 lakh signatures at the time of writing, and her makeup tutorials have a combined viewership of 1.3 million people.
The organization hopes to have a physical space and a rehabilitation centre where we can manage our day-to-day operations more seamlessly and with more efficiency. This space can also act as a meeting point for survivors who prefer to approach us and meet us face-to-face in their attempts to seek support or a listening ear from one of our team members. This is crucial for the psychological well-being of the survivors.
The rehabilitation of acid attack survivors is a long process and they need continued medical treatment and care for several years. The physical trauma is something everyone can see and that can be treated but the psychological trauma they go through is something unbearable. The state of mind of many survivors many times gets imbalanced, especially in India where there is almost negligible support for depressed / mentally unsound patients. Rehabilitation also includes providing legal support.
Acid attack survivors need immediate medical treatment because they are at immediate danger of losing their eye-vision. After that numerous surgeries are done. At the same time, we try to provide psychological help. The ultimate aim of our organization is to empower them and make them stand on their feet.
The money raised will be used for the medical treatment of patients (on emergency basis), for their legal fee, for catering to their educational needs, but most importantly for setting up a rehabilitation centre which will act as a point of contact for different stakeholders like acid attack survivors, legal experts, volunteers, psychological counselors, etc.
The rehabilitaiton centre will be utlised to impart skills to acid attack survivors, give job opportunities to them and to help reintroduce the survivors into society.
It was then that we formed a team of young individuals who were eager to seek justice for these survivors and before we knew it, we were engaged in coming up with interventions and plans for rehabilitation. The fact that we helped so many women on the pretext of just making a film was motivation enough to set up an organization. Since existing (or rather, non-existent) safety nets were not in place to help the survivors, we decided to become a net for them. Then we Make Love Not Scars as an NGO for acid attack survivors and burnt pateints
MLNS was born with the aim to be a source of support for victims of acid attacks, regardless of their gender, socioeconomic status, or religion.
MLNS operates in three core areas:
a) Identify cases of acid attack and other forms of gender-based violence and help in providing emergency medical and legal assistance required.
b) Support the rehabilitation of survivors of acid attacks and other forms of gender-violence (including burning and rape) through need-based training and assistance for stable employment.
c) Actively work with the government and non-government organizations, the media and other social institutions to campaign against acid attacks and other forms of gender-based violence and help in brining a “new normal” in society, where such acts are seen as archaic and condemnable.
Currently, MLNS operates on these three strategies without a pyshical space or office where team members can come together. Team meetings, and discussions, organizational planning and case management of our increasing number of survivors are all done with other modes of communication such as mobile and social media. The petition to End Acid Sale featuring our survivor Reshma has received over 2 lakh signatures at the time of writing, and her makeup tutorials have a combined viewership of 1.3 million people.
The organization hopes to have a physical space and a rehabilitation centre where we can manage our day-to-day operations more seamlessly and with more efficiency. This space can also act as a meeting point for survivors who prefer to approach us and meet us face-to-face in their attempts to seek support or a listening ear from one of our team members. This is crucial for the psychological well-being of the survivors.
The rehabilitation of acid attack survivors is a long process and they need continued medical treatment and care for several years. The physical trauma is something everyone can see and that can be treated but the psychological trauma they go through is something unbearable. The state of mind of many survivors many times gets imbalanced, especially in India where there is almost negligible support for depressed / mentally unsound patients. Rehabilitation also includes providing legal support.
Acid attack survivors need immediate medical treatment because they are at immediate danger of losing their eye-vision. After that numerous surgeries are done. At the same time, we try to provide psychological help. The ultimate aim of our organization is to empower them and make them stand on their feet.
The money raised will be used for the medical treatment of patients (on emergency basis), for their legal fee, for catering to their educational needs, but most importantly for setting up a rehabilitation centre which will act as a point of contact for different stakeholders like acid attack survivors, legal experts, volunteers, psychological counselors, etc.
The rehabilitaiton centre will be utlised to impart skills to acid attack survivors, give job opportunities to them and to help reintroduce the survivors into society.
