Comments on: Thoughts on Castration for Sex Offenders

By: andrea

andrea — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:24:16 +0000

I as a victim of child molestation when i was 9 and 13 and as a victim of rape when i was 18(to make matters worse i lost my virginity then) i been hoping for a while now to see some real punishment for these pigs, its so irritating and saddening to see the news about a person who had committed crimes before rape/kill/molest a child or any other person for that matter, why are we being so lenient toward these criminals? i don’t get it, they destroy the lives of thousands but the law its too afraid to destroy their lives, this thing called justice does not seem too just to me.
i don’t believe felons should have rights, incarcerating them its not enough they get out and do it again, its not fair to them so take their reproductive right taken away? boo freaking hoo we the victims didn’t have the choice so why should they? if it was up to me i would cut their balls and penis off, im sure if that was the punishment most guys would think twice about it, they would be less likely to do if they knew that would happen. no third strike, i believe in forgiveness once second offense u should be out for good.
who knows maybe the judges and lawyers and all these other people are afraid that if they were too hard on criminals they would be out of jobs. how i hate them.

By: amelia

amelia — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:28:35 +0000

To me, castration combined with other preventative measures may be okay.

Castration stops someone from being able to rape with a penis. Therefore it will successfully stop some forms of sexual reoffending.

Castration also reduces sexual desire to some extent (I think!). Rape is about sex as well as power. Taking the sexual desire motive for raping away from convicted rapists will to some extent reduce their desire to rape again. This may be enough to prevent them raping or sexually offending again. Yes, they will still have a desire for exerting power that they may excercise through other criminal acts (ie. battery) – but at least they will have less of a desire for sexualised violence.

If castration reduces rates of sexual reoffending castration is fine by me. Castrating & releasing sexual offenders is cheaper than incarcerating them for ever. There are also many repeat sexual offenders who are eventually released yet still pose a reasonable risk of reoffending. If they have to be released, at the least they should be castrated.

Using castration as one method of rape prevention is problematic in that it sends the idea that testosterone predisposes men towards raping, and that all men must actively suppress their natural urges to rape (with castration being the threat looming over their heads if they do not manage to do so). However, if castration works with some sexual offenders, then using castration – alone with other methods of prevention – is fine by me.

It is important not to overemphasis castration as a rape prevention method. It helps to prevent reoffending only among some offenders and only to some degree. Continued incarceration is the safest method, and offenders shouldn’t be released from prison unless they are deemed low risk for reoffending (however many are released even when they pose moderate risks of reoffending, IMO, and I would at least want these men to be castrated). Castration shouldn’t be seen as a punishment but as a method of risk reduction for reoffending. The importance of lowering the risk of sexual reoffending trumps the rights of a convicted sex offender to future sexual anything.

By: Fionnabhair

Fionnabhair — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:08:28 +0000

If they’re dangerous enough to “require” castration, they’re dangerous enough to require incarceration, in my opinion.

This. A thousand times, this.

Personally, there’s one side to this that has me a little conflicted: while I am absolutely against forced castration, what about sex offenders who want the procedure? I’m sure such people would be few and far between, but the question was nagging as me while reading this entry. One one hand, as a general rule, I don’t have objections to people doing what they want with their bodies, and a medical castration is safer than a DIY job. On the other hand, the option at all misses the point, as you mentioned. Rape doesn’t require a penis.

Something Renee said also stuck out, to me (and I really hope no one takes this the wrong way):

That will keep us safer than forcing them to consent to a procedure that is inhumane.

Emphasis mine.

Is forced castration a form of medical rape?

By: Links for March 13th through March 17th

Links for March 13th through March 17th — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:04:29 +0000

[...] Thoughts on Castration for Sex Offenders : The Curvature – The NY Times has a story on debates raging in Europe over whether is ethical and/or smart to castrate sex offenders as a form of punishment or rehabilitation. [...]

By: Thealogian

Thealogian — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:34:55 +0000

I think that castration just makes a rapist turn to another weapon to sexually assault someone–like in Eve Ensler’s monologue about the women raped in Bosnia, where they were raped with the barrel of a gun.

That image still haunts me and it reminds me of a discussion I had when I heard about that anti-rape device that one could insert in her vagina that would clamp down on an unwanted penis–kind of vagina dentata. Once the rapists’ penis is “neutralized” as it were, he’d be REALLY PISSED OFF and probably just reach for a broom handle, a glass bottle, or something that could do even more damage.

Rape is ABOUT VIOLENCE AND POWER not so much about sex, although rape culture wants to erase that truth.

peace

By: SunlessNick

SunlessNick — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:09:45 +0000

I also kind of feel as though it would somehow encourage some people to do it more, as if to prove that the castration hasn’t in fact ruined their manliness.

That would be my fear too.

By: Renee

Renee — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:48:41 +0000

I had a really hard time with this article and then I realized that part of the reason is because I as a victim still want revenge. It is certainly not a healthy emotion at all. I could not even comment on this post when I first read it. I think that we need to fight our initial instincts of disgust and realize that violating the rights of another will not protect us. I agree with putting them in prison for life if need be. That will keep us safer than forcing them to consent to a procedure that is inhumane. I think that we forget when dealing with criminals that though they have violated the social contract if we do not treat the humanely we are in no position to judge them.

By: depresso

depresso — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:07:21 +0000

“such a huge book”

oh yes, and how! It’s quite a lot to take in in each section, so it’s one to work through slowly. Well, for me anyway, partly coz I keep falling asleep after 4 pages!

By: Holly

Holly — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:55:58 +0000

I think castration is a really bad idea, as well, especially considering that rape isn’t about sex, it’s about power and having power of someone else. I also agree with an above commenter when saying that castration may make men feel the need to “prove their manhood” even moreso. Also to add, not only men rape, which I think a lot of people don’t necessarily understand or believe, but women are also rapists and even by women offenders, there’s still the quest for power, not sex.

By: queen emily

queen emily — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:56:13 +0000

I agree, it may not help much. Does lower sex drive quench the need for power? I dunno.

Interestingly, in Canada, the state’s effectively thwarting this option because.. it’s a trans woman who *wants* the procedure (thread on QT about it atm http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/convicted-rapist-wants-state-to-fund-transitioning/)

Which kinda suggests to me that it’s not about prevention much at all..