ATTORNEY-GENERAL Petros Clerides has proposed chemical castration as a means of protecting society from convicted child molesters.
In an interview with daily Politis, published yesterday, Clerides said such a measure could prevent paedophiles who are released from jail from repeating their sexually deviant behaviour.
He went on to suggest the drafting of a legal framework governing penalties and post-release restrictions on paedophiles, including a sex offenders’ register and "possibly chemical castration”.
Chemical castration is the administration of medication designed to reduce libido and sexual activity. Unlike surgical castration, where the testicles or ovaries are removed through an incision in the body, chemical castration does not actually castrate the person, nor is it a form of sterilisation.
However such legislation would have to come from either the justice ministry or parliament.
The issue of sex offenders resurfaced after the recent rape in Larnaca of a 10-year-old Palestinian boy by a man already facing charges of sexual abuse of minors. The 37-year-old suspect is to stand trial in October.
Studies have shown that men who sexually assault boys are among the most recidivist (or habitual) criminals.
Commenting on Clerides' proposal, the chairman of the House legal affairs committee Ionas Nicolaou (DISY) said he welcomed the idea, but added that lawmakers would have to study the application of the measure in other countries due to human-rights concerns.
The attorney-general also proposed making child molestation a statutory offence, with tougher sentences. He did not clarify whether he was talking about voluntary or forcible chemical castration.
Chemical castration is generally considered reversible when treatment is discontinued, although permanent effects in body chemistry can sometimes be seen, as in the case of bone density loss increasing with lengthy use of medications.
Chemical castration involves the administration of anti-androgen drugs. When used on men, these drugs can reduce sex drive, compulsive sexual fantasies, and capacity for sexual arousal. Life-threatening side effects are rare, but some users show increases in body fat and reduced bone density, which increase long-term risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. They may also experience other "feminising" effects such as gynecomastia (development of larger than normal mammary glands in males), reduced body hair, and loss of muscle mass.
Chemical castration is practised in varying degrees and ways in different countries. In some, voluntary chemical castration is provided in exchange for reduced prison sentences.
In Poland, some rapists and paedophiles are forced to undergo chemical castration under legislation passed in 2010.
South Korea introduced mandatory chemical castration for convicted paedophiles last year and Moldova has voted to implement compulsory chemical castration for some sex offenders after July.
The Moldova law makes chemical castration compulsory for those who abuse children under the age of 15. It has been criticised by the Council of Europe's Anti-torture Committee (CPT) which said that, as a matter of principle, anti-androgen treatment should only be given "on a voluntary basis and following a thorough psychiatric and medical assessment”.
"As with any medical treatment, the prior free and informed written consent of the person concerned should be obtained. These individuals should be able to withdraw consent at any time. No person should be put under pressure to accept anti-androgen treatment," the council said in a statement.
Amnesty International also criticised the Moldova law, a spokesman for the group saying it was "tantamount to torture".
In the United Kingdom, back in March some 100 prisoners and former inmates agreed to voluntary chemical castration as part of a pilot scheme.
On April 30, 2010, a man in the UK found guilty of attempting to murder a 60-year-old woman in order to abduct and rape her two granddaughters, agreed to undergo chemical castration as part of the terms of his sentence.
In May 2009, two brothers from Haifa, convicted child molesters, agreed to undergo chemical castration to avoid committing further crimes.
In the United Kingdom, computer scientist Alan Turing, famous for his contributions to mathematics and computer science, was a homosexual who chose to undergo chemical castration in order to avoid imprisonment in 1952. At the time, homosexuality was still illegal and considered to be a mental illness that could be treated with chemical castration.
Turing experienced side effects such as breast enlargement and bloating of the physique. He died two years later, with the inquest returning a verdict of suicide, although recent research has cast doubt on this result. In 2009, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, issued a public apology for the British government's "appalling" actions, after an online petition seeking the same gained 30,000 signatures and international recognition.