By Brian Campbell
Daily Bruin Contributor
Last Tuesday, Gov. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) signed a law that made
California the first state to require chemical castration of repeat
child molesters. The law, effective Jan. 1, 1997, applies to those
convicted of committing a second sexual assault against a child
under 13 years of age.
Does the molester of a 5-year-old child have the right to sexual
desire? Wilson doesn’t think so. Under the law, offenders will be
required to receive weekly injections of Depo-Provera, which curbs
sexual desire. The effects of Depo-Provera, a synthetic hormone
women commonly use as birth control, wear off without continued
doses. Offenders may opt for surgical castration instead of
injections.
Massachusetts, Texas and Wisconsin have refused to adopt similar
legislation. The law’s backers are quick to point out that in
Europe, the procedure has helped cause a drop in the repeat
offender rate from nearly 100 percent to 2 percent. Those opposed
to the law, specifically the American Civil Liberties Union, call
it "barbaric."
Eliminating sexual desire – or a body part, for that matter –
seems like a quick fix. No more trying to squeeze extra convicts
into already overcrowded jails. No more spending money to feed and
clothe another felon sentenced to life. Just get rid of the testes.
But this law avoids the real issues.
The United States penal system – effective or not – is
purportedly designed to protect society from harmful members and to
rehabilitate those who can eventually rejoin society. Chemical
castration does not make a child molester ready to face society.
Getting to the root of the problem, via psychological treatment, is
crucial if offenders are ever going to be contributing members of
society. Counseling should be as much a part of the penal system as
jail time is – it is a more civilized way to deal with criminals
than physical mutilation is.
Not only is castration – surgical or chemical – cruel and
unusual punishment, it is also ineffective. Rapists can rape
without a penis. Molesters can find ways to be violent with
children even with curbed sexual desires.
Sexual assault is not about sex – that’s a myth. This law
reinforces the stereotype that men are sex-crazed individuals and
that molesters need to be drugged to control sexual impulses. In
reality, sexual assaults are about violence, power and the
humiliation of a survivor or victim.
Unquestionably, repeat molesters are disturbed people who have
trouble functioning in society. Affected communities may want
offenders to feel the pain they have caused. And the criminal
justice system might never realize the possibility of reform.
However, each human being has the right to control his or her own
body. The American judicial system must protect offenders from
being maimed and chemically altered. Men who molest children under
the age of 13 should have to sit in a jail cell indefinitely, as
should the men who rape grandmothers and women.
Just because their bodies are intact doesn’t mean they aren’t
paying for their crimes.
From the University of Michigan editorial board.