A senator with the governing Morena party is preparing a proposal that would punish rapists with chemical castration.

Alejandro Armenta Mier told a press conference that Mexico is in first place globally for cases of sexual abuse, physical violence and homicide committed against minors last year, adding that a total of 4.5 million Mexicans are rape victims.

In the state of Puebla alone, he continued, there are 800 recorded cases of femicides, 70% of which are also rape cases.

“. . . the Morena parliamentary group is in favor of combating violence against women and children. The purpose of this initiative is to castrate those who rape them,” said the senator from Puebla.

“. . . it is time to put a definitive stop” to this crime, Armenta said.

“I am a father, I have daughters, I have a wife; we have got to take drastic measures.”

The senator said he recognized the initiative might be controversial but he would seek a consensus with lawmakers from other parties as well as human rights organizations to determine what route to take to come up with more severe penalties in order to reduce the crimes in question.

Source: El Financiero (sp)