3.4. WHEN A CHILD CANNOT IDENTIFY THE PERPETRATOR: THE CASE OF Charity Oftentimes when one hears about sexual abuse, there might be an assumption that just as there is a clearly identified victim, there would be a clearly identifiable perpetrator. However, the reality is that sometimes, the perpetrator cannot be easily identified. Or the victim may not be able to identify the perpetrator because they are not known to the victim. The case of Charity C shows that the focus still has to remain on the victim and her needs, even where it is unlikely that a criminal prosecution will ensue. They are however less than happy with the reaction of the school head. On receiving the report from Charity’s parents she reacted very badly, calling Charity into her office, interrogating her and accusing her of lying. She wanted to know if Charity was bleeding and would check how Charity was walking saying that if she had really been raped, then she would not be able to walk and would be bleeding. The actions and reaction from the head of the school so traumatized the child, she did not want to go back to school. Although she was eventually persuaded to go back to school with support from the deputy school head, her teacher and her family, Charity has said “all l want is to forget the case. That’s all l want”. Charity was born on the 10 November 2005. She is currently in Grade 3 at a school in Norton, a town 40 kilometres from Harare. On the 2nd July 2014 Charity as sexually assaulted while at school. It was around 0930 when Charity went to the toilet. The toilet is not more that 100 metres from her classroom but on her way back to her classroom, Charity was accosted by a man who looked like a groundsman. She greeted him but he ignored her and instead clamped her mouth shut with his hands and half lifted and half dragged her to the cultural gallery building at the school. This is about 30 metres from the classrooms and that is where he raped her before pulling out a knife and threatening to kill her if she said anything. Charity was shocked and traumatized by this shocking event. When questioned by the police as to who had the keys to the gallery where the rape took place, the school head stated that the keys were in the safe and yet the main suspect in the case confirmed that he had the keys to the gallery. When Charity eventually when back to the class, the teacher joked about how long Charity had taken at the toilet and while everyone laughed, Charity kept quiet about her ordeal; because she felt she could not tell the teacher in these circumstances. Charity’s families acknowledges support from the deputy head at the school who has been more supportive, visiting them and assuring them of additional security measures that the school has taken to ensure the safety of children on the school premises. When she went home, though the maid could see that she was clearly distressed, she could not tell her what had happened. She was only able to tell her father who was around home at that time. A report was made to the police that evening and an identification parade was held the next day, but Charity could not identify the perpetrator. She was then taken for medical attention and she was given post exposure prophylaxis to which she reacted very badly. However, Charity’s family is grateful for the response of the hospital staff as they were referred not only to Justice for Children, but also to Childline for counseling and follow up support. Charity’s parents will tell you that this has been an incredibly trying time for their daughter and the entire family. But as they go through the process of supporting their daughter through this trauma, they have some reflections they would like to share; they believe that the teacher for instance, should have followed the child to check on her once she realized that the child had taken an inordinately long time getting back from the toilet; the school, they felt, could have been more sympathetic towards the victim, instead, the school head repeatedly accused the victim of lying to the point 21 that she did not want to go back to school. 17