Should We Just Castrate ‘Em? The Polish Government Says Yes…
So, have y’all heard that Poland is now the only country in Europe where chemical castration is mandatory for paedophiles, or for people who have been found guilty of raping a close relative who is a minor? The law was actually passed in the Senate back in September – and the vote was almost unanimous: 400 ministers voted to pass the law, one minister voted against it and three others abstained – but it came into full effect yesterday. The government released a statement late last year, right after the law was passed: “The purpose of this action is to improve the mental health of the convict, to lower his libido and thereby to reduce the risk of another crime being committed by the same person” and the country’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said in a separate statement that he supported obligatory castration for paedophiles, whom he branded ‘degenerates’. He said he did not believe “one can use the term ‘human’ for such individuals, such creatures. Therefore I don’t think protection of human rights should refer to these kind of events… I want to introduce in Poland the most rigorous law possible regarding criminals who rape children.” At the time, he was criticised by human rights groups outside of Poland, but he has never apologised for his stance, nor has he retracted his words.
And you know what? Nobody in Poland is the slightest bit disturbed about any of this: a survey done earlier this week shows that about 85% of Poles are totally in favour of the law as it stands; the remaining 15% are generally in favour with a few reservations. The number of people who are actively against the law, or who feel any concern for the human rights of paedophiles, is so minimal that it is almost non-existent. The foreign press is asking slightly muted questions, and international human rights groups are not happy (though it must be said, there have been no major explosive reactions) but within Poland, people are perfectly OK with the whole notion. I find this very interesting, and have spent the past couple of days pondering why that might be.
I mean, imagine that the same thing tried to get passed in the US Congress. Imagine trying to get an almost 100% positive vote to pass a law which says that paedophiles or fathers who rape their own children will be forcibly castrated. Not, you know, physically but chemically. The way it actually works here in Poland is that an offender serves their court-determined prison term, and then six months before they are due for release a group of psychologists, sexologists, psychiatrists and some legal advisers meet with the offender and do rigorous interviews, tests and consultations. Based on this, this group of people then decides if chemical castration will take place. If so, treatment (which is a series of medical procedures which lower the libido) begins just before the person is released from jail; if not, I have no idea what happens, but I assume that this person will be monitored as any other sex offender who has been returned to the community at large: they will have to report to a parole officer and they are not free to leave their town or city, and they are not permitted to be within a certain distance of schools, parks, etc.
In some countries, like the Czech Republic and even Canada, chemical castration is undergone voluntarily by people who fully recognise that they are sick, and they have no control over their physical urges, and they are often dismayed and horrified at the fact that they hurt children in order to satisfy a destructive addiction. These people (and they are almost always men) want to be castrated, so they can have a normal life and not rape society’s most vulnerable. A cynic might argue that they also voluntarily take the drugs so they can get better terms of release, or earlier parole, or whatever. I don’t really care about their motivations as much as the effects, which are that these men stop abusing and raping kids. I can get behind that. Interestingly, a number of American states give courts the option of imposing a sentence involving chemical castration, and in some states the punishment is mandatory under certain circumstances. But this is not nation-wide: it comes down to individual states.
I was stunned to hear that paedophilia is a major societal problem here in Poland: apparently 700 cases of paedophilia are reported to police in Poland each year, according to justice officials. I am not amazed at the fact that it happens – because it happens everywhere – but at the fact that it is simply not discussed here. The media does not shout inky columns of protest; lawyers and police officers do not demand help or resources to cope with the issue; there is no raging debate about ‘castration vs rehabilitation’ in the treatment of paedophiles. The assumption, generally, is that once a sick f*** who will rape kids, always a sick f*** who will rape kids – and no amount of talking or therapy or rationality will ever change such a person into an unsick non-f*** who will not rape kids.
