The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported a bill to toughen punishment for pedophiles. DW has collected data on what kind of punishment is provided for crimes of a sexual nature against children in other countries, and where measures similar to those approved in Kyiv are still applied.
Ukraine: forced castration and 15 years in prison
Two bills on punishment for rape or abuse of minors were submitted for discussion in the Ukrainian parliament on Thursday, July 11. Deputies voted for a more radical option.
Verkhovna Rada building
It provides for an increase from 7 to 15 years (without the possibility of early release) of the term of imprisonment for those convicted of such crimes, as well as the creation of an open registry of pedophiles and forced chemical castration - when convicts are injected with chemicals that reduce sexual activity.
In addition, the adopted bill provides for lifelong administrative supervision of persons convicted of raping minors. The approved penalties—forced castration and open lists of criminals—have drawn criticism from human rights activists. Meanwhile, such a practice already exists in a number of countries, for example, in Poland.
Poland: chemical castration and an open list of pedophiles
In Poland, neighboring Ukraine, there has been an open register of pedophiles for several years, posted on the website of the Ministry of Justice. Although the practice is widely criticized as a violation of privacy principles, the register contains the names, photographs, dates of birth and residential addresses of 768 convicted pedophiles. In addition to the open registry, there is also an expanded list, in which there are about 2,600 persons found guilty of less serious sexual offenses against minors.
This list is available only to law enforcement officers, management of schools, kindergartens, summer camps for children, and so on. In addition, chemical castration of pedophiles is used in Poland. For crimes of a sexual nature committed against children, punishment is provided in the form of imprisonment for a term of 15 to 20 years. Many Poles are in favor of tightening it, in particular they demand the introduction of mandatory surgical castration of pedophiles.
USA: chemical and surgical castration of pedophiles
Since 1996, chemical castration of pedophiles has been used in the United States. The first state to introduce such penalties for pedophilia was California. According to the laws of this state, any pedophile convicted for the second time of sexual relations with a child under the age of 13 is subject to mandatory chemical castration upon release from prison. The state of Texas has also offered voluntary castration since 1997.
There are different types of punishment for sexual crimes against children
In addition, the United States applies restrictive measures against pedophiles who have been released. After being released from prison, they are registered at their place of residence. Information about where they live, as well as photographs of convicted pedophiles, are publicly available on a national database on the Internet.
In 14 states, they are prohibited from living in close proximity to schools or school bus stops, day care centers or playgrounds. There is a special newsletter through which parents can find out if a pedophile lives nearby.
Russia: pedophiles face life imprisonment
Russian legislation for sexual crimes against children provides penalties in the form of imprisonment for a term of 4 to 20 years. For pedophiles who repeatedly commit a crime in which the victim is a child under 14 years of age, life imprisonment is provided, as well as compulsory medical procedures, in particular, chemical castration.
Many countries demand tougher penalties for crimes against children
Such medical measures are applied by court decision on the basis of a mandatory forensic psychiatric examination. In addition to forced, if there is a petition or consent of the convicted person, a voluntary procedure for the use of chemical castration can be established. The law stipulated that it was not irreversible. Termination of medical treatment will be possible by court decision.
Now in Russia they want to toughen punishments for such crimes. In July 2022, the State Duma approved in the first reading a bill providing for life imprisonment for crimes of a sexual nature against children under 14 years of age. In accordance with the current version of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Article 134), the sentence in this case can be up to 10 years in prison.
Germany: prison sentence and treatment
In Germany, according to various sources, there are from 50,000 to 250,000 pedophiles. Not all of them are considered dangerous to society, and not all of them commit crimes against children. About 15 thousand children become victims of sexual abuse every year. But these are only those cases that were reported to the police. For crimes of a sexual nature against children, punishment ranges from 6 months to 10 years in prison.
Context
High-profile trial of pedophilia in Germany: the main defendants admitted guilt
Two of the three defendants charged with 460 counts of sexual abuse of children at a campsite in the German town of Lugde have pleaded guilty on the advice of their lawyers.
(06/27/2019) The maximum penalty, that is, life imprisonment, is given in Germany for fatal rape. For less serious crimes, in particular, sexual abuse of children, the sentences are shorter. However, in a number of cases, when it comes to pedophiles who are recognized as incorrigible, German courts decide to keep the criminals in custody even after they have served their sentence - some five, some ten years, some forever. The most popular measure in the country is the latter.
At the same time, pedophilia in Germany is considered a mental illness. For pedophiles who pose a threat to society, compulsory drug treatment is provided. In other cases, medical measures are applied voluntarily.
In addition, Germany is one of the few European countries where, since 1969, the law has allowed the use of voluntary surgical castration as a treatment method for persons who have committed sexual offenses.
