Bill proposes chemical castration of prisoners for sexual crimes

THE Chamber of Deputies will analyze the Bill 3127/19which authorizes anyone convicted more than once for crimes of rape, rape of a vulnerable person or sexual violation through fraud to voluntarily undergo chemical hormonal treatment to reduce libido.

The proposal, which was created and already approved by Federal Senateestablishes the following measures for the procedure (popularly known as “chemical castration”):

• the convicted person may only submit to it after serving more than 1/3 of the sentence;
• hormonal treatment should be carried out in custodial psychiatric hospitals;
• the prison’s CTC (Technical Classification Committee) will specify the treatment and duration;
• the treatment must have a minimum duration equal to twice the maximum sentence provided for the crime committed (in the case of rape, for example, it would be 20 years in prison).

Provided for in the Penal Enforcement Act, the CTC is responsible for guiding the individualization of the sentence of the convicted person upon entry into the prison system. According to the text, the committee defining hormonal treatment must have 2 doctors in its composition.

Parole

The acceptance of the procedure by the convicted person will not reduce the sentence applied, but will allow conditional release, provided that other legal requirements are met, such as good behavior. The release may not be less than the period indicated for treatment, and the conditional release will only begin after the CTC confirms the effects of the treatment on the convicted person.

Bigger penalties

The proposal also amends the Penal Code to increase the minimum sentences for sexual crimes to which the bill applies by one year. Thus, the minimum prison sentence for the crime of rape increases from six to seven years; sexual assault by fraud, from two to three years; and rape of a vulnerable person, from eight to nine years.

The author of the project, senator Styvenson Valentine (Podemos-RN), states that the proposed measures are adequate and necessary for the Brazilian reality. “It is an option to reduce sexual crimes, which are very high in our country”he said.

Next steps

Bill 3127/19 will be analyzed by the Health, Public Security and Combating Organized Crime, and Constitution and Justice and Citizenship committees. It will then go to the Plenary. To become law, the proposal must be approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

With information from Chamber Agency.