Keeping Our Children Safe

         In a nice middle class neighborhood a mother takes her daughter to the park. She takes her eyes off of her daughter for a second and suddenly her daughter is gone. She calls the police, and later they find her daughter. The police run a rape kit on the little five year old girl. They find that she has been severely sexually abused. The man is caught, and put on trial. He is found guilty. Several years later the man is released on parole. Is this justice? Is the ten years or so he spent in jail for the little girl’s rape going to bring back her innocence? This man committed this heinous crime to one little girl, who is to say he is not going to do it to another, but what if there is in fact a way to guarantee he will not do this to another little girl?
         Each year thousands of defenseless children are sexually molested by pedophiles. Statistics show that one out of every four girls will be molested by the age of 18 and one out of six boys will be molested by the age of 18 (Statistics). Seventy-five percent of convicted sex offenders will re-offend (Amlin). This puts the children of the world at great risk. Something has to be done to reduce the chance of this heinous crime from happening. A child being sexually abused is any parents worse nightmare. So would it not be safe to say that the government of each country needs to protect these unsuspecting, innocent, fragile children from having to experience such a horrible thing? Recently studies have proven that there is in fact one punishment that will greatly reduce the chance if not stopping completely the chance of a convicted sex offender of offending again. This punishment is chemical castration. Chemical castration is when an anti-libidinal is injected into the offender to greatly reduce the production of testosterone and therefore reducing their sex drive (Howie). If the pedophiles’ sex drive is reduce the likelihood that they will offend again is reduced to two percent (Amlin). This procedure is absolutely ethical because it will help stop child molesters from offending again. Society as a whole holds a responsibility to protect its children by any means possible. Also if science has found a possible cure for a person who is mentally unstable would not the ethical thing be to try and cure the person from that mental illness? Today several countries such as Germany, France, Sweden, and the United States have already started to legalize chemical castration and make it mandatory (Howie). Now the rest of the world needs to do the ethical thing and make it mandatory also.
         Chemical castration has been proven to help stop sex offenders from repeating their offense. This means that it will help stop them from hurting another innocent child. If a child’s innocence can be spared then it is ethical. Dr. Raj Darjee, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, states “If clinical treatment reduces the number of victims from 20 to 10, that’s got to be a good thing” (qtd. in Howie). In other words, the procedure is well worth it in the end. Even a convicted child molester stated, “This treatment is all that stops me from re-offending, it changed my life,” (qtd. in Howie). If this procedure worked for one person, then it could work for many. Science is giving these people a second chance to be a normal law-abiding citizen of their society. It would only be ethical to help these people obey the law. In the 1990’s, Dr. Berlin, conducted a study in which he found that out of six-hundred-twenty-nine men receiving the chemical castration drugs only eight percent re-offended after five years (Hannah). Studies have well shown that this procedure works. Now the only ethical thing to do would be to put all this research to good use and help stop sex offenders from taking the innocence of more vulnerable children.
         A society’s responsibility is to protect by any means possible those who are incapable of protecting their selves. A child is very much incapable of protecting their self from an adult sexual abuser. The child’s community has a duty to keep that child safe from harm’s way. When a sex offender is released back into the community there is in fact a seventy-five percent chance they will sexually molest another child (Amlin). These released child molesters pose a highly significant threat to a community. According to Humperson, a member of the Liberal-National coalition, “In those circumstances we want the government to consider chemical treatment, chemical castration as a condition of parole to protect the community and to reduce the likelihood of re-offending” (“Australia“). People want their children to be safe. For any parent, the protection of a child is the most ethical thing the community can do regardless of the price. Kurt Zellers, a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, stated “We’re talking about sick, twisted, perverted minds who prey on not only the ones who are most dearest to us, but the ones who are most vulnerable in our society,” (qtd. in MaCallum). These offenders prey on the children of the community, they take the innocence from a child, taking a shot to greatly reduce their sex drive is nothing compared to what they did to those children. The world needs to make chemical castration mandatory in their country for the greater good, for the protection of its children.
         A person who can intentionally severely harm a child is a person that cannot be considered ‘sane’. Insanity is a disease that a person suffers with their whole life unless they are treated. It would be considered unethical to allow a person to suffer with a disease, and not try to cure them. According to Dr. Hebert Wagemaker, “Pedophilia is an illness that must be treated.” Science has discovered a possible cure for the mental instability of child molesters. This cure is chemical castration. By chemically castrating these mentally instable people, society is giving them a chance at living a normal life. According to Susan Feinstein, “The castrated criminal would be more docile and have a better opportunity to be rehabilitated, educated, and to become a worthwhile citizen.” (qtd. in Amlin). Society as a chance at helping these people help themselves. There is nothing that can be considered unethical about helping a human being in anyway possible. Republican Tom Emmer, stated “This is not punishment. This is rehabilitation. We’re trying to help those who can’t help themselves,” (qtd. in MaCallum). Chemical castration is not an unethical cruel and unusual punishment, it is a treatment for those who are incapable of controlling themselves. James Jenkins, a convicted sex offender, states, “Castration has done precisely what I wanted it to do. I have no had any sexual urges, or desires in over two years. My mind is finally free from the deviant sexual fantasies I used to have about young girls”, (qtd. in Rondeaux). These people want help. By chemically castrating them, society is doing everything they can to help these people with their mental illness.
         Chemical castration is ethical. There is no other way to argue it. By castrating a sex offender society is protecting its children, stopping these people from going back to jail, and help relieve them of their mental illness. Only good can come from this treatment. This is a treatment that needs to be made legal and mandatory in every country to save children from these sex offenders and to save the sex offenders from themselves.

Work Cited

Amlin, Katherine. “Chemical Castration: The Benefits and Disadvantages Intrinsic to Injecting Male Pedophiliac with Depo-          Provera.” Serendip. December 13, 2005. November 7, 2007. <http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/ biology /b103 /f02          /web1/kamlin.html>.

“Australia Considers Chemical Castration.” Iol. November 11, 2004. November 7, 2007.          {<http://iol.co.za/general/news/newsprint.php? art_id=qw 1101276540319A236&sf=>.

Hannah, Jim. “Chemical Castration Becomes Issue.” The Enquirer. December 19, 2002. November 7, 2007.          <http://www.enquirer.com /editions/ 2002 /02/18/ loc _chemical_ castration.html>.

Howie, Michael. “Chemical Castration on NHS for Sex Predators.” Scotsman. July 9, 2007. November 7, 2007.          <http://news.scotsman.com/topics. cfm?tid =68 4&id=1072322007&format=print>.

McCallum, Laura. “Sex Offenders Face Life in Prison, Castration Under Bill.” Minnesota Public Radio. April 28, 2005.          November 7, 2007. <http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/04/28_mccallum1_publicsafety/>.

Rondeaux, Candance. “Can Castration be a Solution for Sex Offenders?”. Washington Post. July 5, 2006. November 7,          2007. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/04/AR2006070400960_pf.html>.

“Statistics Surround Child Sexual Abuse.” Darkness to Light. November 5, 2007. November 7, 2007.
         <http://www.darkness2light.org/ Know About/statistics_2.asp>.

Wagemaker, Herbert. “What is Pedophilia and Why are Child Pedophiles Such an Epidemic?” National Alert Registry.          November 7, 2007. <http://www.registeredoffenderslist.org/what-is-pedophilia.htm>.