No point in chemical castration if violent patriarchy is not addressed

Many of the ANC leaders are publicity hounds – taking the slightest opportunity to try to convince the country they are doing their jobs.

And the headline chasing gets ratcheted up when the party starts moving towards major political events – as is happening now with the policy conference (which starts today) and the end-of-year elective conference.

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So, Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu was opportunistically right on target with her calls for rapists to be chemically castrated.

According to Sisulu, who is also chair of the ANC’s subcommittee on social transformation, lowering the levels of male hormones or androgens, would assist in dealing with endemic abuse of women and children.

Experts and activists rapidly saw through Sisulu’s cynical opportunism, however.

Researcher Lisa Vetten told The Citizen the government has the responsibility of fixing what was currently not working in the justice system and society – before looking for new ways to punish offenders.

“It’s really alarming that a minister who is in a government with a national strategic plan that emphasises the role of gender inequality, the way children are seeing the power relations in relation to adults, gender language, can honestly come up with a solution like chemical castration,” she said.

“This seems to suggest the problem of rape is just one of excess hormones, but has nothing to do with society, nothing to do with power relations. It’s just a problem of too much testosterone.”

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Vetten’s words cut to the core of the problem.

What is the point of chemical castration of rapists when our ineffective police and justice system is so inept at catching them and getting convictions?

What is the point of chemical castration if you don’t at least try to deal with some of the societal problems – like violent patriarchy – which help breed abusers of women and children.