Ekiti proposes castration for rapists in new law amendment

If the proposed amendments to the Gender based Violence (Prohibition) Law of the Ekiti State Government gets the nod of the state House of Assembly, rapists in the state will be made to under medical castration, among other punishments.

This was revealed by the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Wale Fapohunda, during the public hearing of the GVB Amendment Bill on Thursday at the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Ado Ekiti.

According to Fapohunda, the amendment to the bill might include medical castration, compulsory psychiatric test and disqualification of offenders from benefiting from government’s social investment programmes.

Fapohunda said: “We plead with the House of Assembly to have expeditious and holistic consideration of the amendment into this bill because it is to provide legal framework for Governor Kayode Fayemi’s zero tolerance for all forms of gender violence.

“The increasing cases of rape and defiling of little children in Ekiti requires urgent attention. The amendment being sought may include imprisonment and medical castration of offenders among others not stipulated in the existing law.”

Also speaking at the public hearing, the wife of the state Governor, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi, lamented that violence against women keeps increasing in Ekiti. She appealed to the lawmakers to pass the law expeditiously.

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“I am not the owner of the law; it is for men and women in Ekiti. We only championed it. It is to protect us, our family and society against all forms of discrimination, so that we can all live life of respect and dignity,” she said.

Mrs Fayemi added that the amendment became imperative to give the victims voices and for offenders to be held accountable.

“The best form of injustice in any society is for offenders to be let off the hook without justifiable reasons.

“To make the law effective, we are going to decentralise the referral centres and all the local governments will have one each. You don’t need to come to the state capital before lodging your complaints. The GVB Management Committee has been brought back to attend to complaints”, she said.

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