Madagascar has passed a controversial law that would allow castration of those found guilty of child rape.
The island's senate approved the law which will allow for chemical, and in certain cases, surgical castration of those who have been found guilty of raping a minor.
The move has been condemned by international human rights groups but has also encouraged support from activists in Madagascar.
Campaigners said the law is an appropriate deterrent to curb a "rape culture", as ministers said 600 cases of the rape of a minor were recorded last year.
Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina
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Justice minister Landy Randriamanantenasoa said: "We wanted to protect children much more. The younger the child, the greater the punishment."
The law is set to be ratified by President Andry Rajoelina, who first proposed the law back in December.
Under the new law, cases of rape against children between the ages of 10 and 13 will be punished by surgical or chemical castration (not a form of sterilisation as drugs are used to inhibit hormone production).
The rape of children aged between 14 and 17 will be punished by chemical castration.
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Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina is set to ratify the new bill
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However, the law has been met with backlash from human rights group Amnesty International denounced the law as "inhuman and degrading" and said it was not in line with the island's constitutional laws.
One adviser for the group warned of the "lack of confidence" in the country's justice system due to "opacity and corruption". They said since complaints and trials are not carried out anonymously retaliation against rape victims was "frequent".
On the other hand, campaign groups welcomed the new legislation. Jessica Nivoseheno of the Women Break the Silence group, which campaigns against rape and supports victims, said: "There really is a rape culture in Madagascar. We are in the process of normalising certain cases of sexual violence, also minimising the seriousness of these cases.
"(The new law) is progress, because it is a deterrent punishment...This could prevent potential attackers from taking action... but only if we, as citizens, are aware of the existence and importance of this new penalty."
Chemical castration is offered as a punishment for sexual offences in other countries, including South Korea and the US.
Countries like Nigeria and the Czech Republic implement surgical castration under their laws. However, it is a lot rarer.
Amnesty International has said that surgical castration is problematic if anyone who undergoes it is later cleared of a crime on appeal.