Personally, I am of two minds about this. First, I admit to being disturbed at the thought of a group of Polish ‘professionals’ (and I use this word very ironically, as I have had personal experience with the legal, medical and judicial systems here and I know all too well what kind of idiots are running these shows) making such a decision. I also feel that some – maybe many – paedophiles would actually agree to be chemically castrated of their own free will, if given the option; that has been shown in other countries. Finally, I am relieved that the process is ‘reversible’, meaning that when the drug is no longer administered, the person’s body chemistry returns to normal. Maybe with an aggressive combination of drugs and therapy and support, paedophiles can learn to control their urges without the drugs, and so may go off the treatment after some time. Who knows?
On the other hand: I am a mother and if anyone touched my kids I would want to kill them with my bare hands, their uncontrollable illness be damned. If some man so much as TOUCHED Max or Alex – God, it makes me sick to even think about it – you’d better believe I’d want the bastard castrated (chemically or otherwise). Of course that’s an emotional, Mama Lion response, but how else is a parent to respond? It’s my job to keep my children safe. That’s what I signed up for, right?
What are your thoughts on mandatory chemical castration?
I am all for it! I say castrate those sick bastards. Sorry, Mama Lion talking here.
AS mothers we can only give our thumbs up! Children need to be protected. The adults DO have a choice when they hurt young children. Young children don’t!
Does it apply to Catholic priests or do they get a special exemption?
@Badger,
I thought the same thing! I have no idea… shall I find out?
Interesting topic, especially in light of my most recent blog post which deals intimately with this topic. I don’t know this answer to this. I don’t understand paedophelia. At all. I don’t know that I would agree that the illness is driven completely by physical urges and is best controlled that way. I would imagine there is a huge phychological component. But if there is data showing the drugs have an effect, then they have an effect.
It does raise human rights concerns, but here’s the other issue. We can’t rely on our justice system to deal with this problem fairly. The man who molested me also molested several other young girls. He only stayed in prison a few years. Once he got out he again molested more girls and was brought up on more charges. The justice system failed with him, as it does so often.
Another question in regards to one’s human rights. If one man makes the choice to take away the basic rights of a child through rape, is he still entitled to his own rights, or has he forfeited them?
I don’t have any answers for you. It’s a very complex and emotionally charged question. If anyone ever touched one of my children I would want to kill them. I would consider castration the kindest of gifts.
I’m planning a follow-up blog post where I discuss some of this, tangentially. It’s all shades of gray.
I don’t think there’s a simple answer to this, and the above post captures some of the conflicted feelings I have.
However, my gut tells me that while it might violate the offender’s rights, it’s not permanent. If the law was not applied correctly or fairly, it can be reversed. There’s a high rate of recidivism amongst pedophiles and this measure might protect future victims.
Just don’t get me started on animal abusers….
I am completely for chemical castration for pedophiles. I would even support mandatory physical castration.
As you may know from reading my blog, my birth siblings suffered unbelievably at the hands of a pedophile for over 10 years, until my birthmother, confronted by a family friend and forced with making a choice between being turned in *with* him or ratting him out, chose to save her own sorry a**. Subsequently, my younger brother, who had been raped repeatedly by his father, continued the cycle. Two years after release from a 15 years prison sentence for raping a 6 year old girl, he died of AIDS. He never expressed remorse for his crime, and I am sure that were he not currently dead he would be very busy trying to find another victim.
I have no sympathy for pedophiles. I wish the US would enforce greater punishment and implement ways to protect children from known pedophiles. Offender registries and notifications are not enough and they aren’t effective. If our overburdened parole system can’t keep track of the released offenders, it only makes sense to put limits on these criminals in other ways.
You know, I’m extremely liberal politically, except when it comes to sex offenders. I am pretty sure that if someone molested or raped my child there would be two people sitting in jail – the person who committed the crime and me for attempting to kill them.
I just recently had a discussion about this with a friend. I was pro castration.
My friend said that mandatory castration was a violation of the pedophiles basic rights.
My thought: Pedophile forfeited his or her ‘rights’ the minute he or she robs an innocent child of their right to feel safe- to be able to trust, to live a life free of guilt, shame and fear.
Well, this is going to make me sound so horrible, but I am all for it. They are messed up individuals. If castration can fix them, I’m all for it. Especially since it can be reversed.
