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RIGHTS: Castration for Polish Paedophiles Opposed
By Pavol Stracansky
BRATISLAVA, Oct 2 (IPS) - New legislation in Poland introducing compulsory castration of paedophiles has
angered human rights groups, who claim its introduction is little more than
populist posturing.
They say the new law is open to abuse and is likely to be ineffective in
tackling sex crimes. The law was passed by Poland's lower house of
parliament last week, and is expected to be rubber-stamped within weeks by
the upper house and right-wing President Lech Kaczynski.
Human rights campaigners warn that the law, which has also angered EU
politicians who have said it could be challenged in human rights courts, has
been brought in as a measure to improve the government's image rather than
to help stop sexual abuse.
Andrzej Jaroszkiewicz, spokesman for Amnesty International in Poland, told
IPS: "We oppose the introduction of chemical castration by a government
seeking to give the impression of 'toughness' in response to particularly
notorious cases of sexual violence."
He added that while governments should do all they can to tackle sexual
violence against women and children, making medical treatment compulsory
for criminals was wrong.
"This legislation is turning medical treatment into a form of punishment. We
are not against the use of hormonal treatments to control the sexual impulses
of those with a history of sexual violence, but we support its use as a
treatment instead of a punishment, and it should be evidence-based and
require the consent of the person undergoing the treatment."
The new legal provision, which would see paedophiles convicted of raping
under-15s or a close relative having to undergo chemical therapy on their
release from prison, would make Poland the only European Union (EU) country
to impose chemical castration on convicted paedophiles.
It is also part of a package of laws designed to make punishments stricter for
sexual criminals, including longer prison sentences for rape and incest.
The law was drafted after a high-profile incest case more than a year ago in
which a 45-year-old man allegedly sexually abused his underage daughter
for six years and forced her to bear him two children.
The legislation has overwhelming backing from Poles, and when Prime
Minister Donald Tusk first unveiled the plans one poll showed that 84 percent
of people supported his plans.
Tusk said that he had no concerns for the human rights implications of the
law. He was quoted by media as saying that paedophiles were "degenerates"
and that they could not be labelled 'human'.
"I don't think protection of human rights should refer to these kind of
events," he said.
Many activists say that the overwhelming support for the legislation reflects
the conservative mindset prevalent among the general population of the
strongly Catholic country.
Sociologists say that the Church is one of the biggest influences on public
opinion in Poland.
Human rights groups are not surprised by the popular support for the bill.
Barbara Grabowksa from the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in
Warsaw told IPS: "Public opinion is that these kind of people should be
severely punished."
Many have questioned the effect chemical castration will have on sex crimes.
The procedure involves large doses of drugs being administered to suppress
libido. It is also usually accompanied by psychological therapy.
The Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborca, which has opposed the law, has
repeatedly published U.S. studies which have shown that two-thirds of
criminals convicted for assaulting children were not paedophiles, and had
done so for other reasons, including illnesses. Other sexual therapists and
doctors have warned that the process is not 100 percent successful in
preventing sex offenders relapsing and attacking again.
"Chemical castration will not solve the problem. The cause of sexual
offenders' behaviour is their physical state and not their sex drive. Their
brains cannot be controlled by this (treatment)," Piotr Kladoczny, a lawyer
with the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Warsaw, told IPS.
The legislation has also been criticised in Brussels, but European Parliament
members have pointed out that they cannot stop it being passed into law in
Poland. They say that only the death penalty is completely banned among EU
member states and that criminal law is a matter for individual countries.
In some other EU member states, such as Sweden and Denmark, chemical
castration programmes are available for convicted sex offenders on a
voluntary basis. A similar programme has also been recently announced in
Britain.
A controversial voluntary surgical castration programme is also available for
sex offenders in the Czech Republic. The practice has been condemned by
rights groups such as the Council of Europe, which claimed in a report last
year that mentally retarded people had been given the treatment and that
some convicts claimed they had been told they would face long-term
detention if they did not agree to the procedure.
Czech authorities say they have no plans to stop the practice.
Rights groups in Poland say the compulsory nature of the country's new
legislation also raises serious questions about how it could be implemented.
"There are also doubts as to whether or not we should be making rulings on
compulsory ambulatory treatments. And it is unwelcome because every
mandatory decision can be a source of abuse," said Kladoczny.
(END/2009)
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