An thought-provoking report from More 4 News on the Czech Republic’s policy of castrating paedophiles:
(Warning: viewers may find Jenny Kleeman’s report from Prague unsettling.)
After a visit to the Czech Republic, one of Britain’s leading government advisers on the treatment of sex offenders, Professor Don Grubin, told More 4 News there could be scope for a similar scheme of voluntary physical castration in Britain.
This Czech news site discusses both the More 4 News report and a Sun article on the scheme.
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I watched the report on voluntary castration with interest. I can actually understand why it would appeal to some sex offenders, who often have been victims themselves. But I wonder if they are not just looking for a quick fix. A magic procedure that will get rid them of their unwanted compulsions. I would point out that rape and sexual assault often have nothing to do with sex. Its about control, revenge, frustration and other emotions that don’t originate in the testes. The doctors who were being interviewed said it was used in conjunction with psychotherapy. I wonder if the reported success has more to do with that than any physical change. I suppose you could argue that placebo procedures can be invaluable as psychological tool but what concerns me is what might happen in the long term. As people who have been castrated, due to say testicular cancer, will testify. There is often a lose of male identity, increased frustration, anger etc. Which is hard enough for any man to deal with, let alone someone who has a history a sexual violence. I’m not sure how chemical castration works but I imagine the drugs used have effects other the stopping the production of seamen and reducing the levels of testosterone in the body. Again I wonder if that is the reason it has such positive results.
I agree with the respondent above that sex offending has nothing to do with sex, and is part of a culturally-inculcated urge by some men, to dominate and control. Also, how do the Czech authorities safeguard against its misuse and disproportionate targetting against the mentally ill, or ethnic minorities? It would have been interesting to hear from the report, what the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, had had to say on the current Czech policy.
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