Kazakhstan has begun chemically castrating convicting pedophiles.  Fergana news agency says it is about four convicts serving their jail terms in penal colonies of Pavlodar, East-Kazakhstan, Akmola and Shimkent regions.  

The forcible castration has reportedly been used in Kazakhstan for the first time.  In all, eleven people sentenced to forcible chemical construction are serving their jail terms in penal colonies of Kazakhstan.

Recall, Kazakhstan introduced a new law on chemical castration at the start of last year.

Castration is “temporary”, consisting of a “one-time injection” based on “the necessity of preventing the man from (committing) sexual violence.”  Chemical castration uses drugs to reduce libido and sexual activity.  Reports say the procedure will be carried out at regional psychoneurological clinics. 

In Kazakhstan, child sex crimes also carry prison sentences of up to 20 years.

According to some reports, child rapes in Kazakhstan doubled to around 1000 a year in the period between 2010 and 2014.

Chemical castrations have been used in several countries around the world to curb sexual offenders.  Usually they are granted in exchange for lighter prison sentences.