Chemical castration, the Executive's proposal that generates another controversy in the cracked cabinet Aníbal Torres

Since the news of the reprehensible case of kidnapping and rape of a 3-year-old girl, which occurred in the city of Chiclayo and which has shocked the country, President Pedro Castillo announced that the Government is evaluating drastic measures such as the implementation of the compulsory chemical castration for rapists of minors, adolescents and women, as is already being done in other countries of the world.

“Enough of so much violence, crimes of sexual violence against children will not be tolerated by this government, nor will they go unpunished. The pain of this family is also ours, I am outraged by such cruelty,” he said.

This fact has opened up a whole political debate. And it has left more cracks in a cabinet that is already quite lost, with rumors of a replacement that sounds increasingly loud. Premier Aníbal Torres said Monday that the bill on chemical castration of rapists will be debated in the Council of Ministers and later in Parliament. He assured that this is a way to combat heinous crimes.

When asked about the possibility of implementing the death penalty, the head of the Ministerial Cabinet specified that this cannot be carried out because “the San Jose Court does not allow it.”

However, criminal lawyer Romy Chang reported that implementing chemical castration would require a cumbersome legal path, because the constitution states that resocialization of the prisoner should be sought, but this is a lifelong penalty. In addition, in his opinion, the San José Pact should be denounced, because no other member country applied such penalties. This process is not easy, it involves complaints and economic sanctions.

After what was announced by Torres, the head of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights (Minjus), Felix Chero, was convinced that the Cabinet of Ministers would support the draft legislation prepared by the technical team of the Justice sector.

He affirmed that he will attend the plenary session of the Congress of the Republic to support and defend the bill on chemical castration “to defend our position, to defend our project because I believe that the foundation and ideas lend themselves to democratic discussion in which we will have to defend our position,” the minister told Canal N.

“[The congressmen] have to understand that the projects presented by the Executive have to be the object of analysis, sure of debate and discussion, but choose those that respond precisely to social expectations. If this is not done, we are unfortunately not fulfilling our constitutional function,” he added.

However, as announced by Latina, six benches spoke out against Castillo's project.

MINISTER AGAINST

The Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Chávarry, was against the proposal for chemical castration, as he considers that it must go through studies and see if it works or not.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Roberto Sánchez, was more cautious. He pointed out that every two hours a boy or girl is raped in Peru. “If it were our child we would be crazy. But this cannot be a decision of harm against harm and death. We have to make a pact between all of us,” he said.

As a psychologist, he argued that violence starts with something we don't notice, such as when a dad tells his son to do what he tells him because he is his father. “If we don't consider them people, they will be like objects. The State and society must understand that children are the most sacred thing we have,” he said.

Regarding what Minister Chávarry said, Sánchez said: “It's not a lack of coordination, there is an approach, but scientific evidence, cost-benefit, politics compared to other countries are going to give us greater elements.”

OTHER EXAMPLES

Chemical castration as a complementary measure for child rapists is currently being applied in some 10 countries. Among them are the United States, where it has been applied since 1966; Poland, Russia, the United Kingdom, Australia and France. In Mendoza, Argentina also applies.

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