CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1. BACKGROUND The problem of child rape has been on the increase in Zimbabwe. According to statistics from the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the number of reported cases of child rape increased from 3168 in 2012 to 3,297 in 2013. Rape and sexual violence are problems that the Government of Zimbabwe has acknowledged and has in response sought to put in place legal and policy measures to address. However as with most policy and legislative responses, there is ordinarily a gap between the policy provisions and the lived reality of the intended policy beneficiaries, in this case child survivors of sexual violence. It is important that policy formulation not be an end in itself, but be a means to an end and in that regard, voices of intended policy beneficiaries and their experiences of trying to use the policies are a good way of measuring policy effectiveness. It was with this background in mind that Justice for Children commissioned this project. This booklet is a collection of stories of child survivors of sexual violence. The project was commissioned by the Justice for Children with the aim of raising awareness of the experiences of child victims of sexual abuse and violence in Zimbabwe; in particular it is aimed at showing the obstacles they encounter as they interact with the justice delivery system. Each story in its own way shows the challenges faced by these children and their families as they seek to navigate the system and in the end, it is clear that while legislation and policies provide for the protection of children from sexual violence and abuse, there is still a significant gap between policy and practice. It is not possible in a book of this size to reproduce the range of challenges faced by children who have been victims of sexual violence, however, it is hoped that the stories profiled show the range of abuses suffered, the various manifestations as well as the challenges faced by the different children and their families. What is clear from the stories is that the challenges are everywhere; from the home, to the community, to the school and to the courts. It therefore becomes clear that as envisaged in the Protocol on the Multi-Sectoral Management of Sexual Abuse and Violence in Zimbabwe, that any response has to be multi-sectoral in nature with each stakeholder be they the family, the school, the health care provider, the justice system or social services playing their mandated role efficiently and effectively. It is the hope of Justice for Children that by highlighting these voices, service providers and policy makers can be reinvigorated and re-inspired to address the issues coming through these stories and by so doing, make the system work for children. 5 1