However there is evidence that when raids took place, both the members and GALZ staff members have been victims. In the December 2014 raid, a staff member and some volunteers working at the office got seriously injured as they were all beaten. A stakeholder confirmed this in an interview: “The last raid that happened in December 2014, I almost broke down. I received a phone-call from a staff member who had been badly beaten, and this is a staff member who has been a pillar of support to many in the community, the one who is strong and has gone through thick and thin. He narrated what had transpired and how he was attacked whilst warning others to disperse. I could hear that his voice was cracking, and it was painful listening to him almost in tears. He was beaten by a system that has institutionalised violence. I was trying very hard to hold back my own tears. We cannot even put a measurement to what harm has been done, and there are some members whose stories we do not even get to hear, and they do not come back after such an experience.” The staff members were at pains to dispel the speculation that they organise raids, which is a thing that worries them much. In the beginning it used to affect them much that they were accused of instigating such raids in order to attract funding. The staff members said that they issue out statements after every raid, but some allegations will always stick. “I actually now just laugh it off when people make wild claims that we get paid for being beaten. Eish. There is of-course some urgent funds that you can apply for, but it is not as 43 An Assessment of the impact of state sanctioned and unsanctioned raids on GALZ premises and gatherings