[Vision2020] Angry Hens

[Saundra Lund]

Tom asked, "Does anybody know if court-ordered castration curtail the
possibility of a pedophile re-offending (especially in the case of a serial
pedphile)?"

 

The best answer I know is . . . it depends.  For those interested in reading
more, check out this 2007 article from the Mayo Clinic Proceedings:

 

http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full

A Profile of Pedophilia: Definition, Characteristics of Offenders,
Recidivism, Treatment Outcomes, and Forensic Issues

 

Here's an excerpt from the "Treatment" section:

 

Individuals can offend again while in active psychotherapy, while receiving
pharmacologic treatment, and even after castration.17
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-17>
Currently, much of the focus of pedophilic treatment is on stopping further
offenses against children rather than altering the pedophile's sexual
orientation toward children. Schober et al34
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-34>  found
that individuals still showed sexual interest in children, as measured by
the AASI, even after a year of combined psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy,
whereas the pedophiles' self-reported frequency of urges and masturbation
had decreased. These findings indicate that the urges can be managed, but
the core attraction does not change.34
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-34> ,64
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-64>  Other
interventions designed to manage these pedophilic urges include careful
forensic and therapeutic monitoring and reporting, use of
testosterone-lowering medications, use of SSRIs, and surgical castration.34
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-34> ,64
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-64> 

A popular treatment option is testosterone suppression by pharmacologic
means (eg, antiandrogenic therapy or chemical castration). We are aware of
only one state (Texas) that will pay for physical castration of sexual
offenders but not for long-term chemical castration.85
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-85>
Although physical castration seems definitive in preventing repeated sexual
offenses, some physically castrated pedophiles have restored their potency
by taking exogenous testosterone and then abused again.17
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-17>
Chemical castration has many advantages over physical castration. It
requires follow-up visits, continuous monitoring, and psychiatric
reevaluation to continue the medication and is reversible for health
reasons.64
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-64>  Agents
such as medroxyprogesterone acetate, leuprolide acetate, cyproterone
acetate, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, and gonadotropin-releasing
hormone agonists have all been studied as forms of treatment and all work by
suppressing testosterone levels5
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-5> ,14
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-14> ,34
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-34> ,64
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-64> ,86
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-86>  (Table
4 <http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#T4> ).
Depending on the mechanism of action of the agent used, it can take from 3
to 10 months before one sees a decrease in sexual desire.64
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-64>
Medroxyprogesterone acetate, leuprolide acetate, and gonadotropin-releasing
hormone agonists have been shown to decrease both deviant and nondeviant
sexual drives and behaviors in paraphilic individuals.5
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-5> ,14
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-14> ,34
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-34> ,64
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-64> ,86
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-86>
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists are becoming the standard of
treatment because they have fewer adverse effects and improved efficacy over
the older treatments such as medroxyprogesterone acetate.7
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-7> ,34
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-34> ,43
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-43> ,64
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-64>  Reduced
libido also seems to make some offenders more responsive to psychotherapy.5
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-5>  A
drawback to hormone therapy vs castration is its annual cost, which can
range from $5000 to $20,000 a year.34
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-34> ,87
<http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/4/457.full#ref-87> 

 

 

Saundra Lund

Moscow, ID

 

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.

~ Edmund Burke

 

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Tom Hansen
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2011 9:01 AM
To: Ron Force
Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Angry Hens

 

Just out of curiosity . . .

 

Does anybody know if court-ordered castration curtail the possibility of a
pedophile re-offending (especially in the case of a serial pedphile)?

 

Just a question.

 

Tom Hansen

Moscow, Idaho

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