The horrible incident of acid attack on a 24-year-old girl in downtown area of Srinagar on Tuesday has set alarm bells ringing again. The girl was attacked at a public place where such acts are least expected. The girl has received serious burn injures on her face in the assault.  According to the details of the case revealed by police, the culprits had meticulously planned the attack. It is a typical case of girl spurning the advances of the culprit who decides to avenge the rejection. Although police have arrested three persons related to the crime, including the main accused. The role of police in tracking down the culprits deserves appreciation. It’s not a first of a kind incident in the city as several such cases have been reported in the past too. The assault comes as a grim reminder about the lack of deterrence and raises disturbing questions about the safety of women in our society. This grisly incident evoked widespread condemnation with people calling for stringent action against the culprits. Meanwhile, the authorities must extend all possible help to the victim’s family by way of offering treatment expenses and psychological counseling. The act of throwing acid onto the body of a person with the intention of injuring or disfiguring the face is indeed atrocious. The victims of acid attacks face long-term consequences that include blindness and permanent scarring of the face and body. Besides physical challenges, which require long term surgical treatment, the victims also face psychological problems. Of all the gender-based violence directed at women, one of the most horrific is acid attacks. Given the physical and psychological trauma faced by the victims, mere condemnation of such acts does not suffice. On its part, police should expedite its investigation into the case and set a deterrent. As a society, if we intend to stop such grisly acts, we need to get our act together. We cannot wish away the problem and neither can we leave it to police only. There is a need to look at the underlying causes and take redressal measures. We should also not ignore the opinion of some people who attribute crimes– ranging from eve teasing to acid attacks— to the general degradation of our social fabric. There is a need for intervention at the parental as well as societal level to keep a check at the negative behavioral tendencies among the youth. Social institutions too have to chip in and come up with suggestions and measures to stop crime and violence against women. Government and the concerned authorities also need to show serious commitment to stop such incidents in the future.