It is prescribed to rapists who suffer from serious illnesses and mental disorders that arise due to painfully increased sexual desire. The main conditions for the operation: the minimum age of the patient is 25 years, as well as a guarantee that castration will not lead to moral and physical harm.
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Artists speak out against violence
The country is tough, but the deputies are soft: The new punishment for pedophiles turned out to be a half-measure
The State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill on life imprisonment for previously convicted pedophiles for repeated rape of minors, as well as for first-time violence against two or more minors or associated with another serious crime. Many assess this legislative step as correct, but too soft. Why not shut down pedophile rapists forever the first time?
The initiators of the law to toughen penalties for pedophiles were First Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council Andrei Turchak, head of the State Duma State Construction Committee Pavel Krasheninnikov and head of the Information Policy Committee Alexander Khinshtein . The draft law took a long time to prepare and was discussed many times in society. The Supreme Court of Russia also gave a positive review of the bill. Maria Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of Russia, also supported the future law.
Reports from the pedophile front
The fact that, to put it mildly, it is ripe, or rather, overripe, was clear for a long time. After all, the increase in the number of crimes against minors since 2016 has been 20%. This is only according to official data.
“First Russian” not long ago examined the chilling story of the months-long search for ten-year-old schoolgirls Anastasia Fesler and Ulyana Degtyar, who disappeared in Kiselevsk. As it turned out, they were raped, strangled and hidden in the basement of the house by a criminal who had previously served a partial sentence for rape. We also covered in detail the murder of 9-year-old Liza Kiseleva in Saratov by a local scumbag pervert. The police barely saved the murderer from the lynching of Saratov residents.
But in the village of Pribrezhny, Samara Region, the police did not save a pedophile rapist from the girl’s angry father - he paid with his life. Soon, an experienced pedophile maniac suspected of murdering a nine-year-old girl was detained in the Oryol region. The abundance of such stories has long been reminiscent of reports from the front - from the “pedophile front”. Why do we need this “front”? Isn’t it better to somehow “stop” its “fighters” while still approaching the “front line”?
It is truly almost impossible to detect a possible pedophile rapist before he has committed his first crime. There must be other measures: protection of children in public places, attention of parents, general improvement of society. It is no secret that many children, as well as their parents, prefer not to report such cases to the police.
Why wait for a relapse?
“First Russian” cited the opinion of Honored Lawyer of Russia Dmitry Krasnov, who recalled that the amendments to the Constitution adopted last year concerned, among other things, the protection of children from crimes. He noted that the topic of sexual violence against children by adults also existed in the USSR, but then they tried not to highlight it publicly. While studying archival documents from the 1960s, he discovered a huge number of suicides among children . An analysis of these suicides showed that the investigation was often simply covered up as suicides without investigating the causes.
Yes, at the same time, there are precocious and “spoiled” girls who themselves provoke violence, there is child prostitution: for money or the same depravity; there are perverts and cynical parents - we have a lot of them, alas. But if the rape of a minor child has already been recorded by the police, there is a victim and a pedophile, so the question is, what to do with him? Today, under Article 131 of the Criminal Code, rape of minors is punishable by a term of eight to fifteen years with some loss of rights.
Approximately the same punishment is prescribed under Article 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violent acts of a sexual nature). And under Article 133 (Force to perform acts of a sexual nature), a pedophile can even get by with a “five.” Everyone knows very well that such creatures are later released (sometimes on parole) and repeat their abominations.
A life sentence is a fair measure to isolate degenerates. They cannot be called people, although they are in human form,
– State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin . A very accurate definition. But why does society need to wait for the recurrence of such crimes, why can’t degenerates be “closed” from the rest - immediately and forever?
“We need to shoot them”
spoke about this in connection with the adoption of the bill in the first reading today; First Russian has, to put it mildly, a lot of questions, but in this case it’s hard to disagree with him:
Today we are talking only about repeat pedophiles. But I believe that every such criminal should receive the maximum sentence, immediately after the first crime. I believe that it would be correct to systematically increase the degree of punishment.
Moreover, Khamzaev proposed returning the death penalty as the “capital punishment” for rapists and pedophile murderers.
Those who are capable of such a crime deserve not a longer term, but the ultimate penalty in the form of the death penalty,
– the deputy summarized. And it must be said that the overwhelming majority of our fellow citizens will agree with him during the plebiscite. Public opinion monitoring conducted by sociological services clearly demonstrates this.
Half measures don't help
Liberal “humanists” protesting against the return of execution as capital punishment refer to Europe. There, in most countries, chemical castration of pedophile rapists is practiced. Moreover, most often we are talking about voluntarily taking chemical drugs in exchange for serving a long prison term.
