Turkish Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül said that the government will discuss adopting a punishment of “chemical castration” against child sexual abusers, noting that the topic is on the government’s agenda.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Tuesday new administrative measures and legal regulations against child abusers would be implemented soon.
Speaking to the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s parliamentary group meeting in capital Ankara, Erdoğan said six ministers were working on the issue.
The president said child abuse cases, which had increased in recent days, was a dynamite that "would lead to the collapse of our society".
"It is our responsibility to safeguard the innocent [children] -- who are part of our lives -- from all kinds of threats and danger in addition to raising them and ensuring their survival," he said.
The president also vowed to take fast and effective remedies without wasting time on unnecessary meetings and discussions. He said those who committed such criminal acts would be exempted from any leeway in the country's executive system.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Government Ppokesman Bekir Bozdağ stressed on Monday that a commission made up from six ministers was formed in order to take the necessary measures on behalf of the government.
“Protecting our children against all types of immoral acts and abuses is the duty of every single one of us. It’s first and foremost the duty of our government, security forces and state institutions.”
“We must all know that this issue will not be resolved through punishments only. Surely the most severe punishments will be handed out. This is the responsibility of 80 million people. We have to fight against it together,” said Bozdağ.
A 4.5-year-old girl was recently raped by a 20-year-old perpetrator at a wedding in Turkey’s southern province Adana, drawing outrage among the public with calls for more severe punishments for sex offenders.
