Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesias National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has expressed disagreement with a proposal to introduce a punishment to castrate men convicted of committing sexual crime against children.
It said such a punishment violated medical ethics.
"A doctor conducts an operation based upon the patients consent, not upon a order to do so as a punishment," the commissions coordinator of sub-commission of research and studies, Sandra Moniaga, said here on Monday.
He said only a doctor was allowed to conduct castration through an operation or injection in accordance with medical ethics.
"Overseas, castration is an option a convict can take and not a process that a convict must undergo," he said.
Sexologist Dr Boyke Dian Nugraha had said earlier that imposing castration as a punishment will not be effective.
The reason is that the person who has committed a sexual crime against a child will still have the potential to commit the crime again if his mental condition is not remedied, he said.
"It is his soul that is sick and so castration will not help unless the psychological problem is solved. That is why I do not agree with the proposal to impose castration," he said.
He said the best way to deal with convicted pedophiles was to give them medication and ensure their rehabilitation.
"Children, on the other hand, must also be given sex education so that they can better protect themselves from such monsters," he said.
Attorney General Prasetyo has said that President Joko Widodo had expressed his agreement to implement castration as an additional punishment for a person, convicted of committing a sexual crime against a child, as a deterrent.
With regard to the additional punishment, a government regulation in lieu of a law will be issued, he said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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