However, the case of the rapist Timmendekas in the United States in 1966, who served time for raping two minor girls and underwent a chemical castration procedure, and then raped and brutally murdered the 7-year-old daughter of neighbors Megan Kanka, became a household name. It turned out that “chemistry” does not always guarantee the disappearance of libido. Especially if the rapist uses hormonal substances to restore it. Therefore, in a number of countries, a more radical remedy has been used in relation to such scumbags - surgical castration. This is what they do in Germany and the Czech Republic, despite the protests of “human rights activists”. And the percentage of such crimes in these countries is much lower than that of the surrounding “humanists”!
In many countries in Asia and the Middle East, those who have committed (the first, not repeated) forced sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 14 are not treated on ceremony at all. In China, a rapist faces imminent execution. In Iran they are hanged, in Indonesia they are stoned. If the victim is over 14 years old, the law in many countries requires the rapist to be surgically castrated and then imprisoned for life. And no parole for you.
So what?
Even after the adoption of the current bill, our laws in relation to pedophiles in general and specifically to pedophile rapists still remain too humane. You can continue to argue about the death penalty, but the scum-perverts should be “closed” forever the first time, without waiting for more children’s lives broken or taken by them.
It seems that chemical or even surgical castration is not an option here either, given the peculiarities of Russia. A castrated pedophile can only become angrier and begin to kill or abuse children without any libido - just to take revenge on society. And no “electronic bracelets” will help here. Our country is tough. And the issue with monsters and scum must also be resolved firmly and quickly: if you rape a child, stand against the wall.
Fight for life
November 25 is designated by the UN as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in memory of the Mirabal sisters, who were killed for resisting the dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. Drawing attention to the problem of violence is the task of the artists whose works are exhibited at the Women's Museum in Bonn. The paintings in the series “Kurdish women and their struggle for life” were written by refugees from Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
Artists speak out against violence
Raped and stabbed to death: what is known about the brutal murder of a five-year-old girl in Kostroma
In the United States, chemical castration is used against pedophiles if a person is re-convicted of having sex with a person under 13 years of age. The bottom line is that a person is injected into the body with a special drug that reduces sexual desire. However, the severity of the punishment depends on the state. For example, some of them use surgical castration. In this case, the criminal's reproductive organs are simply removed. In addition, you can receive multiple life sentences.
Similar measures against rapists are used in Europe. Chemical castration is used in France, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium, and Denmark. In the Czech Republic there is surgical castration for convicted pedophiles. Moreover, in some countries, castration is an alternative to a prison sentence, and in some - an addition to it.
Also in developed countries there are open registries of pedophiles. After release from prison, criminals are registered at their place of residence. At the same time, they are prohibited from settling near schools.
Execution and lash
The worst situation for pedophiles is in the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
According to Islamic norms, as Kyrgyz theologian Kadyr Malikov said in an interview with Sputnik, violence against minors is considered an extremely immoral act and should be punishable by death.
“Hey everyone, he’s not with us”: what awaits Russia if the moratorium on the death penalty is lifted
Steel arms
Sticks, knives, bottles are the subjects of photographs by photographer Dirk Dähmlow. The series, called “Calling a Spade a Spade,” depicts the abuse of women from Germany, Russia, Brazil, India, Ethiopia, Zambia and Burkina Faso.
Artists speak out against violence
“I cannot say that I am a pedophile, nor can I deny it.”
“I am 19, and since adolescence I have had inappropriate feelings and thoughts towards children,” writes a user under the nickname Confidante21 in English on the international anonymous forum Virtuous Pedophiles. “I’ve never followed these urges, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to live with myself.” Lately I've been asking myself questions: “Will I go to hell because of these feelings?”, “Should I never have children?”, “Should I keep this a secret from my girlfriend for the rest of my life?” I live in constant shame and a feeling of helplessness. I feel so alone in this, I'm glad I found this forum."
“When I was younger, I was sexually abused by older kids in the neighborhood. I believe this played a role in why I became a pedophile... Anyway, I went to therapy and it's been three years since my addiction disappeared. I'm happy that my attraction is back in my age range and everything is going in a positive direction,” another user shares her story.
Illustrations: Ksenia Gorshkova/“Devil”
On the forum, people with pedophilic disorder from all over the world discuss their problems: mental disorders, experiences of sexualized abuse in childhood, chemical castration, suicidal tendencies and struggles with depression.
The site has several strict rules - it is forbidden to talk about your crimes and post erotic descriptions. Currently there are 7,115 people registered there. In addition to free discussions, the forum has polls, links to research on pedophilia, sections where you can find specialized clinics or psychotherapists (there is no such list on the site for Russia). Under almost every post with a statement you can find support, advice, calls to accept your problem: “You are not perfect. You are human,” “We cannot change desires, but we may never act on them. It's not easy, but none of us have much choice."
