A heinous rape in Italy sparked calls to introduce forced chemical castration. But does it work?

Following a horrifying gang rape that shocked the country, Italy’s far-right politician Matteo Salvini suggested a drastic, controversial solution: the introduction of forced chemical castration for rapists.

Seven men, all between the age of 18 and 22, have been accused of raping a 19-year-old woman in the city of Palermo, Sicily, in early July and filming the attack. 

The case, which emerged last week when the trial against the young woman’s alleged abusers began, has taken over the public debate in Italy, with details of the attack - including the chats between the seven men - shared by local media sparking fury and disgust.

The argument around the case has seen some declaring that “not all men” should be blamed, while others have pointed at Italy’s grim track record of femicides and rampant violence against women to show that the problem is systemic.

Salvini, the leader of the far-right, populist party League and currently Italy’s minister of infrastructure and transport within Meloni’s coalition government, pushed himself into the public debate suggesting rapists should be chemically castrated as punishment for their actions.

“If you rape a woman or a child, you clearly have a problem. A prison sentence is not enough,” he said.

Six of the seven men involved in the rape of the woman in Palermo have already been arrested, while one - who was a minor at the time of the attack - was allowed to walk free after confessing. According to reports from the men’s families and their lawyers, the six are having a hard time in prison, where they’re being threatened by other inmates.

Salvini suggested bringing his proposal to introduce forced chemical castration for rapists to Parliament. Under his plan, the medical treatment could be