First Surgical Castration Sentence Under New Law
A Madagascar court sentenced a man to surgical castration and life imprisonment with hard labor for the rape and attempted murder of a six-year-old girl in Imerintsiatosika, 30 km west of Antananarivo, in 2024, as announced by Attorney General Didier Razafindralambo on July 10, 2025, per Reuters. This marks the first use of surgical castration under a 2024 law targeting rapes of minors aged 10 and below.
Razafindralambo called the ruling a “strong and significant response” to deter similar crimes, citing a rise in such cases. The law, passed in February 2024, allows surgical or chemical castration for offenders, with surgical castration, permanent removal of testes, applied in this case. Madagascar’s justice ministry released a video statement to the media emphasizing the sentence’s warning to potential offenders.
The case involved a violent assault on a minor, prompting the court to invoke the maximum penalty. Madagascar’s law aligns with practices in countries like the Czech Republic, Germany, and Louisiana, USA, where surgical castration has been used for sex offenders, though often with consent. Chemical castration, reversible via drugs, is more common in Poland, South Korea, and some U.S. states, with Britain considering its adoption.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, criticized both forms of castration as unethical, arguing they violate bodily autonomy. They advocate for survivor support, protection from retaliation, and broader prevention efforts. The UN Committee Against Torture in 2017 urged the Czech Republic to end non-consensual castrations, citing human rights concerns.
The sentence has sparked debate in Madagascar, with supporters viewing it as justice for victims and critics warning of ethical violations. As the first case of its kind, it sets a precedent for enforcing Madagascar’s tough stance on child rape, with authorities vowing to continue cracking down on such crimes.