Durian. Chemical castration for convicted sexual violence against children in Indonesia is cruel and ineffective punishment if it’s applied, Amnesty International said on Jan.4.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo in December 2020 has signed Government Regulation No.70 on Rules to Conduct Chemical Castration, Installing Electronic detectors, Rehabilitation and Announcement Name of Actors of Sexual Violence Against Children that has been enacted since it’s issued.
Chemical castration won’t be applied to child perpetrators, according to the regulation, while for adult convicts the injection of chemical liquid to be given as well as the instalment of electronic detector to ease law enforcers to monitor their movement aiming to prevent from repetition of the crime in the future.
‘’Sexual violence against children is a terrible crime. But punishing offenders with chemical castration is merely adding one cruelty to another. Two wrongs do not make it a right,’’ Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia said in a written statement, received by The Big Durian on Jan.4.
The human rights organization called the government of Indonesia to repeal the amendments to the regulation and to focus on efforts to prevent the crimes such as by passing the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill (UUPKS) which was dropped by lawmakers at the House of Representatives.
‘’Forced chemical castration violates the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment under international human rights law,’’ Hamid said.
