Chemical castration of rapists

There are different debates going on in India to introduce Chemical castration of rapists in the wake of the brutality of the Nirbhaya gang rape case. The victim succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital. The gang rape was filled by protests from parliament to streets. Most of the citizens of India want the accused to be hanged. And many of us agree that all this is happening because there is a fault in our values and upbringing of our men.

But Nirbhaya case was not the only one. There was Badayun rape case, gang rapes with foreign tourists, with teenage girls, with girls under the age of 5, with ladies over the age of 70...and many more. The list is endless. Despite all the wrongs in rapes that have happened, there is a bright side to these cases. 'Rape' used to be a cuss word in Indian society, but now it is discussed more openly than before. Women have come to the forefront in a bolder manner like never before. Many cased which used to go unreported now come to the files of our police.

There are different suggestions from all the quarters of society for the punishment of rapists. Apart from hanging the convicts, many sections say that castration is a legal response. Recently, South Korea has become the first country to adopt this type of treatment. Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and US state of California have been using it for years.

Sexologists and Andrologists say chemical castration can dramatically lower sexual drive, but there is a disagreement about whether it is an ideal solution to prevent rape. The process requires daily oral drugs or frequent injections to keep hormone levels low. "Once the effect of the medicine fades away, the hormone levels increase. There is no way to ensure periodic follow up", says an expert.  Since most prescription drugs can be bought over the counter, men can afford to buy medicines  that nullify the effect of chemical castration. So punishment of castration would be a  short term solution.

But experts do not believe even physical castration would stop sexual assault on women. " For most rapists, the pleasure is not just in the sexual act. The man gets high by showing his dominance and making the woman submissive. It is more in the mind ", says another expert. Such men derive ultimate pleasure in torturing women. Also, such men in urban cities are not able to digest the fast progress of women. It makes them insecure thinking of women trying hard to prove their mettle. They want to see all women inside the four walls of the household.  Thus, they vent out their frustration through the means of rape and other forms of violence.

The documentary ''India's Daughter" by Leslie Udwin showed the mindset of rapists. People were disgusted by the thoughts expressed by the rape convicts of Nirbhaya case.

What the rapists need is psychiatric counseling and therapy to wean away from the sex addiction and perversion. It  does not mean that their punishment term should be reduced as they suffer from a psychiatric problem. The punishment order should mandate them to attend therapy sessions. Several countries, like the US, have behavior rehabilitation and sex offender treatment centers for rapists and those who repeatedly molest women. No such centers are available in India.

Some experts recommend better sex education in schools as a possible solution. Plus, males of our society should be taught to respect women at an early age. Instead of motivating them to treat women as inferior to them, they should be taught to treat women equal to men.