Scientists seek crowdfunding to test ‘chemical castration’ drug on willing paedophiles

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 per cent 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.

Experts say testosterone is key to at least three risk factors for abusing children sexually - high sexual arousal, disturbed self-regulation and low empathy - so lowering testosterone could reduce the risk of men with paedophilic traits molesting children.

Rahm said “a substantial number of patients with paedophilic disorder actually want help”, but don’t know how or where to get it. A key problem, he added, is that there are no evidence-based preventive treatments and no reliable risk assessment tools.