Child Rapists In Madagascar To Face Surgical And Chemical Castration

Africa | Madagascar | Human Rights February 10, 2024

Madagascar's lawmakers have passed a bill that legalizes surgical and castration of convicted rapists of children. That was reported by various media on February 10, 2024.

Photo: Downtown Antananarivo, Madagascar

According to the reports, the bill was passed the country's National Assembly alias Lower House on February 2, 2024, and then the Senate alias Upper House on February 7, 2024. The bill is said to allow surgical castration for rapists of children aged between 10 - 13, and chemical castration for rapists of children aged between 13 - 18.

However, for the passed bill to become a new law, it has to be approved by the country's High Constitutional Court, and signed into law by the reigning president. So far, none of these two legal actions has happened.

The proposed new law has reportedly been castigated by Amnesty International as inhuman, degrading, and cruel.

There is already a law in Madagascar that deal with child rapists. By the law, convicted child rapists can face 5 - 20-year jail terms. Toughening the existing law could have been through increasing the permissible maximum jail term for convicted child rapists, instead of resorting to highly controversial measures usually meant for animals.

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