Six months ago, Sergey registered on the forum ( name changed at the request of the hero
). At the age of 12, he first saw child pornography by accident on the Internet and after that, until he was 20, he watched it in parallel with regular pornography. The man himself, in a conversation with a correspondent of “Terta”, claims that in ordinary life he never paid attention to children and did not have any fantasies about them.
He recalls that his moral state began to deteriorate greatly after visiting a psychiatric hospital for a medical examination at the military registration and enlistment office: “Terrible images began to appear, it was the fear of harm to family and friends. I spent a lot of time on the forums, finding out what it was. I came to the conclusion that it was obsessive-compulsive disorder. Then, due to intrusive thoughts, I remembered what I had done in the past - all obscene materials with children. I felt extremely ashamed, blamed myself, and drove me into severe depression.” Sergei says that he now avoids children on the streets and even in photographs for fear of sympathy or excitement.
He found an anonymous site for people with pedophilic disorder when he was looking for information about mental disorders, where he decided to ask for advice and help. Now Sergei, according to him, takes antidepressants, does not watch erotic materials with minors, and his sexual fantasies are associated with people his age or older. He is still not sure whether he has a mental disorder: “I cannot say that I am a pedophile, just as I cannot deny it. I just try to let all the thoughts pass without paying attention to them.”
“I would love to see a specialist, but I don’t have money for a private one yet, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to government agencies,” says the man. He believes that his complaints should not be addressed to government specialists due to the lack of a guarantee of confidentiality. The man claims that if his pedophilia is ever confirmed, he will not indulge his fantasies.
Creating trustworthy and high-quality assistance would help the state not only provide assistance to people, but also prevent crimes, as evidenced by global experience.
Loud and hidden crimes
The age at which sex with a child will be considered a crime depends on the laws in force in the country. Each state independently sets the age of sexual consent. In Western countries it ranges from 14 to 18 years. In Russia it is 16 years. Some cultures allow sexual activity, marriage, and childbearing at much earlier ages. For example, the lowest age of consent in Nigeria is 11 years old.
In Russia, several high-profile crimes against children of preschool and primary school age occur every year; in fact, there are many more of them. Many of the high-profile crimes are similar: on the way home from school, a child is intercepted by a rapist, or a criminal finds a victim during an afternoon walk and calls him along. One of the latest occurred in September 2022. The bodies of two ten-year-old girls were found in the Kemerovo region. 41-year-old Viktor Pesternikov, who had previously been convicted of raping a minor, admitted to rape and murder.
He was released from prison in 2022 and was required to come and report to the police department twice a month for eight years, and he was also prohibited from being outside the house from 10 pm to 6 am. In our country, administrative supervision after serving time is the only measure to prevent reoffending. In practice it is hardly effective.
“Our punishment system is considered a correctional system, and it is understood that a person who has served 10 years in prison is reformed. In fact, everyone understands that prison does not correct anyone and only makes a person worse,” says lawyer Alexey Timoshatov. “I have not seen a single person reformed after prison. Sometimes people come out with a depressed psyche and a suppressed will to live, and only due to this they become safe for society. But in general, how can children be protected from pedophiles by prohibiting them from leaving the house after 10 pm? In our country, many crimes of pedophilia are committed while children are home from school, and the time frame does not work here.”
More on the topic
“Women are made out to be crazy.” How courts give children to abusive fathers
Cases of relapse among child abusers after prison are common, says Timoshatov. In Russian colonies, those convicted of pedophilia do not receive therapeutic treatment. “According to my observations, people who have served many years in prison are no longer afraid to go back to prison. They get used to it and get comfortable there. This is one of the reasons why pedophiles often reoffend after prison,” the lawyer adds.
There are local police officers who systematically come and supervise a person released from prison. In other departments there is a high staff turnover, district police officers change frequently, the police do not have time to monitor a person, the process is formalized, and the district police officer simply calls on the phone and thus carries out control.
Lawyer Timoshatov believes that it is difficult to imagine laws that will guarantee one hundred percent safety of children. In his opinion, the system can be improved by the following measures: placing restrictions on visiting places where children gather; this is not currently practiced in our country. Or attach GPS trackers to former prisoners who were imprisoned for such crimes.
Crimes against sexual integrity are not only committed by people with pedophilic disorder. The vast majority (80-90%) of sexualized child abuse occurs in the home, with older brothers, stepfathers, family friends, and even fathers being the perpetrators. Most of these crimes occur situationally, that is, a person does not have a specific attraction to children, but he chooses a child as the most accessible, defenseless and convenient victim, explains Veronika Odinokova, an employee of the regional public organization “Stellit”, which conducts preventive social projects.
“There is a study that looked at people who were already in prison for these crimes. The results showed that about 80% of the convicts were mentally healthy, the rest had deviations, but not pedophilic disorder,” continues Odinokova.
