UK rape culture forces govt to roll out chemical castration

The British government has announced plans to roll out the use of medication to suppress the sex drive of certain sex offenders, as part of a broader package of reforms aimed at reducing reoffending and alleviating overcrowding in the prison system.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood revealed on Thursday that chemical castration  -  the use of drugs to lower libido and sexual urges  -  will be introduced in 20 prisons across two regions of England and Wales. The measure could eventually become mandatory, depending on the outcomes of its initial implementation.

"Of course, it is vital that this approach is taken alongside psychological interventions that target other causes of offending, like asserting power and control," Mahmood said in a statement to Parliament, following the release of an independent sentencing review.

The review, led by former Justice Secretary David Gauke, emphasized that while chemical castration may not be suitable for all sex offenders  -  particularly those whose crimes are driven by power or violence rather than sexual compulsion  -  international studies suggest it can reduce reoffending rates by up to 60%.

Similar approaches are already in place in Germany and Denmark on a voluntary basis and have been used mandatorily in Poland for certain offenders.

The recommendation forms part of a broader strategy to manage the UK's growing prison crisis. The prison population in England and Wales has nearly doubled over the past 30 years to almost 90,000 inmates, with prisons nearing full capacity despite falling crime rates. Experts attribute the growth in inmate numbers to the increase in sentence lengths under pressure to appear tough on crime.

Since taking office following Labour's return to power last July, Mahmood has introduced emergency early-release schemes to ease overcrowding and launched a comprehensive review of the justice system, which she claims was left in disrepair by the previous Conservative government.

"If our prisons collapse, courts are forced to suspend trials," she said. "The police must halt their arrests, crime goes unpunished, criminals run amok and chaos reigns. We face the breakdown of law and order in this country."

The sentencing review called for several reforms beyond chemical castration. These include abolishing prison terms of less than 12 months in favor of more robust community sentences, granting judges greater flexibility in sentencing, and ensuring foreign offenders sentenced to three years or less are immediately deported.

It also urged increased investment in the probation service to enhance rehabilitation efforts and monitoring of released offenders using electronic tags. In response, Mahmood pledged an annual £700 million ($930 million) funding boost for probation services in the coming years.

Gauke warned that unless the government follows through with substantial investment in rehabilitation, public confidence in reforms could falter. "If the government doesn't put the resources into probation that is necessary, then the risk here is that we won't make progress on rehabilitation that we need, and there will be a public backlash against it," he said.

However, the opposition Conservative Party has criticized parts of the reform package. Justice spokesman Robert Jenrick argued that abolishing short prison sentences effectively "decriminalizes" crimes like burglary, assault, and theft. He also downplayed the effectiveness of monitoring tags, likening them to "smoke alarms putting out bonfires."

Mahmood defended the reforms, insisting they are necessary to fix a justice system in crisis. She pointed to the government's simultaneous investment in new prison infrastructure, calling it the largest expansion of the prison estate since the 19th century.