Warning from 4 Expert NGOs: “Sexual Assault is a Crime, Not an Illness”

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The “Regulation on the Treatment of People Convicted of Crimes Against Sexual Integrity and Other Obligations” prepared by the Ministry of Justice was published in the Official Gazette and thereby entered into force on July 26, 2016.

In accordance with the regulation, a person convicted of a sexual crime can be treated with anaphrodisiac medication for the time they are in prison or on probation.

In the 1st Paragraph of the 7th Article of its section titled “Being Subjected to Medical Treatment,” the regulation provides that “The treatment constitutes every method including ambulatory and inpatient treatment both with or without administering medication with the purpose of minimizing or controlling libido as well as minimizing or eliminating sexual desire”.

4 NGOs as signees

In their joint declaration, Turkish Medical Association (TTB), Psychiatric Association of Turkey (TDP), Forensic Experts Association and Association for Sexual Education, Treatment and Research (ATUD) have demanded immediately revoking the application of the above-mentioned regulation.

TTB has underlined that the issue has to be discussed in all its aspects thoroughly and thus be reevaluated in cooperation with expert organizations, jurists, and representatives from NGOs operating in the field of women and children.

“Could cause damage beyond repair”

The NGOs have declared their motivation for making the declaration as “the obligation has arisen to inform the public as it obviously could cause irreversible damage”.

“Warning covers 9 topics”

The NGOs in their declaration have covered nine topics among which the following 2 have become prominent:

* The assumption that every individual who is the perpetrator of a sexual crime also has a psychological disorder is wrong. A substantial part of them have no mental illness to be treated.

* Administering a treatment although there is no illness which could have caused the crime, would turn into an effort to invent an illness which does not exist or to find a medical cause to cover the crime. (HK/DG)