For a second year in a row the APN hosted an engaging and enriching public meeting to mark women’s month in South Africa. The meeting took place in late August 2025 at a school in Bishop Lavis. Women and men from different parts of Cape Town used the public meeting to speak out against gender-based violence in the family, community and society. Publicly speaking out through this forum can be seen as a form of resistance consistent with the event’s purpose.

How did the APN organize this public meeting?
In a series of monthly gatherings, the APN allocated time to iron out when to have this public meeting and the best way to prepare for it. Time was not on our side and preparatory decisions had to be finalised speedily. It was agreed to go ahead with the 2025 public meeting under the following theme: “Organising Resistance Against Gender Based Violence”. Organisations in the APN identified speakers and embarked on publicising the event as widely as possible. A poster and short pamphlet, issued for mass distribution through different channels – including social media platforms – were key elements in mobilisation for the meeting.

One segment of the actual public meeting catered for small group interactions around pictures that captured an aspect of GBV. All participants were grouped into one of four discussion circles. Inside each discussion circle a participant was then invited to explain their views and thoughts on the GBV-related picture. These small ‘working groups’ allowed comrades to meet new people whilst at the same time talking about the open and hidden violence against women as well as what can be done to combat this scourge.

Each discussion circle pasted the image on a large sheet of paper and wrote the ideas from contributions in the group around or below the picture. Talks in small circles were animated and comrades inside each huddle spoke with confidence about the significance of the image. Everyone was fascinated and curious about this method of political self-education, reflection and learning. The BLAC member who designed and directed this session later clarified that inspiration for this technique comes from the teachings of Paulo Freire, a Brazilian education for liberation academic activist.

What were the major GBV questions that came up in discussions?
The discussions circles regrouped in the full meeting to tell all attendees about the ideas that the images revealed in each group. A pair of comrades from each smaller group explained their written notes to the full gathering. Without a doubt, the pictures unlocked free conversations as well as deep thinking about its GBV connections. This was evident from the many examples that pairs from each circle shared to illustrate their main talking points.

Forms of violence against women and causes of such violence were standout issues discussed across all working groups. This was clear from the bold ‘Silent Violence’ caption in one picture and the group’s feedback. Gendered violence, this group explained, is entrenched in the hidden structures of society and thus rarely visible to the naked eye. Stereotypes about gender roles become societal norms and this helps to subordinate women to silent violence. The picture of ‘a boy’s head on a big-muscles body’ carried many storylines that echoed the experiences of women in attendance. As one woman clarified, the perpetrators (“macho monsters”) of violence against women, suffer from split personalities. These macho men abuse their power over women, but such men are trapped in infantile mindsets. They are immature and backward men.

Notes from the group that talked about a picture on ‘gender justice protests’ clearly resonated with the main theme of this event. A commonsense message came from their feedback: in order to change society, we must begin to change our behaviour. Respect women and the rights of women! It also called for independent actions for liberating women such as raising awareness, self-education and agitating for radical feminist alternatives through public speaking and writing. The self-empowerment of women, which means taking power into our own hands, is a revolutionary alternative and a forward step to end gender-based violence. Reflections from this group were particularly enlightening because the importance of organising resistance was on the periphery of what other groups discussed. It inspired us with hope, an alternative vision and the urgency to self-organise. The voices, interests and demands of anti-capitalist feminist movements must be amplified in words and deeds!