The countries of Madagascar and Kazakhstan have both passed laws allowing for the surgical castration of paedophiles – a procedure that involves the removal of both testicles.
The Madagascar Senate last week approved the law mandating surgical castration for those guilty of raping a child under 10, punishing those who rape a minor aged 10 to 13 by either surgical or chemical castration, and those guilty of raping a child 14 to 17 by chemical castration, which involves the use of drugs to reduce sexual desire and is reversible.
Earlier this month Kazakhstan passed a similar draft law giving courts the option to punish child sex offenders with surgical castration after complaints from MPs that the current system of chemical castration is not deterring paedophiles, the Daily Mail reported.
MP and executive secretary of the ruling Amanat Party Elnur Beisenbaev, complained the government was not being harsh enough on paedophiles, saying “I believe they are not human beings”.
“We don’t suggest applying it to all paedophiles, but we’d like to give courts an option of having surgical castration,” he said.
“This [surgical castration] is a preventive measure.
“It sends a message to all paedophiles and other criminals of similar type, that this heinous crime will result in physical castration by court order.”
Madagascar Justice Minister Landy Mbolatiana Randriamanantenasoa said too many child rape cases in the island nation had made the law necessary, with 600 cases in 2023 and 133 in January this year.
“Madagascar is a sovereign country which has the right to modify its laws in relation to circumstances and in the general interest of the people,” she said.
“The current penal code has not been enough to curb the perpetrators of these offences.”
Amnesty International described Madagascar’s new law as “cruel, inhuman and degrading” and said it was inconsistent with the country’s constitution and international human rights standards.
The international human rights NGO suggested a “survivor-centred” approach instead.
