Sex offenders are given drugs to curb attacks
Move welcomed after men ‘chemically castrated’
MEN convicted of sex offences in Glasgow have been given drugs designed to lower their libido after they leave prison.
In what is believed to be a first for Scotland, a small number of sex offenders have been given the sex-drive reducing treatment in the hope it would curb their chances of re-offending when they are living in the community in the city.
The project has already started although it is not clear if the offenders asked for the drugs or if they were offered them.
It is understood a very small number of men convicted of sex crimes have been given the “chemical castration” treatment, which is administered by the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership.
Campaigners have given a cautious welcome to the scheme, which could become a blueprint for other programmes across Scotland if it is deemed a success.
Margaret-Ann Cummings, whose eight-year-old on Mark was killed by a convicted paedophile in Glasgow in 2004, said: “If sex offenders are volunteering to go through with this and willing to change to stop other people being hurt then they should be offered every possible support.
“However, it is vital the authorities are not using the public as guinea pigs in an experiment, here.”
Former Peterhead prison governor Alex Spencer, 70, who introduced the STOP scheme to the jail, said he had “mixed feelings” about the idea of using drugs to treat sex offenders.
The STOP scheme was designed to help sex offenders change their behaviour through therapy, and ran for two decades.
Mr Spencer said: “The issue with sex offenders is to do with their mental approach. These drugs may take away their sexual urges, but they will not stop them thinking about the act or address that side of their behaviour.
“With the STOP programme we worked through a number of areas to get them to change their ways, such as looking at victims of sex offences and the aftermath of such crimes.
“That is not something these drugs can do and I’m not sure how effective they are in the long run at stopping reoffending.”
Details of the plan emerged in documents recently published by the Glasgow Community Justice Authority for a “healthcaremanaged pathway for anti-libidinal medicines”, which outlines work being carried out on “the logistics of who administers the medication and how the physical health follow-up checks are undertaken”.
The report adds: “The numbers are expected to be low and this process may be negotiated on a case-by-case basis. A protocol has been drawn up and is at the consultation stage before being ratified by senior health professionals.”
A source close to the programme said it had been wrongly reported as a pilot scheme, and that it was already taking place.
He said: “A couple of sex offenders in Glasgow have been given these drugs, and the document refers to the setting up of a framework to make sure all the right procedures are in place administer the treatment and monitor the men involved.
“It is purely on a voluntary basis as you cannot force people to take medicines.”
A Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership spokesman said the scheme was at an early stage, adding: “Protocols for the initiative, including the roles of primary and secondary care, have still to be agreed.
“But it is anticipated that antilibidinal drugs would be used on a case-by-case basis where appropriate.”
Anti-libidinal drugs are effective, but would only be used as part of a wider supervision plan, he added. FUSILIER Sean Wiseman has beaten the odds to return to his regiment after losing his right leg following a bomb blast when he was 18.
The 24-year-old soldier, from Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, is training in Kenya with his regiment, The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland
He feels lucky to be back following injuries sustained in a bomb blast in Afghanistan: “I had my medical board and I just fought for it. I just told them ‘I want to be back with the guys’. Luckily, the medical board said aye.”