Rape: harsher penalties

The government recently announced its plans to introduce new harsher penalties for rape and other sexual offenses. While some may appreciate the renewed focus on such crimes, we believe this is just a show, and a bad one at that. We were told as children that prevention is better than cure, but unfortunately, the government has done little to actually address the root causes of sexual crimes and is only looking at punitive measures. Although the plan to create a registry of sex offenders is welcome, it is probably the only part of the announcement that appears sensible.

Indeed, the government’s cure also seems terribly thought out, like a doctor that would rather amputate than treat because it takes less time. While the death penalty is, unfortunately, an all-too-common tool in the arsenal of the Pakistani judiciary, it has also been proven to have little to no impact, domestically and internationally, on reducing crime. Life imprisonment will also be introduced. This is probably a better alternative, especially since — considering evidence from abroad — it is usually easier to reach the threshold for convictions for this penalty. It is generally accepted that someone hanged after being wrongfully convicted will not significantly benefit from having a verdict overturned.

The most audacious penalty suggested, however, is chemical castration. The PM had suggested this, and public hanging during a TV interview soon after the motorway gang-rape case. We are unsure if this is a Trumpian measure whereby policymakers have to come up with something based on throwaway comments by the prime minister. Forced chemical castration is frowned upon and even banned in most countries that respect human rights. Law Minister Farogh Naseem tried to give the example of the US as a country where it is done, but even there, it has been withdrawn in all but a handful of ‘backwards’ states. Also, why ordinances? Why not debate and improve the proposals in parliament and make a ‘real’ law instead of this clearly rushed attempt to work around the people’s house?

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2020.

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