Castration for sex offenders?

[Col_M]

I was just browsing some news today when I read this...
www.ceskapozice.cz/en/news/society/czechs-continue-surgical-castration-sex-offenders-studies-sought
TL;DR: The Czech Republic is one of the few countries in Europe that castrate sex offenders surgically and chemically, however it requires a written request from the offender or carer, analysis from an expert and the go ahead from a court.

Now I often see people here with quite aggressive opinions of punishment of sex offenders be it rapists, paedophiles etc. but what is the general consensus of people here?

I certainly wouldn't agree with compulsory castration against the will of the offender. However if a sex offender is aware of their problem, they are a danger to the public due to their inability to control their urges and request the procedure or drugs then I can't help thinking if it's their choice then it's fine by me.

 

[Col_M]

I can't see how it helps. It doesn't stop them raping someone.

My understanding of it is without any sex hormones, sex drive is non existent and the offender would get no desire to commit any of these offences in the future. It will also reduce their aggressiveness due to the lack of testosterone.

 

[Col_M]

Hello, 2008 wants its story back, and we already have this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...o-be-offered-form-of-chemical-castration.html

The story in the OP is a recent article of reviews currently going on here in the Czech Republic, the "news" isn't related to the 2008 article and not the same story. The point was it doesn't matter if it's available in the UK or not, I was purely hoping to hear other people's views on here and create some sort of discussion.

 

[Col_M]

You're over way simplifying why people offend. People do it for the power trips, because of social reasons and many others. Lack of testosterone doesn't stop this, and the adrenal gland also produces the hormone.

This problem is much more complicated than most people here seem to think.

True, I think it really depends on each individual case, people who do it for power trips for example rather than sexual gratification probably won't benefit from choosing this course of treatment. however on the other hand it could well be viable where the the reasons behind the behavior is related to sexual urges rather than masochistic or feeling power over other people.

I guess an example it could be a solution for a paedophile who although has not directly abused a child has downloaded material and fears that he could do something that he would regret in the future. If the offender and an expert psychological analysis come to the conclusion that it's a problem based on frustration of sexual urges that can't be fulfilled then surely removing the urges is a suitable solution.

i'm certainly not saying it's a cover all solution and should be looked into on a case by case basis.

 

[Col_M]

Why even bring this up on this forum, most people here really cant argue anything without being crude or uncivilised.

A lot of people on this forum are actually rather intelligent and capable of serious discussion.

It is quite clearly a mental state, chopping off some giblets wont change that, it may infringe on it, but otherwise you probably just made a murderer out of that man.

The flaw with this view is that it's a sweeping generalisation with a wild assumption.

So well done.

Thanks, glad you participated in the discussion

 

[Col_M]

The difference between a man who wants them off and one that probably doesn't is that, the former has acknowledged his problem and wants deal with, likely meaning that he wont commit any further offensives.

The thing is there was a guy I saw in an interview on TV here saying that he acknowledged his problem, wanted to change but couldn't as he always had the niggling urge in the back of his head which held him back before he underwent treatment (can't remeber which type, surgical or chemical, probably the latter as it's more common).