could not find Rushwaya,” said another woman whose 16-year-old niece has since dropped out of school and is heavily pregnant with Rushwaya’s child. The Beitbridge Police Victim Friendly Unit (VFU) was part of a panel including the Family Support Trust, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development, and other government departments that interviewed 15 girls from Vhembe Secondary School who confessed to sexual encounters with Rushwaya. Rushwaya was finally charged with two counts under Section 93 of the of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, [Chapter 9: 23] which makes it an offence to take a child under the age of 18 and deprive the child’s lawful custodian access to the child. The kidnapping or unlawful detention section also says: (1) Any person who⎯ (a) deprives an adult of his or her freedom of bodily movement, intending to cause such deprivation or realising that there is a real risk or possibility that such deprivation may result; or (b) not being the lawful custodian of the child concerned⎯ (i) deprives a child of his or her freedom of bodily movement, intending to cause such deprivation or realising that there is a real risk or possibility that such deprivation may result; or (ii) detains or keeps a child, intending to deprive the child’s lawful custodian of his or her control over the child or realising that there is a real risk or possibility that such deprivation may result; shall be guilty of kidnapping or unlawful detention. Rushwaya was eventually sentenced to four years imprisonment, of which two years were suspended on condition that he does not commit a similar offence in the next five years. In this case, WLSA worked with other partners in Beitbridge to empower the community to stand up for their rights through legal education and advocacy work. The project has also transformed the community’s views regarding legal issues. For example, the community were ignorant on child protection issues and did not know how to handle them, said Craig Nkomo, the Beitbridge Child Welfare Officer. Before the project, the legal services component was missing in gender-based violence interventions. With WILSA taking the lead in legal services, the community has a better understanding of cases like that of Rushwaya. “The project demonstrates a holistic approach, ‘’ Nkomo said.