Pakistan rapists face chemical castration
In this file photo, people carry signs against a gang rape that occurred along a highway and to condemn violence against women and girls, during a protest in Karachi, Pakistan on September 12, 2020.
Pakistan has approved the chemical castration of rapists as part of sweeping new legislation sparked by outcry over the gang rape of a mother on a motorway.
New laws approved by President Arif Alvi on Tuesday will see rape cases expedited through the courts and create the country’s first national sex offenders register.
“The provision of the chemical castration of repeat as well as first-time sex offenders ... was added in the Anti-Rape Ordinance 2020,” the president’s office confirmed on Wednesday.
Pakistan is a deeply conservative nation where victims of sexual abuse often are too afraid to speak out, or where criminal complaints are frequently not investigated seriously.
In September, protests erupted after a mother was raped on the side of the road in front of her children when her car broke down near the capital city Lahore the Pakistani province.
Prime Minister Imran Khan responded by calling for the chemical castration of rapists, which involves using drugs to reduce a person’s libido.
Under the new laws, special courts will be established to try cases of rape and sexual abuse against women and children, which must be completed within four months.
They also establish anti-rape cells across the country for conducting initial investigations, and medical tests within six hours of filing a police complaint, while abolishing an invasive medical examination which involves a medical officer inserting two fingers into a rape victim’s vagina, to assess her sexual history.
The laws come into effect immediately but must be ratified by parliament within three months.
