The Acid Survivors and Women Welfare Foundation (formerly Acid Survivors Foundation
India) was established in 2010. ASWWF, an initiative of Kanoria Foundation, has since expanded its scope and range of services to support survivors of all forms of violence and atrocities against women, including trafficking and domestic violence.

Kanoria Foundation believes in and lives the credos of teamwork, dedication, constant churning of ideas and working with devotion to reach our individual and collective goals. Its aim is to create, invest and develop business institutions and social enterprises with long-term and sustainable objectives. Our operational philosophy is based on a strong foundation moral, values and culture.

ASWWF is a leading non-profit non-governmental organization working for the prevention of acid burn and other violence against women in India.

ASWWF works towards the development and welfare of women. It acts as a forum for advocacy of acid related cases and promotes a social environment conducive to elimination of gender violence. ASWWF espouses a firm legal basis for prosecution of offenders. It also advocatesfor prescription of national guidelines for treatment, aftercare and rehabilitation of acid survivors and other survivors. ASWWF operates through a network of offices pan India. The Foundation has plans to open more chapters and offices to further enhancethe outreach of its mission to rebuild the lives of all women survivors.

Acid assault has a more lasting and devastating psycho-physical impact on the survivors than other forms of violence. The saying that time is a great healer does not lessen the traumatized woman’s woes who has to encounter shame and suffering for her very existence. ASWWF is trying to make the lives of the survivors a little easier and better. In order to do that and provide holistic care to the survivors ASWWF along with partner organizations in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Uganda, under the guidance of Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) met at Kathmandu in 2012 where a “Theory of Change” (TOC) was formulated.

“TOC” envisaged the following approaches:

• Effectively implemented legislation reduces the incidence of attacks and increases access to justice for survivors, helping them to feel safer.
• Awareness programmes, prevention campaigns and media attention reduces the incidence of attacks and create greater awareness about the causes and harmful consequences of such violence.
• Medical attention and counseling for survivors improves their health and quality of life.
• Support for rehabilitation and reintegration, including the provision of vocational and educational opportunities and livelihood skills help to improve survivors’ quality of life and enables them to live as a part of society.
• Providing survivors with life skills and knowledge about their rights increase their self-confidence and can enable some survivors to become effective and compelling advocates of change.
• Strengthening the evidence base of acid burns violence will contribute to more effective advocacy and better informed policy making in tackling violence against women and girls nationally and globally.