Masio Sangster

Mark O’ Jarvis
FHS: Human Sexuality
4/2/19
U5 Essay 1
Question: If sexual desire is regulated by hormones, should male sexual predators be
surgically castrated or chemically treated with Depo-Provera to reduce testosterone levels?
What if the sexual predator is female . . . should her ovaries be removed or should her
testosterone production be curtailed in some other way? Should she be allowed to have
hormone replacement therapy at menopause to reduce other symptoms even if it means an
increase in her sexual desire?

Answer: I believe that both male and female individuals who are struggling with
their sexual desires or addictions should take the Depo-Provera to reduce their testosterone
levels. With male patients I do not think they should be surgically castrated unless needed to,
these desires come unconsciously and sometimes unwanted. If the person seeks the help, they
can work through treatment programs to see if their hormone levels will decrease with the
medications being prescribed to them. If the medications do not help, then yes they should be
surgically castrated because they can possibly bring harm onto another person and ruin their
life. Another type of treatment that a male patient could go under is the Aversive
Conditioning therapy, the way this works is they have the male listen to audio depictions of
sexual activities with children and with adult women. Then, the therapist administer a
noxious odor so that the patient associates this with the stimulus of the child. In the textbook
it says that “After removing the odor, the therapist changes the tape narrative to that of sexual
activity with an adult woman. In this way, the patient associates relief from the noxious
stimuli” (David Knox. Susan Milstein. Human Sexuality 5th edition. Pg. 408). After the
treatment is done some patients get a more pleasant feeling with the stimulus of the adult
woman. Sometimes patients will become nauseated and will be given emetic drugs to induce
vomiting when in the presence of the fetish object, also, this therapy like-method is still under
research and is not a solid reliable system to help male sexual offenders.
If the sexual predator is female, I do believe that they should try to offer same type of
recovery treatments like they do with male’s. Aversive Conditioning has not been done on
females yet, but, that isn’t the only type of therapeutic system they can go through. For
example, the Covert Sensitization is a therapeutic technique that involves instructing the
client to use negative thoughts as a way of developing negative feelings associated with a
deviant sexual stimuli. The female patient should go through the same therphy as the male
patient if medication is not helping the individual with their sexual desires then it would be
recommend for the female patient to get her ovaries removed. As women age their
testosterone levels rise so I think heavily manipulating a woman's testosterone may lead them
to having some very bad side effects so I do not agree on that, and, I also disagree with the
hormone replacement surgery unless it is proven that it can decrease her sexual desire. It
would not make sense to do hormone replacement surgery on a female sexual offender if the
chances of her being more sexually aware of things rises. In the textbook it talks about
different types of brain sedative medications that can decrease the act of sexual behaviors
“More recently, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as fluoxetine have been
used to treat paraphillas and to reduce an indivudals sexually deviant fantiesies, urges,
masturbation, and sexual behaviors” ( David Knox. Susan Milstein. Human Sexuality 5th
edition. PG 408).
In conclusion I think both parties should receive both equal treatment and care if
medication does not help a patient out then it would be recommended for them to get
surgically fixed.