'Scourge of abuse has left SA in a mess'
Gender activist Tapuwa Moore says the battle against gender-based violence cannot only be confined to the annual 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children.
"Every day is 16 Days, every moment, every minute and every hour because South Africa is a in a mess when it comes to gender-based violence. Children are dying, women are dying and even men are getting raped. It's important that we recognise the scourge and start speaking and curbing it," says Moore.
Moore wants more to be done to include queer women in the struggle against gender-based violence.
"It's very important that even NGO's come to the fore, I know POWA and TEARS do phenomenal work in inclusivity. We are all women, let's work together. No rape is higher than another. In feminism they say solidarity. It's important that we stand in solidarity, don't choose heterosexual women over queer women, We should be in this together."
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Moore says her activism seeks to disrupt the status quo.
"The silence has been taught for many years because patriarchy comes with it and women don't speak up. Otherwise they are uncontrollable and disruptive. So I want to be uncontrollable and disruptive, I want to disrupt the rapes, the violence and especially the black lesbian murders. It's important that people recognise that lesbian women are women too."