Build a GunFree South Africa

'We forget the things we've done,' said a friend earlier as I sent over some clips of long-ago work. I met GunFree South Africa in 2014, while working at Activate! Change Drivers. In 2015, my community in Kensington, Cape Town, was experiencing a spate of gang shootings in which children were being shot in the crossfire. I asked Adèle Kirsten and team to come through and facilitate a workshop with us. I was already connected to our local civic groups and invited the community policing forum to attend. The notes generated were curated into a document submitted to Parlaiment as part of the calls for comment around gun legislation that year.

GunFreeSA presenting in Kensington, Cape Town, 2015

We also invited the community newspaper who interviewed me a few days later. 'You have power,' younger me said. 'Arm yourself with information,' I urged. We forget the things we have done.

I've since formed a strong relationship with GFSA, who do INCREDIBLE work! In February 2023, GFSA gave official notice that class action proceedings would be instituted 'on behalf of affected families to hold the police accountable for deaths and injuries resulting from failed police-controlled firearms management systems.' I did a workshop with the affected families - the majority mothers who had lost children to gun violence - about speaking to media.

In February 2024, on Valentines Day, Gun Free South Africa in collaboration with the National Shelter Movement of South Africa and MOSAIC Centre for Healing and Training launched the campaign 'Removing The Trigger: strengthening the rights and safety of victims from gun-related domestic violence.' I wrote an op-ed about it: https://bit.ly/4hD8ucb

Gun violence is still a massive problem in our communities AND our homes: '2017 femicide data by the Medical Research Council showed that three women are killed by their intimate partner every day, with guns used in 18% of cases. The findings also revealed that 23 of the women killed by their husbands and boyfriends were in possession of protection orders against them at the time of their death.'

To find out more, you can watch the following episodes of The Womxn Show speaking to Gun Free South Africa:

March 2024: https://youtu.be/RnNN50KKdZw?si=XQOvrXWzS_I2gmZp

June 2021: https://youtu.be/urgtTaQYiTU?si=exsbjfLaHu5u_hXt

**My name is Lenina Rassool. I am a writer, journalist, workshop facilitator and public speaker, specialising in gender-based violence and women empowerment.

Visit https://leninarassool.wixsite.com/mysite for samples of my work