Kiribati Women and Children Support Centre

The Kiribati Women and Children’s Support Centre (KWCSC) formally opened its doors on the 31 January 2018 and since then it has assisted and continue to assist women and children who have experienced sexual and family violence. As a feminist non-profit government organization, it has a specific role of supporting women and children who are survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV).The establishment of the KWCSC was identified under the National Approach to Eliminating Sexual Violence and Gender Based Violence in Kiribati – Policy and Strategic Action Plan 2011 – 2021 and the Shared Implementation Plan (SHIP). However, the need to have the Centre is very much rooted in the fact that Kiribati has one of the highest levels of sexual and gender-. The women and children experiencing violence have no access to proper support, counselling and legal advice. To address this issue, the KWCSC was envisioned in its Strategic Plan 2016 to 2019, and was first initiated under the auspices of the Kiribati Family Health Association.The KWCSC is the first support centre established in Kiribati with a specific focus of addressing the need of women and children who have experienced sexual and gender-based violence. The Centre provide support exclusively to women and children through SGBV Counselling, Legal Advice and Support, Case Management, Telephone Helpline (24/7), Advocacy and Awareness, Survivors Support Fund, and Crisis Shelter (Orange door initiative).