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Safe Spaces Youth Network NC

Hello, we're Safe Spaces

We're a youth-led, women-led non-profit with the health, safety and dignity of young people at the heart of everything we do.

Learn more

Every identity, every struggle

From GBVF prevention to LGBTQI+ affirmation, HIV support and men's mental wellness — one support system for Kutlwanong's youth.

Get support

Rooted in Kutlwanong

We serve young people aged 14–35 across the Frances Baard District, Northern Cape — through peer-led programs and trusted referrals.

Get involved

If you're in danger right now

Safe Spaces is a small volunteer team — we can't answer calls around the clock. These national lines are free and open 24 hours.

Get support that's right for you

You don't need a referral, an appointment, or the right words to start. Tell us what's going on and we'll listen, then walk with you to whatever comes next. What you tell us stays private, and if we ever need to involve anyone else, we'll explain why first.

Surviving abuse

If someone is hurting you, or has hurt you, we'll listen without asking you to prove it. We can refer you to a Thuthuzela Care Centre for medical care, counselling, and help opening a case when you're ready.

Talk to someone

HIV testing & PrEP

Find out where to test, how PrEP works and whether it's right for you, and where to collect condoms. Straight answers about sex and your body — no lecture attached.

Ask about testing

LGBTQI+ safe space

A room where you're not explaining or defending who you are. Peer support if you're dealing with bullying at school or rejection at home, and people who've been there.

Find our space

Men's mental wellness

Healing circles for men who were raised not to talk. If you're carrying something heavy, or you've thought about ending your life, we'll sit with you and help you reach a clinic.

Join a circle

What happens when you reach out

Not knowing what comes next is the reason a lot of people never make the call. So here it is, plainly.

  1. Step one

    You get in touch

    Call, WhatsApp, email, or send the form at the bottom of this page. Say as much or as little as you want — you don't have to explain everything up front.

  2. Step two

    A peer counsellor replies

    Someone close to your age gets back to you. There's no intake form to fill in first, and nobody will tell you what you should have done differently.

  3. Step three

    We go with you

    We talk through your options, and if you want a clinic, a Thuthuzela Care Centre, or another service, we make the referral and can go with you.

Youth-led. Women-led. Community-rooted.

Safe Spaces Youth Network NC was founded in 2026 by young people from Kutlwanong who were tired of watching their friends fall through the gaps between clinics, police stations and social services.

We work across the Frances Baard District in the Northern Cape, with Kutlwanong and the communities around it as our home base, and we serve young people between 14 and 35.

Our mission is to mobilize, educate, and empower youth by creating safe, affirming spaces that prevent GBVF, reduce HIV risk, and promote men's mental wellness through peer-led programs and service referrals.

Being youth-led and women-led is not a label for us. The people running the dialogues and the healing circles are from the same streets as the people attending them, which is why young people talk to us when they won't talk to anyone else.

Safe Spaces Youth Network NC has applied for registration under the Nonprofit Organisations Act 71 of 1997 and is currently awaiting the outcome of that application.

  • GBVF Prevention & ResponseDialogues, survivor support, Thuthuzela referrals
  • HIV & Sexual HealthHTS promotion, PrEP education, condom distribution
  • LGBTQI+ InclusionAnti-bullying, stigma reduction, safe space advocacy
  • Men's Mental WellnessHealing circles, suicide prevention, PHC referrals
  • Youth DevelopmentLife skills, leadership, career guidance

Our programs

Three programs carry most of our work. Each one is run by peers, in the community, and each one connects to services that can take over when someone needs more than we can give.

LGBTQIA+ · Pride · Counselling

True Colours Initiative

Education, pride events, and self-acceptance counselling for LGBTQIA+ young people and their allies. We work with schools and families on anti-bullying and stigma, so that being out in Kutlwanong costs a young person less than it used to.

GBVF · Survivor Support

Thuma Mina For Her

GBVF education and awareness, counselling support, Thuthuzela Care Centre referrals, and motivational workshops. Built for women and girls facing abuse, and for everyone around them who wants to stop being a bystander.

HIV/AIDS · Youth Development

HIV Awareness & Community Development

HIV test drives, safe sex and prevention workshops, and PrEP distribution — alongside learnerships and skills programs. Health and opportunity belong in the same conversation, because a young person with nothing to do is harder to keep safe.

Champion youth health, hope and equality

We're young, small, and run by volunteers. That means the people who show up decide how much we're able to do — how many dialogues we hold, how many young people we reach, how far we can travel to reach them.

Volunteer & give back

Facilitate a dialogue, help out at a testing drive, or lend an admin, design or transport skill. You don't need experience — tell us what you can offer and when.

Offer your time

Fundraise for us

Run, bake, stream, or collect at work. Every rand goes to the things that cost us most: transport, refreshments at dialogues, printing, and airtime for peer counsellors.

Ask how to give

Open a door

If your company or institution can offer a learnership, a bursary, an internship, or an hour of career guidance, you can change what a young person believes is possible.

Partner with us

Refuse to be invisible

Invite our programs into your school, church, clinic or workplace. Silence is what lets GBVF and stigma carry on — talking about it out loud is the work.

Bring us in

Reach out — we're listening

Whether you need support, want to volunteer, or want to know how to donate, this is the place to start. There's no wrong reason to contact us.

Programme Coordinator: Johannes Kgopaditlhoa

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