Castrating paedophiles...

Heh heh, I'll just reiterate. I think paedophiles are monsters who are, for the most part, incurable. However, legally, I would consider castration 'cruel and unusual punishment.' I know some here will disagree.

...silence...

Give it time...

Is there some notion that an offender's testicles are causing him to molest children? Or is this just Mikado-esque, "let the punishment fit the crime" sort of thinking?

I would think the latter joe.

Surely you are speaking of chemical castration?

Good point, given that this is in two forums now, is it physical or chemical castration that is being debated?

I think the point is not to argue the Lord High Exectutioner mentality but rather that testosterone fuels sexual apetite and if men are castrated they will have less of a sex drive - thus greatly reducing thier chances of offending.

that is if two givens are presupposed:

1) Pedophiles are all not worth the attempt at rehabilitating them. This seems to say a lot of BAD things about our free will. Once you commit certain crimes - you WILL commit others. Why not kill them if they are that much of a threat.

2) Pedophiles are driven by sexual lust instead of thier want for power or some other drive.

I personally think that registering pedophiles, and certainly castrating them greatly violated the concept that people, once they have paid their debt, are never to be free and will never pay certain debts.

It is just as moral as killing them in my mind and that is to say it is not moral at all.

TF

My first thought is - will this prevent the pedophile from molesting future children. I would think they could still be touching them, etc. without your testicles or even sexual desire. I doubt that sexual satisfaction is the reason these individuals go after children.

What happens if the pedophile is female?

Removing thier testosterone will do the same thing - that is why I think they are talking more about chemical castration.

TF

What a good point, twyvel.

I used to work on a helpline for adult survivors of childhood abuse. My heart tells me there's no punishment too terrible for these perpetrators but are we talking about punishment or stopping their desire?

Perhaps we could forget about experiments on innocent animals and instead try out new drugs on these paedophiles.

Mrs. Robinson?

I don't know if that is correct, or that simple thethinkfactory.

Tarah here's an excerpt:



Several years ago, researchers reported laboratory evidence that pedophilia involves a disturbance of the serotonergic system (see related article, Crime Times, 2001, Vol. 7, No. 3, Page 7). A recent case study supports this finding, by showing that treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) can dramatically reduce pedophilic urges in women.

Eva Chow and Alberto Choy treated a 23-year-old single mother who was convicted of sexual assault and sexual interference after confessing to molesting two young girls while babysitting them. The woman also experienced bouts of rage, and was an impulsive shopper. She felt extreme shame over her pedophilic acts, and expressed concern that if she ever had female children, she might hurt them.

The doctors treated the woman with sertraline, an SSRI, and report that she experienced a gradual decline in her urges to commit pedophilic acts. "Although her pedophilic interests did not completely disappear at the end of one year of treatment," they say, "she reported only infrequent sexual thoughts of children. When she had such thoughts, she stopped or resisted them easily." In addition, she experienced fewer bouts of rage or impulsive shopping.

These changes, the researchers say, "are consistent with the treatment success of serotonergic agents reported in men with paraphilia, and in patients with aggression and anger management difficulties or other impulse control disorders."

The researchers say the case "provides further support that serotonergic system dysfunction is implicated in paraphilic and impulse control disorders."
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And you are suggesting.....?

I thought that the one of the goals of the social system was to evolve into a more rational creatures. Wouldn't the ideals behind castration bring us back into the dark ages were your head was lanced for crimes committed of a similar nature. That idea seems like a simple answer that will not solve a difficult problem.

I know it sounds awful, but the government, medicine etc can't fix everything. A lot of people are under the illusion that everything can be corrected, and the fact is, that some things can't. I know that castration would seem apt for the crime, but if this starts, where will it end. The eye for an eye type thinking is what causes many of societies problems already.

The reasons for many of these people doing what they do, is so complex, that a sweeping all engulfing law isn't appropriate.

It's such a difficult one as passions run so high.