IN the aftermath of the horrifying motorway gang-rape tragedy there is a growing demand for tougher punishment for sexual offenders. The prime minister has suggested the chemical castration of offenders.

Some countries have used chemical castration for the treatment of sex crime but not as a punishment. The example of South Korea comes to mind which adopted chemical castration for sex offenders in 2012. The result shows a less than five per cent reoffending rate compared to 40pc before.

On the other hand countries that enforce surgical castration as punishment against sexual offenders, have observed that the offenders then usually resort to committing serious crimes including sex-related ones. It seems surgical castration can create hormonal and physical imbalances that trigger a desire to resort to violence.

In my opinion castration will only give a false sense of security vis-à-vis sex crimes. We already have laws, the problem lies in their timely implementation and the slow pace of administering justice. There is already a severe punishment for rape offenders in the country.

The Pakistan Penal Code section 375 states: “Whoever commits rape shall be punished with death or imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than ten years or more, than twenty-five years and shall also be liable

to fine.”

This makes it amply clear that it is the state which has failed to punish rapists and lock them away. Then there is the traditional jirga system which is instrumental in setting many rapists free, the exception being the jirgas held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Therefore the need of hour is to improve the judicial system.

The best solution is to set up a special court to ensure quick justice in rape cases. It is time to set examples by following the dictates of the law instead of making new laws.

Fayyaz Salih Hussain

Karachi

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APROPOS the editorial ‘Gender-based violence’ (Sept 13). The horrific incident on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway has shaken the nation. The remarks by a senior police officer about the incident are deplorable.

His comments reflect an aberrant mindset which is deep-rooted and change will not come easily. Appropriate training courses may help in modifying attitudes and behaviour to some extent, but a change will only come gradually.

The induction of more female police officers is necessary because the handling of cases of gender-based violence by them would provide some relief to the victims and help in a higher rate of conviction.

Although women are the immediate victims, it is society as a whole which suffers and pays the price. The problem must therefore be tackled at the societal level by men and women together, and silence is not the option. To speed up the change process, concentrate on the boys in their mother’s lap, in kindergarten, in schools colleges and universities. Patience, perseverance and continual self-correction for men and women acting together arethe right way to achieve the objective.

M. Zubair Farooqui

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2020