The increase in child sexual abuse (or perhaps the rise in reports) is a fact. But is the solution the castration of the perpetrators?
DIKO’s MP Michalis Yacoumi proposed chemical castration for paedophiles and life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or early release. He cited a truly shocking case – as he himself described it – in which a man raped his 11-year-old foster daughter and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
“Strengthening the legal framework,” he explained, “will contribute to creating a safer environment for children and will send a strong message that our society will not tolerate any form of sexual abuse of minors.”
Similar proposals are occasionally heard in many countries, and some already implement the method, even in Europe. However, in most cases, it is done with the consent of the perpetrator in exchange for part of the sentence imposed on him, after he has already served part of it.
Countries like Poland, Russia, Czechia, Estonia, Ukraine, and – with the perpetrator’s consent – Germany, Belgium, France, and England, apply chemical castration. US states and South Korea also use this method, while in Arab countries, China, India, and Pakistan, the death penalty is enforced.
In Greece, when the proposal was put forward, it was publicly rejected by many as a form of punishment that does not align with the country’s culture and does not meet modern conditions for protecting human rights.
In Cyprus, when the issue was raised some years ago, the Cyprus National Bioethics Committee opposed it, citing bioethical issues regarding its effectiveness and its short-term and long-term health impacts on the individual, the violation of integrity and dignity – the core of fundamental human rights – and the lack of conscious consent and substantial involvement of the individual in improving their behaviour.
Another significant aspect of the discussion is that sexual abuse is not only about the sexual act. Paedophilic fantasies are resilient. Even if the perpetrator’s sexual desire is eliminated, their violent behaviour may manifest in other ways.
Today’s audience is ready to applaud such proposals. It is no coincidence that castration in Germany was established by a Nazi law in 1933, and in the US, far-right organisations have often demanded its implementation to address the “primitive impulses of the black race,” as they claimed.
If child abuse is a disease that can be treated like prostate cancer, let’s proceed. But is it a disease or a crime?