Chemical Castration: The Benefits and Disadvantages Intrinsic to Injecting Male Pedophiliacs with Depo-Provera
Marquita Mack
Child molestation is a serious problem in the United States. The legal system is lenient with pedophiles, punishing them with insufficiently brief prison sentences that are further abbreviated by the option of parole. Some child molesters are released back into society after serving as little as one fourth of their prison-time (1). Recidivism is extremely high among child molesters; 75% are convicted more than once for sexually abusing young people (6). Pedophiles commit sexual assault for a variety of reasons. Some rape children because of similar instances of abuse in their own childhoods (1). Some view the act of molestation as a way to gain power over another individual (1). Some pedophiles act purely on sexual desires. No matter what causes these heinous criminals to molest children, their crimes are inexcusable. Unfortunately, utilizing prison as a punishment for child molestation creates only a Band-Aid solution for the issue of sexual assault and other resolutions need to be investigated.
Alternative options for the punishment of male pedophiles are being explored in the status quo. Scientists have observed the link between testosterone and aggression and concluded that high levels of testosterone correspond with increased violent and aggressive behavior in men (5). "It is the reason that stallions are high strung and impossible to train, the reason male dogs become vicious and start to bite people. It's why boys take chances and chase girls, why they drive too fast and deliberately start fights. In violent criminals, these tendencies are exaggerated and carried to extremes" (8). In an effort to stop male pedophiles, male child molesters have the option of being chemically castrated in some states. "Chemical castration is a term used to describe treatment with a drug called Depo-Provera that, when given to men, acts on the brain to inhibit hormones that stimulate the testicles to produce testosterone" (2). Depo-Provera is a common birth control pill that containing a synthetic version of the female hormone progesterone. Advocates of chemical castration hope that injections of Depo-Provera will prevent men from molesting children.
However, some experts argue that Depo-Provera is ineffective and will not pr...
... middle of paper ...
...eferences
1)Castration Works, an article by Susan Feinstein for 212.net regarding the implications of chemical castration on pedophiles.
2)Chemical Castration Law May Backfire, Experts Warn, an article off the ACLU Newswire from September 18, 1996.
3)Convict Who Had Chemical Castration Gets 40 Years For New Sexual Attack, the Roswell Daily Record Online, February 4, 1999.
4)Is Chemical Castration an Acceptable Punishment For Male Sex Offenders, by LaLaurine Hayes for the online database "Sex Crimes, Punishment and Therapy" constructed by students in a Psychology course at California State University Northridge.
5)High Testosterone Levels Linked to Crimes of Sex, Violence, Volume 1 No. 3, 1995, pg. 2.
6)Repeat Sexual Offenders Must Face Chemical Castration, an article prepared by Crystal Hutchinson, a student at Monroe Community College in New
York State.
7)Chemical Castration: A Strange Cure for Rape, from the Kudzu Monthly, an e-zine popular among the
Southern States.
8)Dr. Robert Girard, in a scientific study on factors that contribute to criminal conduct, in an article by Susan Feinstein chronicling the effects of chemical castration as posted on 212.net.
Letourneau, E. J., Henggeler, S. W., Borduin, C. M., Schewe, P. A., McCart, M. R., Chapman, J. E., & Saldana, L. (2009). Multisystemic therapy for juvenile sexual offenders: 1-year results from a randomized effectiveness trial. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(1), 89-102.
Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (2009).Sex crimes: patterns and behavior (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,Calif.:SagePublications.
These cognitive-behavioral techniques; anger management, deviant sexual arousal, and interventions dependent on the principles of risk, responsibilities and needs provide the most common forms of treatment used with sex offenders. Typically, these techniques ensure effective treatment of cognitive distortions, teaching of social skills and empathy and the implementation of emotion management and relapse prevention. Cognitive-behavioral techniques are proven and effective treatment for a number of mental illnesses and problems because they are comprehensive and effectual treatments and can be considered the best practice for treatment with sexual offenders as inferred by Alaska Dept of Corrections and United States of America
...or other punishments. Whether restraint of sexual instincts are willingly accepted or forced upon a community, the results can lead to a decidedly non-ideal situation.
Many resources go into the prevention and management of sex offenders. However, very few effective programs exist that decrease the likelihood of reoffending. Through the use of meta-analyses, Seto and Lalumiere (2010) evaluated multiple studies that examined sex offenders. Emphasis was put on etiological explanations in the hopes of identifying factors associated with sex offending. Seto and Lalumiere’s (2010) findings help in creating effective programs to decrease recidivism rates.
Embry, R., & Lyons, P. M. (2012). Sex-based sentencing: Sentencing discrepancies between male and female sex offenders. Feminist Criminology, 7(2), 146-162.
It is a common stereotype that all sex offenders have some form of psychopathy, and therefore they cannot be treated, however most sexual offenders do not have major mental illness or psychological maladjustment (Ward, Polaschek and Busch, 2006), therefore it is not impossible to treat them. Finkelhor’s (1984) precondition model was made with the assumption that the psychopathology of an individual will only take us so far in explaining sexually abusive behaviour, Finkelhor states that 4 stages of preconditions must exist before sexual abuse can take place, these are; Primary motivation to abuse a child sexually, overcoming of internal and external inhibitions and dealing with a child’s resistance to sexual abuse, for each subsequent precondition to occur the previous one must be achieved. Finkelhor argues th...
3. Report of the Interagency Council on Sex Offender Treatment to the Senate Interim Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, 1993
In order to state why castrations should be allowed on sex offenders, Wright provides key information and examples as to why it should be allowed. He first talks a little bit about the sex offenders they currently have in jail in Texas. He explains that only a small amount are actually receiving therapy and how more than half will be arrested for a sex crime a few years later after getting released from jail. The next thing Wright talks abou...
Treatment approaches consist of cognitive behavioral and multisystemic therapies (Fanniff & Becker, 2006). Juveniles that are convicted of sex offenses may be placed on sex offender registry, occasionally a permanent status (Salerno, Stevenson, el al., 2010). It is unlike a sex offender to adhere to the appropriate sexual and social behaviors; thus the goal for adolescents is to understand the complex world to overcome the typical characteristics of a sex offender. This paper will consist the common characteristics of juvenile sex offenders and the treatment that are considered to be effective. Additionally, academic research is acquired that focus on offender registration and recidivism
Scott, C. L., & Holmberg, T. (2003). Castration of Sex Offenders: Prisoners' Rights Versus Public Safety. Journal Of The American Academy Of Psychiatry And The Law, 31(4), 502-509.
Are we bothered by the fact that in the current social climate, the rights of convicted pedophiles are routinely violated and nobody cares. Rules of evidence are stretched, and terms of punishment are increased. The danger of this precedent is impossible to ignore.
Yates, P. M. (2005). Pathways to treatment of sexual offenders: Rethinking intervention. Forum on Corrections Research, 17, 1-9.
problem for the public, as potential victims, and the legal system which is entrusted by the public for protection. It would be irresponsible for the legal system to ignore the criminal class of sex offenders, for they are subject to a recurring physiological urge that requires the use of effective restraints that would curb the habitual repetition of episodes producing the harmful consequences to the public(Schopf 95). In light of this realization, steps beyond treatment have been taken to reduce the recidivism rate of sex offenders. Notification laws, special supervising techniques by parole officers, and both surgical and chemical castration are techniques used in various forms in this country and abroad with success. However, notification laws and both forms of castrations
Schonebaum, Stephen E. "A Swifter Death Penalty Would Be An Effective Deterrent." Does Capital Punishment Deter Crime? San Diego: David L. Bender; Greenhaven Press Inc. 1998. 18.