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COMMON MYTHS ABOUT CASTRATION
Note: This was copied from another web site, which I cannot find now.
The following are some baseless myths-- and refutations -- concerning this humane and effective treatment:
MYTH: castration mutilates a man's body.
FACT: An orchiectomy is a very simple surgical procedure in which a small incision is made to remove the testicles from the scrotum. The operation is far less invasive than a hysterectomy or much of the cosmetic surgery performed today. It typically is an outpatient procedure and replacing the testicles with prostheses makes the procedure virtually undetectable.
MYTH: castration is cruel and unusual punishment.
FACT: What could possibly be cruel about a treatment that allows a person to live a more normal life without the constant urge to molest children? It is unusual in the sense that it is the only permanent treatment that works with the offender.
MYTH: Castration will not be any more effective than conventional counseling.
FACT: European research over the past 30 years shows that in every single clinical study, the re-offender rate drops drastically to lo less than 5% for those who receive the treatment. It is after the surgery has been completed that counseling will be needed in order to aid the offender during the transition of changing lifestyles. Conventional counseling can be effective in conjunction with castration.
MYTH: Castration will only make the offender more violent by using other methods to molest.
FACT: Another positive aspect of castration is that it reduces not only the sexual impulse, but all aggressive traits in a person. A 1991 Czechoslovakian study of 84 castrated sex offenders revealed that only 3 men (out of 84) committed another sex offense after castration, and none were of an aggressive character.
A Danish study in the 1960s that followed 900 castrated sex offenders found that the recidivism rate dropped to 2.2%, and, similarly, none of these offenses were of an aggressive character.
MYTH: Castration is racist punishment.
FACT: Of the 11,000 identified sex offenders in Texas prisons, 45% are white; 24% are African-American and 30% are hispanic.
MYTH: The problem is between the ears, not between the thighs.
FACT: This unsupported opinion is based on the supposition that rape is all about power, domination and control without any sexual component. The clinical studies show that rape is a combination of power, domination and control along with a strong sexual impulse.
It shouldn't really matter which theory of rape is ascribed to. What is much more important is finding treatment that will protect our children.
MYTH: A civilized society cannot permit this barbaric treatment (castration).
FACT: A civilized society, if we dare call ourselves that, cannot permit the numbers of rapes that occur. A civilized society must be open to all treatments of sex offenders in order to change the unconscionable odds we have given to the innocent among us.
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