Acid attacks in the UK have soared by 61% in the past year, with violent assaults against women making up an increasing number of incidents. According to research by charity Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI), 1,690 offences involving corrosives were recorded in 2025, compared to 1,050 the previous year.
Economic cost of attacks
Beyond the devastating impact on victims, acid attacks also carry a significant economic burden. A single attack costs £63,000 for medical and psychosocial support, plus costs to the police and judicial and penal systems. The total economic cost of all physical attacks topped £24 million.
The figures were compiled following a mass Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent by the charity to all UK police forces.
Rise in female victims
The data shows a 39% increase in female victims of acid offences, signalling a rise in violence against women and girls. Of the 1,690 total offences, almost a quarter (23%) were violent offences against the person (388), while the other 1,302 were threats of acid attacks and other acid-related offences, such as possession. In many cases, the threat of a corrosive attack is used as a tool of coercion or intimidation alongside other serious crimes such as rape or robbery.
According to ASTI, the real figures are likely to be even higher because of under-reporting by victims and because five police forces did not respond to its data request this year.
Regional breakdown
The number of recorded female victims of acid and other corrosive offences rose by 39%, from 370 in 2024 to 514 in 2025, where this data was recorded. In comparison, there were 395 male victims in 2025, compared to 400 the previous year.
Historically, acid attacks in the UK have been associated with male-on-male violence and gang activity. Yet trends in recent years show that acid as a weapon is becoming increasingly linked with violence against women and girls. Where data is available, acid offences against women were predominantly threats. In terms of suspects, 218 were male and 55 were female.
London accounted for almost a third (32%) of all corrosive offences recorded in 2025, with the Metropolitan Police recording 535 offences. Greater Manchester Police reported 165 offences and Northumbria Police 126. Attacks often occur in areas significantly impacted by economic deprivation and high levels of poverty.
Jaf Shah, executive director at ASTI, said: “Threatening someone with acid is a terrifying form of violence, which can cause profound and lasting trauma even when no physical attack takes place. With a new Government in place, there must be urgent action to tackle the root causes of acid attacks, including socio-economic deprivation, while also addressing the growing use of corrosive substances as a form of violence against women and girls. We know that prevention is key and education must form part of a comprehensive violence-reduction strategy, alongside stronger controls on access to corrosive substances, consistent police recording and specialist support for survivors.”
Recent high-profile cases highlight the issue. In January 2024, sex offender Abdul Ezedi threw a corrosive alkaline over his ex-partner and her two young daughters in Clapham, South London. The mother suffered life-changing injuries and was blinded in one eye. Ezedi fled and his body was later pulled from the Thames.
In another case, model Katie Piper's attacker Stefan Sylvestre, brought in by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch to throw sulphuric acid in her face, remains a fugitive. Both men were given life sentences in 2009, but Sylvestre was released on licence in 2018. He was recalled to prison in September 2022 for breaching his conditions but had fled Britain a month earlier. Lynch remains behind bars having been refused parole last year after admitting he arranged the attack as an "act of revenge". Katie, then a 24-year-old model, suffered severe third-degree burns and lost sight in one eye, spending 12 days in a coma and undergoing more than 250 operations.
