A new law that is being proposed in Italy would allow chemical castration of rapists and paedophiles.
The Italian parliament approved the creation of a committee to draft laws on treating violent sex offenders with drugs that block the production of testosterone.
The treatment would be consensual and reversible to prevent reoffending, Politico has reported.
It is the latest move by Italy’s Right-wing government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to crack down on law and order.
The new law was proposed by a far-Right branch of her governing coalition which previously made chemical castration for paedophiles and rapists a key part of its platform.
Under the proposal, violent sex offenders could avoid jail in exchange for taking hormone-blocking drugs.
The plans, however, have been criticised by opposition groups for being ‘extremist’ and a ‘violation of humanity and justice’.
Enrico Borghi from the centrist Italia Viva party posted on social media: ‘What’s next? Tar and feathers, or rope and soap?’
Simona Bonafè from the centre-Left Democratic Party added that the plans were ‘unconstitutional’ and undermined ‘the foundation of our legal system that has overcome the use of corporal punishment for centuries’.
Chemical castration has already been introduced in Kazakhstan, Poland and parts of the United States for certain crimes.
The process involves a person taking hormone-blocking drugs to prevent the production of testosterone.