The Italian government has proposed a new law which will prescribe chemical castration for rapists and paedophiles.
While giving approval for the enactment of the law, the country’s parliament in Rome gave a go-ahead for the creation of a committee that would draft laws on injecting rapists with androgen-blocking drugs which will prevent the production of testosterone.
The move, which was sponsored by Italy’s right-wing government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is aimed at curbing cases of rape and prevent a. breakdown of law and order.
The new law would allow rapists and paedophiles to choose between going to jail or taking hormone-blocking drugs, though the treatment is said to be reversible.
However the move has been opposed by the opposition parties who described it as being extreme and a violation of humanity and justice.
‘What’s next? Tar and feathers, or rope and soap?’ queried Enrico Borghi from the Centrist ItaliaViva party
Also, Simona Bonafè from the Centre-Left Democratic Party said that the move by the government is unconstitutional’ and undermined ‘the foundation of the country’s legal system that has erased the corporal punishment for centuries’.
Recently, countries like Kazakhstan, Poland and parts of the United States have introduced chemical castration as punishment for certain crimes.
