There are about 110,000 pedophiles in Great Britain. And 90% of the child abuses occur in a family setting. Now, the British government has announced a new measure to reduce the increasing number of sex crimes in the country.

Sex offenders and pedophiles will be offered a "chemical castration", a drug treatment that will lower significantly the testosterone levels in their blood and with this their libido and the urge of satisfying their abusive "needs". This is not a novelty in the United Kingdom, but the government is trying to spread the provision. Chemical castration will be at the choice of the criminal and the treatment could replace a punishment for criminals.

The number of child abuses has been increasingly growing in Russia, too, but the Russian authorities have no plans of introducing a similar practice of chemical castration so far. The "chemical castration" for pedophiles has been applied successfully in many European countries and in some states of the US, decreasing the number of recidivists in the case of the sexual-based crimes by almost 50 %. In the UK, pedophiles and rapists will receive injections of leuprorelin, a chemical that decreases the action of men's sexual hormone, testosterone.

The anti-pedophile campaign was first launched in England after the terrible event in 2000, when pedophile Roy Whiting killed eight-year-old schoolgirl Sarah Payne.

Leuprorelin induces a constant stimulation of the pituitary GnRH receptors, initially causing stimulation (flare), but thereafter decreasing the pituitary secretion (downregulation) of gonadotropins luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). As leuprorelin inhibits the sexual hormones, it is also employed in the treatment of hormone-responsive cancers (such as prostate cancer or breast cancer), estrogen-dependent conditions (such as endometriosis or uterine fibroids), also in the treatment of precocious puberty, and in controlling the ovarian stimulation in IVF.

In case of criminals, it is aimed to drop the sex drive considerably or eliminate it altogether. Some subjects report mood changes, like depression or a more serene outlook on life. Body strength and muscle mass can decrease to a certain extent.