President Joko Widodo proposed the changes
in May following the gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl.
The laws were subject to fierce debate in
parliament, with two opposition parties voting against castration.
Human rights groups have objected to the
punishments, arguing that violence will not be stopped by violence.
The Indonesian Doctors Association said
administering chemical castration would violate its professional ethics and
said its members should not take part. The procedure entails injecting convicts
with female hormones. It is used on sex offenders in Poland, South Korea,
Russia, and some US states, among others. Prisoners in UK jails can volunteer
for the treatment.
Human rights groups including the National
Commission for Women (NCW) criticised the laws and called for them to be
re-evaluated each year to test whether they are a deterrent.
Azriana, the head of the NCW, said:
"Other countries that have chemical castration have not seen a reduction
in sexual crime against children. Also it's a very expensive procedure and what
we should be spending and investing our money in is services to support and
help the victims."
Dr Yohana Susana Yembise, Indonesia's
Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Protection, said the administration
was "praying" that the punishments "will have the desired
effect".
She said: "Now we have the harshest
punishments: the death penalty, life in prison, chemical castration, the public
naming of perpetrators and the electronic chip. These are now law, so even if
you hate the idea of them everyone now has to support this."
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