Mandatory Treatment Planned for Paedophiles

Finland's Ministry of Justice is looking at plans to mandate chemical treatment for offenders convicted of sexually abusing children. The Ministry has also started a review of the variation in sentences handed down to paedophiles in different courts. Large segments of the public have been outraged by the suspended sentences given out in recent cases of long-term serious sexual abuse of children. The Ministry of Justice is now making plans to mandate paedophiles to undergo medical treatment - what is known as "chemical castration" - the use of medications that sharply reduce or eliminate sexual urges. Officials say that this could probably be implemented under the present system of criminal offender supervision. The chief of the Ministry's Department of Criminal Policy, Jarmo Littunen, told YLE that new medications are both effective and have few side effects. Internationally, there is a body of data claiming success for the chemical treatment of paedophiles. In Denmark, it has been seen that chemical treatments have been effective, at least in the cases of paedophiles who want to avoid repeating their offences. Kauko Aromaa, Director of the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, told YLE, "If on the other hand, this person sees nothing wrong in his own behaviour, as is often the case with child abusers, then apparently mere medical treatment has limited or no effect." Ministry reviewing sentences Aromaa also points out judges do not have the education, and rarely the experience, to fully understand the effects of abuse on the child. For this reason, some offenders who are in need of treatment get off with light sentences. The Justice Ministry has now ordered a review of the details of child abuse cases that have been sealed by the courts. A year's cases and the sentences imposed are being analyzed to provide judges with an overview that can be used as a guideline for future sentencing. The Finnish Police College has begun collecting information on the experiences of the potential victims of paedophiles. This week and next, the College is distributing questionnaires to the nation's schools in an effort to determine how common child abuse really is.YLE