“There has not been much success. I think it partly has to do with us on how we respond to crises. As an example, last year we all got injured, went home and only reported a week or two after we had received treatment. The police said that we should have brought the issue to them immediately. But we were all worried about the next person’s welfare. In any case, many people are afraid to report to the police, hence only a few do” – GALZ Staff Member. Generally, since the LGBTI community has been beaten and harassed by the law enforcement, they have now lost faith in the justice system. They question why they should report injustices when the system is actually oppressive to them too, thus they believe that there is no chance of their concerns being addressed. They even fear to be quizzed and be judged because of their sexuality by the system. This means that unscrupulous people in the society can extort money from them and treat them unfairly with impunity. “We still have spaces that we think are relatively safe. But we also realise that there is nothing like safe, because this is limited at times. Some of the things are beyond our control and we can only do what we can. That message has to cascade down to the members. We therefore include them in discussions and planning. We have also tried moving offices, working from home or other places, however the political volatility means that we have no full control over. During election periods and other national events, the gay issue become topical, and we have to lie low. However at times we are forced to come out, e.g. 49 An Assessment of the impact of state sanctioned and unsanctioned raids on GALZ premises and gatherings

Select target paragraph3

Add to table of contents