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Jakarta Post

'Guidance needed to execute castration punishment'

The government needs to issue detailed guidance on the methodology of chemical castration, because the medical procedure is not a one-off treatment, said Health Ministry official Lina Mangaweang.

Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, May 28, 2016

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'Guidance needed to execute castration punishment' President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo speaks to journalists after a Cabinet meeting. The President on Wednesday signed the government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on sexual violence against children, which carries tougher sanctions for child molesters. (Courtesy of Presidential Palace/Agus Suparto)

The government needs to issue detailed guidance on the methodology of chemical castration, because the medical procedure is not a one-off treatment, said Health Ministry official Lina Mangaweang.

Lina said legal procedures were set to determine "extraordinary crime" before a judge could sentence a pedophile to chemical castration, which is to be administered following a convict's release from jail.

"There will be a discussion to outline the technicalities of the regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on Monday involving several government institutions," Lina told thejakartapost.com on Friday.

Chemical castration is an additional punishment for sexual offenders introduced in a regulation in a Perppu on sexual violence against children. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo signed the Perppu on May 25. The maximum sentence is the death penalty.

Lina explained that chemical castration was a hormonal treatment involving the application of anti-androgenic drugs to reduce testosterone levels in men. "It reduces sex drive significantly," she said.

The procedure aims to reduce the libido, essentially their sexual drive and the capacity for sexual arousal, as testosterone levels are suppressed, she added.

It is hoped that the risk of the convicted men to rape again would be reduced, said Lina.

The drug, she continued, would typically be medroxy progesterone (mpa), which is commonly used as a method of birth control for women. "The drug will only take effect after the third injection, and that will be approximately 5-6 months after it is first applied," Lina said.

A team of medical professionals would conduct health checks to determine the testosterone level of the convict before it is administered, she continued.

Following the third injection, doctors would check to see if the testosterone count of the convict had fallen significantly below normal levels, said Lina.

Electronic detection devices on the convict, as also stipulated in the Perppu, could assist in tracking their location to enforce continuity of the drug use, she further said.

"Ongoing monitoring needs to be done, so that a new dose can be administered to suppress the testosterone," Lina said, adding that it would typically have to be injected once every three months.

"Its effects are typically reversible once treatment is discontinued, but there are side effects," she said.

Possible side effects, Lina continued, ranged from body aches due to bone density loss, gynecomastia (enlarged breasts in men), fatigue, depression and impotence.

However, Lina expressed concern that such a treatment was not enough to prevent a pedophile from reoffending.

She called for a psychological approach in addition to the temporary hormonal modification to stop child predators.

Lina, who is a trained psychiatrist, said pedophilia was a psychiatric disorder and that it was the mindset that had to be confronted in order to change behavior.

"Even if you suppress the hormones, if you don't change the mindset, you're not going to change the person's behavioral response," Lina said.

It was the "sexual fantasy" that had to be modified for potential offenders to desire someone of their own age instead of children and adhere to normal sexual behavior, she added. (bbn)

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