Indonesian doctors refuse to castrate child sex offenders
DOCTORS in Indonesia have declined to perform medical castration on those convicted of sex crimes against children.
This comes after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo vowed to introduce chemical castration as part of government efforts to curb the rise in number of sexual assault cases involving children. The government is also mulling the death penalty for severe offences.
Citing medical ethics, the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) said its members do not want to be involved in inducing the castration on those convicted of the crimes.
“We are not opposed to the regulation adding castration as a possible punishment. However, the injections should not be administered by a doctor,” IDI chairman Ilham Oetama Marsis told a press conference late last week, according to Coconuts Jakarta.
Chemical castration involves the usage of drugs to reduce libido in men, stemming their sex drive and their ability to be sexually aroused.
Demands for harsher punishments have increased following the brutal rape and murder of a teenage girl by 14 men in western Indonesia in April this year, followed by a string of similar cases.
The new set of laws has received various reactions from the public, civil society groups, and even celebrities with some in favor of them, while others raised human rights concerns.
Dr. Priyo Sidipratomo, chairman of the Honorary Council of Medical Ethics (MKEK), said medical practitioners do not use their knowledge for non-humanitarian purposes.
“Doctors are charged with only using their skills for the benefit of humanity. Even in war, doctors must save humanity, even if it is the enemy,” he said.
