Indonesia have passed a law to castrate child rapists, followed by the death penalty.

Sexual violence worldwide has reached an all-time high and women have been taking to the streets to campaign against rape. The ‘Me Too’ movement has drawn awareness to the problems that women have, but not enough outrage about sexual violence against children.

 Recently, billionaire Samuel Curtis Johnson was given a four-month prison sentence for abusing his own 12-year-old stepdaughter over a period of years. His lenient sentence has women up in arms. Had Johnson been in Indonesia, his sentence would have been much worse. At the very least, castration. At the worst, the death sentence.


 Indonesia’s stringent laws came into effect after a 14-year-old girl was gang-raped and murdered in Sumatra. Her murderers, seven teenage boys, were given just ten years in jail. Today, those same murderers would sit for much longer, be castrated and possibly dead. Indonesian President Joko Widodo signed the new punishments into law saying that sexual violence against children is not acceptable.

 These harsh new laws - castration for a first time offender, the death sentence for a serial offender or where the circumstances are extreme. Saying that, all sexual crimes against children are extreme, hence the harsh laws. These laws are to deter other offenders. Sexual crimes against children disturb every single sense of peace, security and public order and leniency is no longer an option.


 Hopefully laws will change worldwide and more countries will start taking sexual violence against children more seriously. SC Johnson was given a lenient sentence because of his billionaire status but status should not come into it. A rapist needs to know that his actions will not be tolerated and never will be. Just like we have #MeToo for adults, we need #MeToo for children, and serious consequences for the people who commit the crimes.