Institutions Stalled in Implementation of Rights for Victims of Sexual Violence

Stigmatising victims of sexual violence in Kosovo prevents the investigation of crimes and creates the possibility that similar acts will be repeated in the future, whether in Kosovo or elsewhere in the world, but stigmatisation can best fight victims of sexual violence themselves.

These conclusions have emerged from the workshop organised by the Kosovar Centre for the rehabilitation of Torture Survivors/ QKRMT, in partnership with the Great Britain Embassy in Pristina, with the subject “Ending the stigma surrounding survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo”.

The ambassador of Great Britain to Kosovo, Ruari O'Connell, said no one can fight the stigma better than the victims of sexual violence themselves, because no one understands this pain better than they do.

The survivors of sexual violence are not shameful, not touching anyone's honour, not guilt, not something to criticize, the one who should be ashamed is the one who has committed this act. If you want wholesome association, this fact should be fully understood in society, and the stigma must be completely eliminated. But this war is not only important for Kosovo, but for the whole world, it is also important for us in Britain. The culture of stigma creates completely wrong ideas that crime victims have a point of guilt for what happened, thanks to criminals who committed that act. Stigma prevents crime investigation, the stigma prevents even more important that creates the possibility of similar acts being repeated in the future, either in Kosovo or somewhere in the world”, OyConell said.

While former Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga said that the sweeping approach is much needed to understand the problems and barriers facing survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo, as well as to identify the possibilities for these victims to enjoy the rights they are entitled to.

Jahjaga said that from the last war in Kosovo it is estimated that more than 20,000 women and men have been violated by Serbian forces and that for years the crimes that have occurred to these men and women have been silent.

The former president of Kosovo suffered criticism for the institutions responsible for it, which, according to her, are fraught for practical implementation of rights granted to victims of sexual violence during its term as president.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Management gave a positive impetus to this process by implementing the Government Commission to verify victims of sexual violence during the war. But, the Commission is unfortunately not operating with the dynamics we've hoped it would have for this last year. The commission has warned the launch of a awareness campaign in the fall of this year to inform all victims about the application process. I hope that as soon as all necessary preparations are made to initiate this process and that all applications will be addressed as provided with full privacy”, she stressed.

Meanwhile, EULEX chief in Kosovo Alexander Papadopoulos said the EULEX mission remains committed to pursuing all crimes of sexual violence related to the time of conflict.

“EULEX remains committed to investigating and pursuing all the crimes of conflict-related sex violence, and we need to understand that violence and violence crimes in times of conflict are very difficult to investigate, but there is a very high level of non-interest to whiteen these cases. But the challenges in these investigations are great, EULEX has tried several cases, but it has stressed that an additional barrier added to Kosovo is that perpetrators who are missing cannot identify their addresses. That's why many cases cannot be followed should be closed and expected changes to be reopened later”, the EULEX chief said.

From the Kosovar Centre for the rehabilitation of Torture Survivors Feride Rushiti, said the purpose of this workshop concerns a deep analysis of all barriers affecting the stigmatisation of victims of sexual violence.

“It is said that the stigma kills, kills that most of these victims, except for the horror and suffering they experienced during the war, their suffering increased by being ignored and prejudiced by society and family. For more, 15 years have been forgotten by the government. Where these survivors are now dealing with, the whole silence and the lack of concern about the past has caused the victims to further stigmatize, blame, keep the perpetrators at large, and not be punished”, Rushiti said.

The workshop for addressing the stigma surrounding victims of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo will continue tomorrow, where it will be discussed the necessary resources and deadlines for taking measures and addressing the system.