The reaction of Vikash Jagai, one of Sandra?s rapists on the day of the verdict, has something frightening in it. While one would have expected him to keep a low profile and express regrets for his odious crime, he appeared even more unrepentant. ?I will continue to rape women,? Jagai allegedly said. As for the guilty?s father, he is said to have warned one of the photographers to watch his wife.

Although regrets would change nothing to the fact that he has raped Sandra O?Reilly and must pay for his crime ? it would nevertheless have brought some hope for the future. In his case, one can wonder if the prison term will bring any change in his mentality. Everything points to the fact that Vikash Jagai was brought up in a macho atmosphere. It might thus be hard to change his behaviour towards women.

The question remains however: what can society expect from a prison term if there is no psychological support for detainees? Of course, it keeps dangerous individuals away from society for some time but what happens when they are set free? There is no therapy for sexual offenders.

With no psychological support, they will not understand the seriousness of their act. They can even spend their time in prison thinking and planning revenge. All those men are not mentally ill but rather immature and selfish individuals that perhaps yielded to a moment of folly. Such support could rehabilitate some, if not all, to normal social interaction.

It is out of the question of replacing prisons by psychiatric confinement. However, what is important during this psychological follow-up, according to Dr Roland Coutanceau, a French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, is ?to confront the rapist with his act, highlight his selfishness, the absence of consideration for his victim, the rapist?s difficult relationships with others, his fears, doubts and obstacles to have normal sex relations and to control his fantasies?.

Dr Coutanceau is in charge of a department at Garenne-Colombes, which looks after both rape victims and sexual offenders. In France, the decree on 14th March 1986 allowed the setting up of psychiatric departments in prisons. These centres help people suffering from major psychological problems, which is indeed a step forward. But ?human therapy? for all detainees, like Dr Coutanceau calls it, may be fundamental to ensure they do not relapse as soon as they are out.

The therapy would not only help detainees but the authorities would also have an idea of the psychological state of criminals. Those, who have committed minor offences and considered as ?not dangerous? could be freed quite quickly while those suffering from real problems would remain behind bars. This may even be a solution for our overcrowded prisons.

Authorities often tend to wash their hands after an offender has been sentenced. But they have a responsibility towards society: ensure that criminals do not relapse. As a result, not only should they provide psychological support in prison but also after criminals have served their term. The latter, having usually lost everything ? job, family, friends ? eventually fall back into the same spiral of wrongdoing. A support when coming out of prison could be just as forthcoming as one in prison?