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Jokowi issues provisions on chemical castration for child rapists
The new government regulation offers further guidelines for handing down chemical castration as a punishment for convicted sex offenders of minors.
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School children take part in a peaceful rally to call for greater state protection on the rights of Indonesian children in Semarang, Central Java, in December 2015. (Tempo/-)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has signed off on a government regulation that provides guidelines on a mechanism for the chemical castration of convicted child rapists, after the House of Representative passed a law authorizing the punishment in 2016.
The regulation, inked by Jokowi on Dec. 7, also details other forms of punishment for convicted child sex offenders, such as publicly revealing the offenders’ identity and electronically monitoring offenders through implanted chips after their release from prison.
Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko said the regulation would provide legal certainty on punishments against child sex offenders and claimed it would greatly benefit the public.
"The government regulation actually benefits Indonesian citizens a lot, as it provides certainty in non-judicial efforts to curb [sexual assault against minors]," he said on Monday, as reported by kompas.com.
With the regulation in place, the government aims to offer better child protections, especially from the risk of sexual violence.
"[Sexual violence] has caused great unrest among the public, especially when the victims are children. As such, the state must provide extra tight protections," he said.
The practice of chemical castration involves administering anti-androgenic drugs that aim to reduce sexual interest, fantasies and sexual arousal among known offenders, according to medical experts.
