Dear Editor,

I read with disgust about the traditional healer who abused the trust of his clients in Solomon Times Online issue July 2nd. The picture was even more confusing when these two young females totally trust the traditional healer to the extreme of using their bodies in exchange for healing and predictions of the future.

In a nutshell this was a prohibitive transaction. A predative sexual offender who is pathologically sick seeking to release his urges disguised as a traditional healer and two ignorant and innocent young females desperate for what is important to their lives.

The traditional healer destroyed and robbed these young girls dignity and their future. The effects will be translated into psychological disturbances and physical maladaptations that cannot be treated even with the best counseling services we have in the country.

Although the sentencing was swift, people are still prone to this type of situation. Therefore we need to be proactive and implement measures that will make people aware and stiffer penalties for offenders.

Awareness should include women's groups, churches, village elders and also part of subjects taught in school. There should be systems in place in our communities for prompt reporting of offences of this nature.

For sexual offenders there is a chance that they will commit the crime again. Infact studies have shown that ~19% of rapist are reconvicted for sexual offences. Although this rate is small, the effects to the victims are huge. Therefore, first time sexual offenders should undergo psychiatry evaluation and counseling and be registered in a national registry for sexual offenders after serving time in jail. For repeated sexual offenders, there should be laws in place for harsh measures including extended incarceration and chemical or surgical castration.