The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies passed a bill on Thursday containing provisions allowing the chemical castration of individuals convicted of pedophilia.
The chemical castration provisions were introduced as an amendment to a broader piece of legislation that calls for the creation of a national registry of pedophiles. The amendment was reportedly introduced by lawmaker Ricardo Salles of the libertarian Novo party, who argued that the state has the duty to adopt “firm and effective measures to prevent the recurrence of these crimes.”
The bill, reportedly passed with 267 yeas to 85 nays, was sent to the Brazilian Senate for debate.
If approved by the Senate and signed into law, authorities will create a national “pedophile registry” that will include the convicted person’s information and photograph. The registry will be managed by the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and will be publicly available on the internet.
The provisions introduced by the amendment state that, in addition to a prison sentence, individuals with a definitive and unappealable final conviction for crimes such as the distribution of child pornography, solicitation of minors, rape, and child prostitution, will be chemically castrated with libido-inhibiting drugs administered under terms established by the Brazilian Health Ministry.
According to local media, the Brazilian government “advised against” the proposed amendments, while parties such as the Liberal Party (PL) led by former President Jair Bolsonaro and Novo advised lawmakers to vote in favor of the amendments.
Lawmakers reportedly debated the proposal for over an hour amid “bickering and accusations.” Lawmakers who voted against the proposal reportedly argued that chemical castration “has no effect on reducing cases of pedophilia” and that the amendments could end up blocking the bill calling for the creation of the national pedophile registry. In contrast, lawmakers who voted in favor reportedly stated that they “valued the rights of children and teenagers and not the defense of criminals.”
Brazilian lawmaker Luiz Rima of the PL party reportedly stated on Thursday that “those who vote yes are voting in favor of human beings, children, and life. Those who vote no are showing kindness and forgiving one of the most heinous crimes against humanity.”
Leftist lawmaker Lídice da Mata of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) reportedly expressed her rejection of the chemical castration provisions during the plenary debate. Da Mata argued that chemical castration “will not contribute to the protection of children and adolescents, since pedophiles can use other means, including virtual ones, to commit sexual violence against children and teenagers.”
“Rape today takes place in different ways. There is even virtual rape. Therefore, solving the penis issue, as some say here, doesn’t solve the rapist’s head or his ability to hurt a child,” da Mata said. “When, however, a child is raped and becomes pregnant by the rapist, most of them defend forcing the child to become a mother.”
The national pedophile registry bill and the amendments with provisions for the chemical castration of convicted pedophiles were debated by the members of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies as part of a “public safety week,” which saw the lawmakers dedicate this week’s agenda on debating 18 bills and proposals related to public safety.
Other public safety-related bills reportedly passed by Brazilian lawmakers throughout the week include changes to the civil code to require drunk drivers or those under the influence of drugs to pay in full for damages caused to the victim as well as a pension payment if the accident caused the victim to suffer an injury that results in a partial or total reduction in the victim’s ability to work.
The lawmakers also reportedly passed a bill that calls for the creation of a National Registry for Monitoring Criminal Factions shared among all branches of the Brazilian government, while another bill calls for the creation of a “proven flagrant” status, a term that would be applied to a suspect if the individual is found within 24 hours of the crime and is recognized by the victim or a third party who identifies the suspect through a video or photo of the criminal action, in addition to other elements.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.