Of course mandatory chemical castration of paedophiles should be introduced. On the face of it there seems to be little to warrant doubts. The potential future victims would be protected. I am not so sure. Maybe it is because I am a woke, wishy washy leftist liberal, or I would like to believe it is because I have a brain and am not swayed by populist crap spewing from the media. Firstly some paedophiles are driven not by sexual desire but by power and the joy at humiliating the victim. So there is a danger of reducing our vigilance in looking out for these monsters or believing that CC will be a deterrent. Secondly and most importantly – where do you draw the line? Is sex between a 14 year old and a 19 year old paedophilia? Is rape a case for CC? Rape cases are notoriously complicated, but once in law it would be easy to envisage a populist demand for cc to be applied to rape cases, to homosexuals (as in the past). Public outrage and the ease with which social media can spread rumours (Last summers riots caused by misinformation) could lead to serious miscarriages of justice.
So whilst I believe it is great to have the debate, government should not be hasty in its implication. The media will create it as a simple issue (I was going to say black and white – but that scenario is just too horrific!) but there is much to be debated. Would paedophiles get reduced sentences if CC’d? Could serious offeneders avoid long sentences by agreeing to CC, but then continue as the drive is power not sexuality.
As ever I do not know!