QUESTION OF THE DAY
The act of bleaching the natural skin of a human being is destructive to the user. Does society criminalise all behaviour that is harmful to the individual? The answer to this question is in the negative. This is why Smoking cigarette is not criminalise. However , one may criminalise smoking in public places to prevent a smoker from disturbing non- smokers to discourage cigarette smoking. In short , law making is not an ordinary exercise. The power to have human beings arrested and detained against their will should not be exercised without the restraint of justice, reason and mercy.
Intention matters when it comes to criminalisation of behaviour. When a behaviour is motivated by the desire to harm self or other persons and a person engages in action to harm or attempt to harm others, that behaviour could be criminalised.
Most people who engage in skin bleaching conceive it as a symbol of beauty. Some eventually realise the destructiveness of the practice to health but find it difficult to reverse the process because of the odd appearance they would have when they cease using the cream.
If one criminalises skin bleaching, all those who engage in the practice would have to be arrested, detained and subjected to trial. They would have criminal records which would affect their lives for ever. This cannot be in the interest of the individual or the society at large. A person who has no desire to harm others should not be transformed into a criminal.
