Sex offenders could face mandatory chemical castration in the UK under new proposals. The recommendation was made in a landmark review which includes the recommendation that violent prisoners could be released in a bid to ease prison overcrowding. Voluntary castration for sex offenders is currently being trialed in the South West of England.
The Independent Sentencing Review, headed by former justice secretary David Gauke, includes the recommendation of “chemical castration” for sex offenders, including paedophiles, to 20 more prisons. Presently, castration is voluntary, but it is understood that current British Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, may consider overhauling medical laws requiring consent in order to force sex offenders to take drugs to suppress their libidos.
The principle of treatment, when used on men, is to inhibit the action of the sex hormone testosterone, with the expectation being that the offender will have a lower sex drive and fewer sexual fantasies. Many of the drugs are more commonly used to treat prostate cancer, where they can shrink the growth of hormone-sensitive tumours.
The review recommends that chemical castration “may assist in the management of suitable sex offenders both in prison and in the community.” However, speaking to Sky News, Mr Gauke said that “drugs that reduce sexual desire” will not be “appropriate for every sexual offender.”
“I’m not going to claim it’s the answer for everything,” he said. “This is about reducing the risk of re-offending in future.”
A small pilot scheme offering voluntary chemical castration to some sex offenders should continue on a trial basis, the report recommended. The scheme has been running since 2022, but the drugs have been used in the UK far longer. It was revealed in 2012 that around 100 sex offenders were being treated at HMP Whatton in Nottinghamshire, either with chemical castration or with drugs such as Prozac, which can change patterns of thinking.
Many countries use chemical castration, including Germany, Denmark, while clinical trials have also taken place in Sweden to study its effectiveness on offenders.
The report further recommends that more offenders are managed in the community rather than serving custodial sentences. The landmark sentencing review also said that violent and sexual criminals who are on “extended” determinate sentences deemed “dangerous” by judges should also be eligible for earlier parole, however this recommendation is expected to be rejected.
An estimated 69,000 offenders who are on “determinate” sentences will be eligible each year for earlier release, according to the report. It comes after thousands of inmates in British jails were freed early last year as part of emergency measures billed to tackle prison overcrowding. Those eligible and serving more than five years were automatically released after serving just 40 per cent of their fixed-term sentence, rather than the usual 50 per cent.
The recommendation has, however, been faced with criticism.
Former Prime Minister of the UK, Liz Truss, described it as an attempt to “distract the media with chat about “chemical castration for paedophiles,” as she hit out at the proposal to release criminals after serving only a third of their sentences.
“I don’t believe the public will fall for these tactics anymore.They know the criminal justice system is broken,” Truss said.
Former Conservative MP, Harvey Proctor, said he was “appalled and dismayed” that “the government is toying with chemical castration for sexual offenders,” describing it as “a policy as irreversible as it is medieval.”
“In an age where false accusations are so prevalent & destroy lives, should we now sanction irreversible punishments based on fallible judgments?” the former Member of Parliament said.
Last April, Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins TD called to chemically castrate sex offenders here, with then Tánaiste Micheál Martin criticising Collins’s comments as “ill-thought out.” In an interview with Hot Press magazine, Mr Collins said that rapists and paedophiles should be chemically castrated and that criminals should automatically receive a 25-year sentence for their third conviction.
Responding, Mr Martin has said there was a need to “constantly review” whether or not parole comes up too early in cases involving rapists or murderers. Speaking to the Irish Examiner, he said: “I believe that rapists and people who commit murder need long sentences and one area I think we need to constantly review is where parole comes up too early.
“I think we need to watch that space, that people who commit murder or rape and are convicted of that are given long sentences,” he said.
“I think it’s probably ill-thought out. I don’t know has he thought through it properly in terms of actual practical implementation,” Martin said when asked about the idea of castration.