ROME - AN ITALIAN government minister called on Monday for some rapists to be surgically castrated amid a growing public outcry over a series of sex attacks.

'Society has to protect itself,' Mr Roberto Calderoli, minister for legislative simplification in Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's cabinet, told La Stampa newspaper.

'In some cases, I don't believe that rehabilitation is possible ... I think that chemical castration may be insufficient and that surgical castration is the only option left,' added Mr Calderoli, a member of the right-wing Northern League party.

Italians have been outraged by a series of sex attacks in recent weeks, including the rape of a young teenager last Saturday in a Rome park.

The government has said it plans to unveil a new decree in coming days under which anyone convicted of sexual violence should receive an automatic prison sentence.

According to the media, the government is also considering give town mayors the power to form unarmed citizens' volunteer groups to patrol high risk areas.

But the centre-left opposition has said this could encourage violence. -- AFP