Botswana Gender Based Violence Prevention & Support Centre is a non-profit organisation which aims to raise awareness about gender-based violence in Botswana. Kagisano is a Setswana word which means “living together in peace”. The Kagisano Society was originally founded in Botswana in the 1970s to serve the needs of political refugees. With the reduction of the refugee population in the 1990s, the
organisation did a needs assessment and discovered that addressing gender-based violence (GBV) was an under-served need in the country. In 1998, the Kagisano Society started and opened the first women’s shelter in Botswana. In November 2016, Kagisano Society decided to let the Shelter be independent. It is at that time that the organisation applied for a new name and was registered as Botswana Gender Based Violence Prevention & Support Centre in August 2017. VISION
The vision of Botswana Gender Based Violence Prevention & Support Centre is a peaceful, safe and just society free from Gender-Based Violence and HIV. MISSION
The Mission of Botswana Gender Based Violence Prevention & Support Centre is to support women, men, girls and boys experiencing and affected by GBV & HIV in Botswana by providing temporary shelter, counselling, clinical services, community outreach and education, and staff and volunteer development as well as conducting research. OBJECTIVES
1) To provide integrated and comprehensive care and support services through shelter, counselling and legal support for survivors of Gender Based Violence, and HIV testing and management.
2) To offer community education for the prevention and management of Gender Based Violence and HIV /TB through awareness raising, advocacy and employment of campaign strategies challenging gender norms, roles and behaviors.
3) To provide information for Gender Based Violence response and management through research, surveillance and best practices. SHELTER
The shelter, located in Gaborone, provides temporary shelter for women and their children who are looking to escape abusive home environments. The shelter has the capacity to house 16 clients at any given time and clients from all over the country are served. During their stay, clients are provided with 24 hour on-site support, counselling, survival skills training, employment assistance, and referrals to other services as needed. COMMUNITY OUTREACH
A number of community outreach initiatives are executed through both the Gaborone and Molepolole offices. Activities include advocacy work through cultural dialogues with community political and traditional leaders, and consultations and collaborations with police. Other activities are designed to raise awareness about GBV including health talks at local businesses and offices, media interactions, and even door-to-door community mobilisation. Specialised community outreach programmes focus on mobilising men who are a key demographic in the fight against GBV. Youths are also mobilised both through schools and out of school workshops, support groups, and lifeskills training activities.
