Peru to chemically castrate rapists: President
President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, announced he intends to impose mandatory chemical castration against rapists of minors, teenagers, and women, as such crimes increased in the country.
After a case of kidnapping and rape of a three-year-old girl in Lambayeque went public, the President told reporters that such crimes will not go unpunished.
“Enough of so much violence, crimes of sexual violence against children will not be tolerated by this government, nor will they go unpunished. The pain of this family is also ours, I am outraged at such cruelty,” he told reporters.
Over 21,000 minors have been victims of rape in the past four years in Peru. A total of 6,929 cases were registered in 2021 alone.
Peruvian Ministry of Women’s Rights published these statistics adding that rapists of minors under the age of 14 face life imprisonment.
According to the President, for decades, Peru has been affected by corruption, poverty, drugs, inequality, violence and sexual assault against minors, teenagers, and women.
“This atrocious and inhuman fact leads us to an enormous reflection as a country to adopt more severe State public policies to safeguard the human rights of the most defenseless who are our children,” Castillo explained.
“And chemical castration is an option,” he added. “We cannot wait any longer.”
President Castillo stressed that this must be included in the Penal Code, just as Russia, Poland, South Korea, Indonesia, Moldova and some of the United States have included it in theirs.
"This proposal will be made formal in the coming days. We expect the support from Congress and we urge it not to turn its back on the people's clamor," Castillo said.
"As a Government, we have the responsibility to protect and defend the lives of Peruvians, which is above any interest or political calculation," he added.
"It is our duty to do so with a sense of urgency and determination. There is no room for inaction or paralysis here, life is above everything," the Head of State stressed.
