On 25 March 2014, the probation officer (Department of Probation Services and Child Care) for Guruve compiled a report ‘in terms of section 19 (1) (a) of the Children’s Act [Chapter 5:06]. The matter was heard on the 25th of May 2014 after some 2 or 3 postponements- initially because the magistrate was on leave and thereafter because the accused had secured the services of a lawyer who requested a postponement. The matter was finalized on 5 July 2014 and accused person was acquitted. The basic premise for the acquittal of the accused person was that the court did not believe that Mary had been raped because she was raped more than once without telling anyone. The court believed that she had been having a relationship with the accused person and had only disclosed because she had fallen pregnant. This finding by the court runs counter to the findings of the probation officer as captured in his report. In it he rightly notes that women and girls respond to rape differently. While some will report instantly, others for diverse reasons will not want to report at all. In Mary’s case, he found that she did not want to disclose the report for 3 main reasons; 1. Fear of not being believed. According to Mary, the fact that the rapist is known to the family made her fearful that her mother would accuse her of having had a relationship with the accused. 2. Her mother has a strong work ethic and Mary feared that her mother would think she was now neglecting her books to pursue relationships with boys and that while her mother was away at school, she would be busy inviting boys into the house. 3. Mary also feared that the fact that rape had taken place at home would further lead to people not believing her. She felt that perhaps it would have been better had the rape taken place in the bush and been perpetrated by a stranger, but the fact that it took place at home would make it seem like she had been willing. She blamed herself for the rapes. Indeed given the outcome of the court case, her apprehension as to how society would react to her allegations was not misplaced. The court’s dismissal of the case was based on these and other beliefs. He came in one evening saying he wanted to recharge his cellphone but instead he threw me onto the sofa raped me. I asked him what he was doing and he just laughed. Then he took a cushion and put it over my mouth. My mother was not at home. I was alone. Mary 16 18 14