About Us

ASF Pakistan aims to eradicate acid violence from Pakistan and ensure that survivors’ human rights are protected and enforced.

Acid Violence-What is it?

Acid violence is a particularly outrageous form of torture which involves throwing corrosive acid at the victims’ faces. This not only causes face disfiguration but also has a catastrophic effect on the victims’ lives. It usually occurs as one of the worst forms of domestic violence and is most often directed against women, but children are often collateral damage and men may also be among the victims. The effects of acid violence include serious physical harm (loss of eyes and limbs, corrosion of organs, and subsequent infections such as septicemia and gangrene). Acid survivors are disfigured for life. In addition to the inevitable psychological trauma, survivors also face social isolation and ostracism that further damage their self-esteem and seriously undermine their professional and personal future

Acid Survivors Foundation-Pakistan- Who are we?

Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) Pakistan was founded in 2006 with the support of a UK-based organization: Acid Survivors Trust International to support survivors of acid attacks in Pakistan.
Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF-Pakistan) is a Pakistani non-profit organization working since 2006 to eradicate acid violence from Pakistan promote human rights of acid burn and other burn survivors, through a peaceful democratic process. It was officially registered in August 2007 under Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control) Ordinance 1961.
ASF Pakistan mandate is to work with multiple relevant stakeholders, through peaceful and democratic processes, towards the elimination of acid violence in particular and GBV at a larger level, and towards the empowerment of survivors -women and children in particular- so that they can exercise their basic human rights.

Goals of the organization:

ASF is following a culture-sensitive, holistic 4 components developmental and human rights-based approach: 1) Stop acid and burn violence and prevent the proliferation of attacks 2) Ensure survivors receive the best available medical treatment in the long run 3) Ensure survivors get justice, exercise their fundamental rights in accordance with the Pakistani constitution and international conventions 4) Enable survivors to end up as proactive, democratic, empowered and autonomous citizens.

Vision:

Pakistan becomes an acid and burns violence-free country in which men, women, and children fully exercise their basic human rights.

Institutional structure :

Acid Survivors Foundation is governed by a general body of 20 founding members among which 7 members are elected every 3 years to form the Board of Directors (BoD). One of these directors is an ex-officio one and is called the Executive Director, his tenure is also of 3 years. The general body meets once in a year to examine the annual financial and activity reports of the organization that are submitted by the BoD and approves them if satisfied; during this annual meeting; the BoD also presents to the general body the provisional activity plan and provisional budget for the next year and once satisfied, the general body approves them trough majority vote.
The BoD meets on a quarterly basis to follow the activities and financial status of the organization and approves the budget and activity plans before submitting them to the general body.
The Executive Director (ED) reports to the BoD. The ED is in charge of developing and proposing strategic plans, provisional budgets, activity plans as well as financial and activity reports. He must ensure that the organization fulfils its financial and operational commitments in accordance with the constitution, goal, mandate, and ethics of the organization. He is the privileged intermediary between the BoD and donors. He is also a key communicator between the operational team and the BoD.
The operational team of the organization is articulated via a multi-layer management system: higher and medium management The higher management (Director of Operations and Director for Development Program and Capacity Building) directly reports to the Executive Director while the medium management directly reports to their respective program directors (Director of Operations and Director for Development Program and Capacity Building).