A local court in New Delhi suggested the enactment of a law for surgical and chemical castration of child rapists.
The proposal, put forward by Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau, came as the court awarded 10 years' rigorous imprisonment to a man who sexually abused his minor stepdaughter for almost four years before the crime came to light in 2009 in north Delhi.
A local court in New Delhi suggested the enactment of a law for surgical and chemical castration of child rapists.
The proposal, put forward by Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau, came as the court awarded 10 years' rigorous imprisonment to a man who sexually abused his minor stepdaughter for almost four years before the crime came to light in 2009 in north Delhi.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said his country should consider voluntary "chemical castration" as a punishment for child sex offenders.
Mr Medvedev said convicted paedophiles should be punished as harshly as possible, including by having injections to reduce their sex drive.
Russia's influential Investigative Committee has already drawn up a draft law allowing for such a procedure.
But it is the first time the Kremlin has indicated its backing.
The process known as chemical castration generally involves injections that reduce levels of testosterone, thereby lowering sex drive. It is not a permanent procedure.
'Voluntary basis'Mr Medvedev was quoted as saying at a government meeting that measures "including injections that block hormonal activity" should be considered for child molesters.
"The punishment should be as strict as possible," the Russian president said.
"Considering the frightening crimes committed, I think our duty is to at least discuss this issue."
He added that the injections would "probably be possible only on a voluntary basis".
The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says Mr Medvedev's suggestion received widespread support, though some Russian politicians have suggested making chemical castration mandatory.
More than 9,500 sex crimes were committed against minors last year, according to Russia's top investigator, Alexander Bastrykin.
Child molestation is a serious problem and we need to look for effective means to curb the offence. Only punishing is not enough. Let us examine the affectivity of chemical or surgical castration .
Chemical castration involves administration of drugs to reduce the libido of the offender, whereas surgical castration involves removal of the testicles. Both are reversible.
If an offender so wishes, he could find his way around it. To reverse chemical castration, a person could end the treatment. To reverse surgical castration the person can take synthetic testosterone. There would be a false sense of security as an unmonitored offender could thus be lurking around , capable of harming unsuspecting victims. Even while an offender is on medication it must be kept in mind that the libido only gets diminished ; the offender is still capable of committing the offence.
Castration may not be an effective option in all pedophiles as the reason for committing the offense vary.. Sex offending is usually about power, violence and humiliation - not libido alone. Those who voluntarily opt for it are most likely to benefit as they have realized the need to control their urges and more likely to comply with the medical regime.
Although chemical castration is not the perfect solution to inhibit child molestation, it discourages sexual assault and appears to be a viable, cost effective method to reduce the rate of such crimes.
Some questions that need looking into are :
- should chemical castration replace imprisonment or should it be used in conjunction with it.
- should it be restricted only to child rapists or should it be extended to all such offenders irrespective of the victim's age.
- should it be voluntary or enforced on the convicted offender
A local court in New Delhi suggested the enactment of a law for surgical and chemical castration of child rapists.
The proposal, put forward by Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau, came as the court awarded 10 years' rigorous imprisonment to a man who sexually abused his minor stepdaughter for almost four years before the crime came to light in 2009 in north Delhi.