UK considers chemical castration for sex offenders
To help reduce prison overcrowding and deter repeat sex offenders, the United Kingdom (UK) is considering mandatory chemical castration for serious cases.
The measure is part of 48 other suggestions put forth for Shabana Mahmood, the UK’s lord chancellor, to review.
The UK has one of the highest prison populations in western Europe, a problem that has been exacerbated by successive governments cracking down on crime.
According to the BBC, a report warned that, if unaddressed, England and Wales could run out of space in prison by spring 2026.
However, many leading experts in the field of chemical castration have expressed their opposition to the idea and refused to take part in any compulsory programmes.
Chemically reducing libido to help reduce prison population
According to The Guardian, the chemical castration programme would be an expansion of an existing trial programme that began in 2022.
The programme has inmates take two drugs — one that limits intrusive sexual thoughts and the other to limit testosterone production.
Source: doidam10 on Canva. Image is for illustration purposes only.
“Problematic sexual arousal and preoccupation can be reduced via chemical suppressants and other medications,” the report said.
In combination with the drugs, inmates would also receive therapy aimed at limiting psychological causes of sexual offending.
The pilot trial was slated to end next year, but the report recommends continuing to fund similar programmes.
In addition to this, other measures to reduce prison population include releasing well-behaving prisoners while electronically tagging them.
Experts skeptical about turning programme mandatory
However, according to The Guardian, the consideration to make chemical castration mandatory has been met with strong opposition from experts in the field.
They felt that making chemical castration compulsory would be a breach in ethics.
“Doctors are not agents of social control,” an expert said.
“It would be ethically unsound to use medication to reduce risk rather than to treat a health indication.”
He added that a doctor’s role is to treat patients with their consent, not without it — particularly when medications can have significant side effects.
Additionally, many offenders would simply volunteer for programmes that would help get them released.
Another expert warns that forcing the programme on inmates may cause new issues such as increasing their hostility.
On Thursday (22 May), Shabana Mahmood announced that the voluntary chemical castration programme would be expanded to 20 prisons.
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Featured image adapted from MivPiv on Canva. Image is for illustration purposes only.
