Opinion
They’re not messing around, in Madagascar.
Arguments over whether or not paedophiles have a high recidivism rate, or whether the impulse can be cured, rage on. Some criminologists argue that it has a lower recidivism rate, others, the opposite. Some psychologists claim it can’t be cured and “it’s dangerous to suggest they can”, some paedophiles say that chemical castration banished their evil urges.
Madagascar’s parliament isn’t bothering itself with the whys and wherefores. It’s just cutting to the chase — literally.
Madagascar’s Parliament has passed a law allowing for the chemical and, in some cases, surgical castration of those found guilty of the rape of a minor, prompting criticism from international rights groups, but also finding support from activists in the country who say it’s an appropriate deterrent to curb a “rape culture.”
Unlike Western feminists, when Madagascar’s jurists talk of a “rape culture”, it’s not hyperbole.
But amid the criticism, some activists in Madagascar agree with the change in the law because nothing else seems to be working.
“There really is a rape culture in Madagascar,” said Jessica Lolonirina Nivoseheno of the Women Break the Silence group, which campaigns against rape and supports victims. “We are in the process of normalizing certain cases of sexual violence, also minimizing the seriousness of these cases” […]
Justice Minister Landy Mbolatiana Randriamanantenasoa said it’s a necessary move because of an increase in cases of rape against children. In 2023, 600 cases of the rape of a minor were recorded, she said, and 133 already in January this year.
Naturally, international “human rights” quangos are clutching their pearls over the rights of kiddy-fiddlers. Madagascar doesn’t care.
“Madagascar is a sovereign country which has the right to modify its laws in relation to circumstances and in the general interest of the people,” Randriamanantenasoa said. “The current penal code has not been enough to curb the perpetrators of these offences.”
And they mean it.
Surgical castration “will always be pronounced” for those guilty of raping a child under the age of 10, according to the law’s wording. Cases of rape against children between the ages of 10 and 13 will be punished by surgical or chemical castration. The rape of minors aged between 14 and 17 will be punished by chemical castration.
Offenders also now face sterner sentences of up to life in prison as well as castration.
No mention of woodchippers. Yet.
“We wanted to protect children much more. The younger the child, the greater the punishment,” Randriamanantenasoa said.
The Toronto Sun
Contrast that with Australian judges, who are apt to witter about “cultural differences” when an Afghan refugee repeatedly attempts to molest children.
Try that in Madagascar, now.