In addition to lifetime imprisonment and the death penalty, this week President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed a regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) authorizing chemical castration for convicted child-sex offenders. The regulation, which aims primarily to protect children from sexual violence, also urges the disclosure of the offenders’ identity to the public and stipulates that those offenders released from prison are monitored electronically through implanted chips.

Furthermore, for adult convicts, prison sentences have also been increased from 15 years to a maximum 20 years. It is therefore expected that the penalty on this extraordinary crime will produce a deterrent effect on potential offenders.

The regulation, pending the passing of a new law, is clearly an immediate response to the recent cases of sexual violence involving children in a number of areas.

In Bengkulu, a 14-year-old girl was gang raped and killed by a group that included underage boys when she was walking home from school.

In Surabaya, a 13-year-old girl was also gang raped by elementary school and junior high school students.

In Tangerang, a plastic factory worker was also raped by three men and killed; the handle of a hoe was found to have been pushed into her body.

In Kediri, Central Java, a 63-year-old businessman was sentenced for sexually assaulting almost 60 children.

Many blame the crimes on alcohol and pornography among the main drivers of the men’s lust. Sadly, comparatively few highlight gender inequality and objectification of women’s bodies as the root problems that urgently need to be addressed. Some civil society organizations have also called for the legislation of a law against sexual violence.

However, the recent authorization of chemical castration, the death penalty and electronic detection by inserting microchips in offenders has triggered controversy, particularly on whether this punishment will effectively address the problems of sexual violence and rape. Critics also say the penalties injure a person’s bodily rights.

Chemical castration, either forcibly as a penalty or as a means to reduce a prison sentence, has been applied in several countries, including South Korea and at least nine states in the US.

The drugs that would be administered periodically for sex offenders aim to reduce a person’s ability to get sexually stimulated and subsequently, to limit the chances of repeating the sexual offenses.

However, rape and other forms of sexual assault are not only about sex, but always about power. It also can be committed by close relatives, including husbands and often happens in settings that are assumed to be safe havens, such as at school and at home.

Further, gang rape is part of a masculinity cult where males aim to display dominance and perform aggressive behavior or coercion against girls, women and males who are considered feminine.

In a 1992 edition of the American Bar Association’s ABA Journal, Andrew Vachss, a juvenile justice advocate and crime fiction novelist wrote that sexually sadistic persons might be expressing their rage and thus, the crime is volitional; “They do what they do because they want to do it,” he wrote.

Moreover, he also emphasized other forms of sexual violence that do not always involve penetration. Rape, he wrote, can also be committed with any blunt objects, such as broomsticks and bottles. Vachss cited the case of the German child molester Klaus Grabowski, who agreed to be chemically castrated to avoid a life sentence; later when he was free he strangled and killed a 7-year-old girl although apparently without penetration.

Chemical castration relies on the assumption that sexual violence is always about uncontrolled sexual drives that always involve genital penetration. It frivolously neglects the power imbalance between men and women, between masculinity and femininity, and also the possible hatred and rage behind it.

Another point to be examined here is the seriousness of our legal system in responding to sexual violence. The prevailing law carries a maximum sentence of 15 years for perpetrators of sexual violence.

However, many sexual offenders have not been strictly punished according to the law. The businessman in Kediri was swiftly sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of a mere Rp 300 million (US$22,200) and subsidiary imprisonment for six months.

The court cited mere old age and physical weakness as the reason for the sentence, which was lighter than the 13 years demanded by prosecutors.

Similarly, the adult rapists and murderers of the girl in Bengkulu were sentenced only to 10 years. These illustrations show the level of poor commitment of our legal system in addressing sexual violence, somewhat explained by all the victim blaming in popular discourse.

Discussions about the apparent upsurge of sexual violence also fail to recognize the importance of a comprehensive support system for survivors, but largely react with rage, leading to demands of a “tit-for-tat” punishment of offenders.

In her new book Moranifesto published this year, Caitlin Moran provocatively suggested finding another word for rape and sexual violence. Because the word “sex” in the violent crime is imbued with shame and blame, people often think of the crime just as “sex which went wrong”. We then ignore the possibility of many forms of sexual violence that do not always include penetration and are committed in safe havens.

Let’s not call it sexual assault or sexual crime, but just assault, crime and violence. Therefore, since it is violence, sexual drives are not always the major force behind the crimes.

It can be anything — power, rage or hatred. Chemical castration would therefore only be additional bodily violence legalized, without becoming an effective deterrent to future offenders.
__________________________________

The author, who obtained his Master’s in Public Policy from the National University of Singapore, is the writer of Coming Out and a lecturer of gender and sexuality studies.

Popular

Kadin urges stability after Constitutional Court ruling

Jokowi says transition to new government to begi

BCA loan disbursement surges 17.1 percent yoy in first quarter