Pakistan: yes to chemical castration for serial rapists

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 18 - The perpetrators of sexual offenders convicted of multiple rapes could suffer chemical castration in Pakistan: the parliament, according to CNN, has approved new legislation that aims to speed up convictions and impose harsher ones.

    The squeeze comes in response to a mass public outcry over a recent spate of rapes against women and children in the country and growing demands for justice that is alleviated by sexual assaults.

    The law requires the government of Pakistan to establish special national courts to speed up rape proceedings and ensure that sexual abuse cases are resolved "quickly, preferably within four months". Group rape perpetrators will be sentenced to death or life in prison.

    Less than 3% of cases of sexual assault or rape result in a conviction in Pakistan.

Chemical castration - the use of drugs to reduce libido or sexual activity - is legal in countries including South Korea, Poland, the Czech Republic, and some states in the United States.

According to Amnesty International, however, this is a "cruel and inhuman" practice, while the Pakistani authorities "should focus on reforms that address the root causes of sexual violence and give victims the justice they deserve," the organization said.

(HANDLE).