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House urges govt to decide alternatives for chemical castration executors
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Suffer the little children – Schoolchildren participate in a rally to call for an end to violence against children. Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yembise said recently the government was striving to push down the number of sexual violence cases against children, partly by issuing regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) No. 1/2016 on sexual violence against children. (Kompas.com/Malik Afrian)
H
ouse of Representatives Speaker Ade Komarudin has said the Health Ministry should prepare alternative executors of chemical castration given that the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) has refused to get involved in the implementation of the punishment for sex offenders.
"In terms of the decision-making of a bill, we should take the middle road to accommodate the interests of all stakeholders," Ade said on Monday. He was speaking during the last phase of a discussion on regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) No. 1/2016 on sexual violence against children at the House.
Ade said as an alternative, the Health Ministry could involve doctors from the National Police as executors of chemical castration, particularly since the punishment was part of law enforcement.
The IDI earlier refused to be the executor of the punishment because it violated the Hippocratic Oath. It also said there was also no scientific proof that chemical castration led to a decline or loss of sexual desire.
Signed by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in the wake of increases in reports of sexual assault in May, the Perppu stipulates more severe punishment for abusers, ranging from a maximum of life in prison, the death penalty to chemical castration.
On Thursday, the House failed to pass the Perppu into law as the majority of political party factions wanted to discuss the regulation again this week. It demanded more detailed explanations from the government, including on additional punishment for criminals who infected their victims with communicable diseases. (ebf)
