Castration, life imprisonment or death: how to fight against pedophilia?

Castration, life imprisonment, or death: how to fight pedophilia?

Following the sexual abuse of a 5-year-old girl in a state kindergarten in the Uchkurgan district of Namangan, punitive measures against pedophilia have once again become a subject of discussion.

In an interview, lawyer Kamola Aliyeva shared her views on effective ways to combat pedophilia, drawing on global experience.

According to the lawyer, castration, the death penalty, and even life imprisonment cannot be a solution to the problem.

"In global practice, there are those who apply chemical castration. What does castration actually mean? It is the elimination of male sexual desire, meaning that if a person has a sexual desire towards a child and is considered a pedophile, this person's sexual desire is lowered through special medications."

Kamola Aliyeva noted that in global practice, the castration of a criminal is carried out voluntarily at the end of their prison sentence, before their release. However, according to the lawyer, there is also a possibility of relapse, meaning that the sexual desire can be restored.

"Let's say this procedure needs to be repeated every 6 months. But if they refuse it in the meantime, the sexual desire will be restored again. If a pedophile says 'I will not undergo castration,' no one can force them. In other words, in the conditions of Uzbekistan, this is not a solution either," she says.

"If the state takes on the responsibility of conducting this medical process and introduces chemical castration, a large amount of money will have to be allocated from the budget. That is, this is an expensive process. Secondly, there is also the issue of its quality. Thirdly, a pedophile would probably never come and say, 'I am a pedophile, castrate me.' I have never seen such a thing. There is no high probability of this in global practice either," Aliyeva added.

Kamola Aliyeva also addressed the death penalty, which has been proposed on social networks. "This is a type of punishment that does not align with our legislation, our international obligations, or humanity," the expert says.

"Of course, we are all angry. We all want to punish and eliminate pedophiles. But not with death. Speaking from a legal standpoint, we declared a moratorium on the death penalty in 2008. This is also defined in the Constitution."

In addition, the lawyer pointed out that due to problems in the country's judicial system, the death penalty could become "a weapon in the hands of some unscrupulous people, an instrument to eliminate 'inconvenient' people." "In other words, this option does not suit us either," she said.

Kamola Aliyeva recalled that the death penalty exists for certain crimes in countries like the US and China, but noted that the capital punishment does not lead to a decrease in crimes, the disappearance of criminality, or the cessation of sexual violence.

"Therefore, the main issue is not the severity of the punishment, but the inevitability of the punishment. That is, if that person is committing or planning to commit this crime, they must know that they will be 100% found and prosecuted. Only then might they back down. That is, they must understand that the entire system will work against them. There should be no confidence that one can commit violence and get away with it. In my opinion, there is a confidence of getting away with it not only in violence against children, but in any kind of violence. There is such an atmosphere in the system. They do not feel the inevitability of punishment," Aliyeva says.

Against the backdrop of the terrible incident in Namangan, a draft law on strengthening punishment for sexual crimes against children under the age of 14 was developed in Uzbekistan and passed the approval and endorsement of the deputies of the Oliy Majlis and senators. According to it, it was also proposed to apply life imprisonment to pedophiles. In the current legislation, this crime is currently punishable by up to 20 years of imprisonment.

While stating that she is in favor of strengthening the punishment, Kamola Aliyeva reminded that this is also a measure taken after the crime has been committed.

"Why is life imprisonment being proposed in the first place? If you remember, within 10 days of 2025, two cases were observed in Ohangaron and Namangan. Specifically, those serving sentences for rape of a person under 14 and satisfying sexual desire in an unnatural way using force (Articles 118-119 of the Criminal Code), upon early release, the first thing they did was rape a child. One raped a 9-year-old girl, and the other raped a 7-year-old girl who was his uncle's granddaughter. After these two cases, the reason why these recidivists were given light sentences was questioned. Life imprisonment was proposed in the sense of separating and isolating such persons from society," the lawyer says.

As a reminder, the task of establishing life imprisonment for persons who repeatedly commit violence against children was provided for in the presidential decree on the implementation of the Uzbekistan-2030 strategy (No. PF-22) dated February 16, 2026.

The deadline for its implementation was set for April 1, 2026. The draft law providing for the relevant amendments was adopted in the first reading by the Legislative Chamber on September 29 — almost six months after the set deadline.

"This [issue] was raised last year as well. But it was not introduced in time, it was delayed. There are very many cases of delay in practice. But there was a resonance last year too, and there was one after that as well. How many cases are there. In the last 4 years, more than 445 sexual violence crimes have been committed. These are only the ones we know of," the expert said.

Kamola Aliyeva emphasized that in order to prevent violence, the environment within the system itself must first of all not allow it.

"Cameras must be 100% present and working. When hiring, who are you hiring, who is that person, where did they work before — the employer must know this information, this becomes their responsibility. Especially in the education system, every manager, every system, responsible employees, and leaders must ask themselves the question of who each employee entering to work with children actually is," the interlocutor said.

Gazeta previously wrote that in world practice, child protection is based on strict standards and protocols that are mandatory for all institutions and staff, and that the abuse of the girl in the Namangan kindergarten showed the absence of such mechanisms in the education and upbringing system of Uzbekistan.