Chemical castration is achieved with an injection of the drug Cyproterone, a steroidal anti-androgen drug developed for the fight against cancer. The procedure does not involve the removal of some organs, as is the case with surgical castration. Instead, authorities hope the injection will reduce pedophiles' sexual urges so that they do not commit another sexual crime.
Castration is overseen by the country's health ministry and performed in psychiatric clinics. In recent years, Kazakhstan has seen an increase in pedophilia-related crimes, with the number of juvenile rapes doubling to 1.000 a year, from 2010 to 2014.
Of course, this decision by Kazakhstan provoked reactions from human rights organizations, which opposed its implementation. The organizations claim that this punishment will not have the desired results, according to data from other countries that use the same method of punishment.
Kazakhstan is not the only country using chemical castration. Poland, Indonesia and South Korea are using the same procedure, with Indonesia imposing the sentence for the first time in 2016, when the world revolted after a gang rape of a 14-year-old girl.
However, chemical castration has been used for decades. One of the most notable cases was in 1952, when Alan Turing was arrested for having sex with another man. Homosexuality was illegal in Britain until 1967, and according to the BBC, Turing's punishment was chemical castration.
This controversial punishment is not a current phenomenon. Recently, it has been applied by more and more countries, which in some cases propose voluntary chemical castration in exchange for lower penalties, as happened in 2010 in Argentina. However, there are many who argue that this approach has not been effective.
However, in Kazakhstan, a 38-year-old man arrested in late January for raping a minor was sentenced to 25 years in prison and chemical castration, with the country backing a decision he made two years ago.