The Peruvian Council of Ministers presented a law to Congress this Wednesday (20th) that punishes rapists of minors with chemical castration.
The announcement was made by Justice Minister Félix Chero. The project will be sent to Congress on Thursday (21st) for analysis, debate and, if deemed relevant, approval, he said.
- The controversial proposal by the Peruvian government to punish rapists with chemical castration
Chero explained that chemical castration is used on those convicted of rape with sentences ranging from 15 to 25 years.
Peru’s president proposes chemical castration for rape convicts
Congress has already rejected a similar proposal.
The same initiative was presented to Congress in 2018 and failed in a second vote.
President Pedro Castillo announced on Saturday that his government would consider drastic measures, such as introducing mandatory chemical castration for child rapists.
The President made the proposal after the abduction and rape of a threeyearold girl shocked the country. Last week there were protest marches in Lima and other cities to demand justice for the threeyearold girl who was kidnapped and sexually abused.
Castillo said on Saturday that the feasibility of castration must be written into the penal code and that its legality will require congressional approval, as has already happened in countries such as Russia, Poland, South Korea, Indonesia and Moldova, where the case is already applied. , as well as in some American states.
Chemical castration is the administration of drugs that reduce libido and inhibit sexual desire. It is used as a method to prevent sexual assault and also as a punishment for those who commit crimes of this type.
Sexual Violence in Peru
According to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, more than 21,000 minors have been victims of rape in the last four years. In 2021, 6,929 cases were recorded.
In Peru, rapists of children under the age of 14 are sentenced to life imprisonment.
As of January 2021, 9,674 people have been convicted of raping a minor, according to the Justice Department.
“We estimate that there are between 700 and 800 cases of violations of the sexual freedom of minors in Peru every year,” Minister Chero said.