Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has signed a law that enforces harsher and longer sentences on acid attackers.

According to a report from BBC, perpetrators convicted of such crimes will now serve between 12 and 50 years of jail time. The enacting ceremony of the new law, which was held at the presidential palace in the capital, Bogotá, was attended by some victims of acid attacks. The law was approved by the Senate last November.

Acid attacks have become a huge problem in the South American country over the past decade, the news outlet wrote. Around 100 people -- many of them women -- have been on the receiving end of acid attacks annually. Perpetrators can either be men or women, varying from angry neighbors to jealous lovers.

Santos commended the victims fighting for their rights and for new legislation.

"We don't want to see more people destroyed," the Colombian leader said at the ceremony, as quoted in BBC's report.

The new law decrees that those who "use any type of chemical agent" to hurt others will serve in prison for between 12 and 20 years, but the sentence can go up to 50 years of jail time for those who permanently disfigure their victim, BBC further reported.

In the past, acid attacks are under the physical aggression category and only have light sentences, the news outlet noted. Thus far, hardly any individuals have been convicted for acid attacks.

One of the attendees was Natalia Ponce de Leon, whom the law was named after, BBC added. She became a top campaigner after her face and other parts of her body were disfigured by sulphuric acid in March 2014. Her attacker was her neighbor, Jonathan Vega, who had an obsession on Ponce de Leon and got mad when she rejected his intentions.

"The new law helps remedy a big legal loophole and will help prevent the absurd attacks that so many of us have suffered," Ponce de Leon said, as quoted by BBC.

Acid attacks are most common in South Asia, but Colombia reported one of the highest rates per capita globally in 2012, Daily Mail reported. Since 2004, 526 women and 361 men have suffered acid attacks across Colombia, according to the country's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. According to women's rights groups, acid attacks survivors are usually poor women with little education and lengthy experiences of domestic violence.

The new law also aims to provide better state medical care to acid attack victims, Daily Mail added. Victims frequently go through months of reconstructive surgery and psychological therapy.