Counselling Amongst the many services offered at the Centre that members are now having limited access to is counselling. Members come and receive counselling at the Centre on whatever problems they are experiencing which are connected to their sexual orientation, family issues, relationships, employment and discovery issues. They could spend time with the counsellor but now with the fear that has been instilled in the community, few of them are accessing the service. For example one respondent had this to say: “At a personal level, some are struggling with their sexuality in a homophobic environment, and the law is beating you up, as in uniformed police officers. This means that who you are is wrong. Some have gone into hiding, where they cannot be reached even by peer educators. It means that such individuals are going to be lonely, yet this is a safe place that can enable them to meet other people in similar situations. This is a place that normalises sexual diversity, and they would begin to feel normal if they came here”. When individuals do not get their sexuality affirmed, they do not access counsellors who may understand their issues thus they continue to struggle in silence or end up taking part in risky behaviours. 33 An Assessment of the impact of state sanctioned and unsanctioned raids on GALZ premises and gatherings