The African National Congress Women’s League wants Parliament to adopt laws allowing convicted rapists to be forced to undergo chemical castration.

“Adopting laws to castrate convicted rapists might be the answer to the high rate of rape cases in the country‚” the league’s secretary general Meokgo Matuba said in a statement.

Despite all of the enacted laws and awareness campaigns‚ the country is grappling with a “staggering number” of rape cases against women and children.

National crime statistics released by South African Police Services showed that the amount of reported cases of rape had increased from 39‚828 in the 2016/2017 financial year to 40‚035 cases in 2017/2018.

“The ANCWL is calling for [the] public to discuss and lobby the parliament to adopt laws that will allow [forced] chemical castration or any form of castration of convicted rapists.

“South Africa must benchmark with Russia‚ South Korea‚ Australia‚ Germany‚ United States‚ United Kingdom and other countries where rapists are being administered drugs that reduce their high level of libido and curtail their uncontrollable barbaric sexual desires.”

Chemical castration is the use of hormonal drugs to suppress libido and reduce sexual violence recidivism.

Matuba said the league was not oblivious to the fact that there would be those who would argue that castration was a retributive form of justice and a violation of human rights.

“Their views will be respected‚ but is our firm view that rape crimes violate the rights of the victims‚ disturbs society’s sense of peace‚ security and order‚ therefore the rights of perpetrators of such crimes should not supersede the rights of the victims."

Matuba said the league would call on the ANC‚ alliance partners and civil society organisations to “consider having this discussion …. The Commission for Gender Equality and South African Human Rights Commission must also discuss the matter and lobby Parliament."