Bride burning or bride-burning is a form of domestic violence practiced in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and other countries located on or around the Indian subcontinent (excluding Sri Lanka). A category of dowry death, bride-burning occurs when a young woman is murdered by her husband or his family for her family's refusal to pay additional dowry. The wife is typically doused with kerosene, gasoline, or other flammable liquid, and set alight, leading to death by fire.[1][2] Kerosene is most often used as the fuel.[3] It is most common in India and has been a major problem there since at least 1993.[4] This crime has been treated as culpable homicide and, if proven, is usually accordingly punished by up to lifelong imprisonment or death.[1] Bride burning has been recognized as an important public health problem in India,[5] accounting for around 2500 deaths per year in the country.[5] In 1995, Time Magazine reported that dowry deaths in India increased from around 400 a year in the early 1980s to around 5800 a year by the middle of the 1990s.[6] A year later, CNN ran a story saying that every year police receive more than 2500 reports of bride burning.[7] According to Indian National Crime Record Bureau, there were 1948 convictions and 3876 acquittals in dowry death cases in 2008.[8]