Scientists seek crowdfunding to test 'chemical castration' of pedophiles

Researchers from Sweden are seeking crowdfunding to test a type of "chemical castration" in men who report having paedophilic thoughts and fantasies. The team from Sweden's Karolinska Institute want to see whether a drug called degarelix - a hormone therapy that blocks brain signals which stimulate the testicles to produce testosterone - reduces the men's sexual urges.

Experts estimate that up to 5 percent of the general population has paedophilia, a disorder marked by persistent sexual attraction to pre- or early-pubescent children. While not all people with paedophilia molest children, child sexual abuse is a widespread problem with around 1 in 10 girls and 1 in 20 boys suffering abuse, according to Christoffer Rahm, a Swedish consultant psychiatrist leading the planned trial. [...]

Rahm's team is working with the UK-based science crowdfunding platform Walacea and asking the public for a total of 38,000 pounds ($53,500) to conduct the research.

source: Article 'Scientists seek crowdfunding to test 'chemical castration' of pedophiles' by Kate Kelland; www.reuters.com/article/us-science-paedophilia-trial-idUSKCN0X32S2; Reuters; 6 April 2016