MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chemical castration an option for rapists of minors, says Peru's President

“We cannot continue to tolerate these violent acts,” Castillo underlined

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo Terrones Saturday announced he was eyeing the use of mandatory chemical castration for rapists of minors, adolescents, and women in a move to curb the increasing number of such crimes. The initiative would require Congressional approval.

 
“Enough of so much violence, crimes of sexual violence against children will not be tolerated by this government, nor will they go unpunished. The pain of this family is also ours, I am outraged at such cruelty,” Castillo told reporters after the kidnapping and rape of a 3-year-old girl in the northern city of Chiclayo in the Lambayeque region went public.

“This atrocious and inhuman fact leads us to an enormous reflection as a country to adopt more severe State public policies to safeguard the human rights of the most defenseless who are our children,” Castillo explained.

“And chemical castration is an option,” he added. “We cannot wait any longer.”

The President insisted this alternative should be included in the Penal Code, as it is in countries such as Russia, Poland, South Korea, Indonesia, and Moldova as well as in some of the United States.

“We urge Congress to support concrete measures in favor of the most vulnerable because we cannot continue to tolerate these violent acts that damage our integrity as a society and destroy the lives of defenseless people,” he stressed.

Chemical castration consists of administering drugs that reduce libido and inhibit sexual desire. It is applied as a method of prevention against sexual aggression and also as a punishment for those who commit crimes of this nature.

Between Thursday and Friday, several marches were held in Lima and other cities to demand justice for the girl who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted, allegedly by the 48-year-old Juan Antonio Enríquez, who is now under pre-trial detention for nine months pending investigations.

According to the Ministry of Women, more than 21,000 minors have been victims of rape in the last four years. In 2021, 6,929 cases were registered. As per the current legislation, rapists of minors under 14 years of age in Peru are sentenced to life imprisonment.