Is Castration The Answer For Pedophiles?

Is chemical castration the answer to Russia’s growing pedophile problem? Russian president Dmitry Medvedev believes it is and he has urged lawmakers to consider it.

In the past year alone more than 9,500 sex crimes were committed against children in Russia, not including the countless incidents that went unreported.

The proposed chemical castration process involves regular injections to lower testosterone levels, and subsequently curb offenders’ sex drives.

A fear of being accused of placing the wellbeing of pedophiles over that of children has prevented many human rights activists from speaking out against the proposal, yet there are some obvious shortcomings.

Even Medvedev admits the country’s legal administration is overwrought with corruption, leaving the castration process open to abuse, and that the struggling health system may not be capable of administering the treatment effectively.

However, the American Civil Liberties Union argues forced chemical castration is a “cruel and unusual punishment,” as it interferes with the right to procreate and may have various side effects.

Of course the treatment would be completely voluntary, the government assures us. But just how voluntary would it be if the only other option were to remain in preventative detention for life, even after your sentence was complete?

Such treatment is already employed by Germany and other EU nations, and enjoys widespread public support in Russia. So much so that the plan whiffs slightly of an election ploy.

It seems the Kremlin is swinging from one extreme to another on the issue of punishment for pedophiles. Currently 70 percent of child molestation cases are settled through a court-sponsored reconciliation process, and often result in sentences of five years or less.

But Medvedev is adamant this must change.

“The punishment should be as harsh as possible… a liberal approach here is totally unacceptable,” he said.

My main concern with the suggestion is not in regard to the health or political systems of Russia, but to what this development could mean for society’s understanding of rape and sex crimes.

Reducing rape and pedophilia to a hormonal imbalance is irresponsible. Rape is not fundamentally about sex and chemicals, but about power and control.

There is no debating that sex offenders should be severely punished. But this should be done with prolonged jail sentences, systematic rehabilitation and behavioural therapy, rather than an almost certainly ineffective quick fix concocted in an election year.

Contact the author here: brianna@morningquickie.com