A leading psychiatrist has said men who defile girls are mentally sick and need treatment.
Njagih Kumantha, a consultant psychiatrist and former director of Mathari Teaching and Referral Hospital, said many defilers suffer from mental disorders and some are unable to fulfill their sexual needs normally like other men.
He said sex is a basic need for reproduction and pleasure and human beings have to look for it just like other indispensable needs.
“Ordinary people establish cordial relationships with the opposite sex in order to marry or get sexual needs catered for, but those who commit defilement have mental disorders that make them unable to do so,” Kumantha said.
He heads Brightside Rehabilitation Centre in Nairobi. He spoke to the Star in Embu yesterday.
He said while an ordinary man approaches an adult woman in a well-mannered way, a defiler will target little girls he can violently subdue.
Kumantha said this was the reason for the high number of defilements in many parts of Kenya.
In Lamu, defilment cases are often swept under the carpet as many parents, fearing stigma, opt for out-of-court settlement.
The perpetrator usually gives the parents money to buy their silence. Not much thought is given to the psychological trauma of the child.
Kumantha said it is not enough to lock up defilers as that alone would not solve any mental problems they might have.
He said they particularly need psychoeducation, which refers to education and information for people diagnosed with mental sickness.
He said the purpose of psychoeducation is to help the recipient better understand and become accustomed to living with their mental health conditions.
“This will help them cope with the condition and address difficulties. They will thus have a greater internal capacity to work toward mental and emotional well-being,” he said.
Kumantha said addiction to illicit drugs like bhang and cocaine could make people violent. He said many defilers are usually drug addicts.
At the same time, the psychiatrist said many people have turned to modern way of living and have shunned traditions.
He said today the way of life is different from the ordely life of the African communities.
Kumantha said religious leaders have not been playing their role of guiding communities.
