Australian politician wants paedophiles to be chemically castrated

Though controversial, versions of chemical castration are legal across many countries in certain cases

Australian politician Pauline Hanson believes paedophiles should be chemically castrated as she calls for tougher and more punitive legislation when it comes to punishing those guilty of sex offences. The 67-year-old senator and leader of her own self-styled political party, One Nation - a right-wing populist political group founded in 1997 - told the Daily Mail Australia that she wants "tougher penalties" for sex crimes and related forms of abuse. Referring to paedophilia specifically, she said: "I support chemical castration and tougher penalties for paedophiles, and the establishment of a national database of paedophiles". At present, Australia only has state-wide sex offender lists which are unavailable to the public - but people have been calling for these lists (started in the 2000s) to be made more accessible to citizens for years.

Hanson went on to insist that "people are very concerned about their children’s safety and they want strong laws and penalties for those convicted of paedophilia".

While she conceded that it is appropriate for a presiding judge or magistrate to determine the penalty for sexual offences under the relevant law, she believes a more hardline approach is needed when it comes to paedophilia: chemical castration, for example. There are an estimated 17,000 convicted paedophiles in Australia and it is thought that more than half of them re-offend within four years of release.

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