I’ll go as far to say that I wish the US would pass this law. Seriously. We are much to lax on those who molest children. Last year, a man who was convicted of raping a four year old girl was given probation in my state. That makes me so angry.
Of course, I would hate for innocent people to go through this. How is the judicial system in Poland?
Marla @ http://www.asthefarmturns.wordpress.com
It’s an interesting discussion, and such a difficult question to answer. When people break the law, we take away their right to freedom and incarcerate them. It isn’t such a huge step further to say that paeodophiles have committed such a serious crime that we’ll take away something further and castrate them.
It does raise questions of where you draw the line, and what kind of moral code you adopt to determine where the line is. I don’t tend to support mandatory sentencing; no two cases are the same and should be dealt with individually.
Those are my thoughts as a rational person. As a mum though; string them up.
I wish this was the case around the world. It might make some men think twice about doing something as horrible as that if they knew their ‘manhood’ would be taken away.
As far as I’m concerned, the moment they made the decision to take away a child’s innocence is the day they stopped having any sort of human rights.
Personally I think they would be perfect candidates for drug testing instead of using animals, but that’s a whole other debate.
Alright ladies.
I must start off by saying that I am not a parent. Therefore my point of view on this topic is very different than most.
That being said, I work at an airport and have come into contact with these scum of the earth types of human beings on more than one occasion. Based on my experience, when I say that I mean talking to them, looking through their possessions and generally “getting in their heads” I will say unequivocally that there is nothing that can be done for these lost souls. No amount of jail time/therapy/rehabilitation/public awareness/you name it will cure what ails them.
If the government of the day wants to try this tactic, I say go nuts, but I fear that what might happen afterward is that the public will think that the problem is taken care of. And I guarantee it won’t be.
A pedophile is a predator in every sense of the word.
I once dealt with a guy who had a PHD in education, a pending trial and a keepsake from every “trophy” he ever, well you know. Any guesses on what he was doing while he was out on bail? Traveling back and forth from Thailand to Cambodia doing God only knows what. And the only reason why he came back to Canada was to face justice.
Point being: from where I sit, there is one way and one way only to deal with this problem. Exterminate them.
I think that chemical castration is an excellent idea and wish that it were being discussed as an option in the U.S. I have two pre-teen daughters and I can’t even imagine what my husband and I would do if someone ever touched or hurt them.
Brother Neil is damn right. I am a disgrace and I know it. I sure as shit going to clean myself up next time I fly. I would like to apologize to the poor bastard who sat next to me on the flight from St Petersburg to Hanover when I drank a quart of Tequila.
I’m all for it! Sounds good, let’s get it going. I am a person comfortable with gray areas and have a hard time making decisions. Not this time! Didn’t have to think at all, and I feel firmly about it!
I don’t believe the chemical castration is the complete answer. It isn’t just a physical crime, but a psychological crime as well. A fulfilling of some twisted need inside their psycyhe that is briefly sated by performing one of the most heinous of acts against an innocent. The sickness doesn’t start in their pants. It starts in their brain. I think that there is a danger in the government imposing this sort of mandate because of the liklihood that they will deem it as the be all end all in the rehabilitative process. I can very clearly see a situation where individuals are castrated and then thought to be “cured” because the physical impulse has been stopped. If a rapist wants to rape – they will penetrate using whatever tools they have on hand i.e. you don’t need a working penis to rape someone. Also, even though the majority of reported child rapists are men – how do you castrate a female pedophile? I hope that the people aren’t given a false sense of safety because this law has been set because that would be another tragedy in and of itself.
No apologies here – I think mandatory chemical castration is a GREAT idea. Why would the Polish community be abuzz about it? Best idea ever.
Someone who has no control over physically injuring another person becomes the responsibility of the community, in my opinion. They lose “certain human rights” because they don’t know how/don’t care to control themselves or respect other’s “certain human rights.”
Throw in whatever other counseling, therapy, etc that makes you/society feel better about it….but nipping the problem in the bud, as it were, is the best most appropriate place to start.