h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Sex offenders in the Czech Republic are castrated:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/6897968.stm

This solution has been proposed before by hootooers. In the article, some people claim this is torture - even though there is "consent" by the castrated (those who are surgically castrated, as opposed to chemically).

Is this torture? Is it "cruel and unusual" punishment? Can you consent to castration if saying no means indefinite confinement? Why not have indefinite confinement as the only option? And of course, will the Pope be for or against this?

Ratty will dig it, of course:
"
Matthew 5:30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off
and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members
than that your whole body go into hell.
"

Well I just saw an episode of CSI (sorry, no link) and when a sex offender who was being framed said he'd thought about getting chemically castrated ol' what's-his-name (chief investigator guy) said it didn't always remove the sexual urge, only the ability to get an erection, and that the sex offender could simply abuse his victims in other ways.

So based on this exhaustive research, I vote for indefinite confinement and think that The Committee for the Prevention of Torture should have better things to do.

az

No link!?!? How. dare. you.

I banish you from the forum.

Careful, you wouldn't want to give the place a bad name.

"Marlon: And what would you have me do, huh, man? What?! I mean, I even thought about chemical castration.

Grissom: Medroxyprogesterone is inconclusive. It renders the subject incapable of erection, but it doesn't remove the drive. You would still be capable of sexual assault using other objects."

http://www.tv.com/csi/harvest/episode/355403/summary.html




az

Welcome back. As an american, I must accept your TV reference as the word of God.

for a surgical castration - how to put this delicately? - what bits get chopped off
(links only needed if there are no gory pictures)

Also accepted in certain parts of NZ, Arnie.

Sho, I don't think anything gets chopped off with a chemical castration. Can't be sure though as they didn't mention this on CSI.


az

I believe it's the testes that are removed in a surgical castration.

Isn't there a body of opinion that reckons rape is about power, not sex?

ouch!

well it is about power, and I am sure that, as az said, there are other ways to "rape" even if it isn't with all the usual bits. After all, men can be raped these days due to a slight change in the definition of what it actually is, I think.

I can't see that removing the testes would curtail sexual desire. If that were the case, surely every man with a vasectomy would suffer? From first hand experience, that certainly isn't the case.

Mind you, I'm no medical expert so there might be more to it.

vasectomy doesn't involve removing the testes, does it? I thought they just cut the tubes that the sperm travel through?

Yeah, so they're just bouncing along in there not actually doing anything. Purely decorational

Not quite decorational though? Unless you're singing in a very high pitched voice?

One of my cats was surgically castrated - the scrotum was sliced open and testes removed. Presumably the same procedure for humans. This didn't stop him from later trying to mount a girl cat in heat who was visiting.

With chemical castration, does the person have to keep taking the drug?

az

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_castration

Chemical castration appears to involve *no* surgery - and yes, it does require the castrated to continually take medicine. So in this regard, it could be categorized as requiring a mental patient who is dangerous to society to take his medicine, and if he does, he gets to remain free.

thanks
that sounds very dodgy to me.

I doubt castration would affect the truly sick and perverted. They can harm in many ways. It is the mind that is sick, so the instruments of destruction and violation could change.

A person taking medication to control this type of behavior would be possible? If so ,it would surely take close monitoring. They should be monitored and their where abouts known Sounds expensive and hard to enforce.

Well quite, abbi. Which makes a good argument for sex offenders to be kept behind bars for the rest of their sorry lives.

Also expensive, but at least nobody else will be hurt by them.

az

Can't do that, the prisons are full.