Pakistan Passes Law To Chemically Castrate Recurring Rapists

Pakistan’s parliament introduced new anti-rape legislation Wednesday that will allow forced chemical castration of sex offenders convicted of multiple rapes, a government official said Thursday.

The law seeks to speed up convictions and impose tougher sentences. There have been an increase in reported rapes and growing demand for sexual assault victims to get justice.

The anti-rape law immediately went into effect, said government official Waqar Hussain.

Chemical castration, a punishment that involves the use of drugs to reduce sexual activity or libido, is legal in countries such as South Korea, Poland, and in some parts of the U.S., Reuters noted.

The bill states that Pakistan's government must establish special courts nationwide to expedite rape trials and ensure sexual abuse cases are decided "expeditiously" and "preferably within four months."⁣ The bill also says that those found guilty of gang rape will be sentenced to death or life in prison, CNN noted.

Amnesty International criticized the law, calling it a “cruel and inhuman legislation” that will “do nothing to address the scourge of sexual violence” or “solve a deficient police force or inadequately trained investigators.”

“Rather than ratcheting up punishments, the authorities should address the deep-seated problems in the criminal justice system that invariably deny justice to victims,” Rimmel Mohydin, Amnesty International’s South Asia Campaigner, said.

“Earlier this year, Pakistan’s parliament passed a bill criminalizing the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners and those held in custody. They cannot possibly reconcile that with this legislation, and we urge the authorities to reverse this retrograde step,” Mohydin added.

Fewer than 3% of rapists are convicted in courts in Pakistan, Reuters reported last December, citing Karachi-based non-profit War Against Rape.