HCMC – A National Assembly (NA) deputy has recommended that chemical castration be one of the penalties for those found guilty of committing sex crimes on children.
According to NA deputy Nguyen Ngoc Phuong from Quang Binh Province, chemical castration has been adopted in many countries.
Chemical castration involves using a drug to lower the testosterone level in men, which affects their sex drive.
If Vietnam approves the addition to the law on fighting child sexual violence, the number of child abuse cases could drop by 50% in the years to come, Phuong stated during a discussion on adopting policies and laws to prevent and fight against child abuse, held on May 27.
Aside from chemical castration, the NA deputy of the central locality suggested further penalties for child sexual offenders, including increasing administrative fines, disclosing the identities of sexual offenders and listing their offenses in their CVs, to deter offenders and prevent recidivism as well as protect children.
Phuong added that child abuse has caused a public uproar. Many people he has met have called for offenders to be arrested and punished strictly and promptly.
Most child abusers are acquaintances or even parents of the victims. They take advantage of the children’s innocence to commit these crimes. Some have even repeated their offenses and threatened to kill the victims if they dare to report them, Phuong remarked, adding that it is essential for the NA to closely monitor the prevention of and fight against child abuse.
He proposed the Government should study plans to increase or impose extra penalties on child sexual predators.
Commenting on the increase in fines and penalties, NA deputy Duong Minh Tuan from Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province noted that Vietnam’s legal framework was not strong enough to protect children from all forms of violence, resulting in a rise in child abuse cases and leaving a significant impact on victims, both physically and mentally.
Accordingly, Tuan suggested imposing heavier fines and sanctions on offenders.
Data released at the discussion showed that the country had uncovered over 8,440 child abuse cases between January 2015 and June 2019, with more than 8,700 child victims.
During the first half of last year, up to 1,400 children were reported as victims in child abuse cases, which is equivalent to some 80% of the total crimes against children recorded in 2018.
