Family violence, Albania stiffens the law for aggressors

The Albanian Parliament will enforce by law measures against persons who practice domestic violence or against any other person with whom the bully is in a relationship with infectious ones, while adding categories that gain immediate protection.

The legal initiative, which is expected to be adopted at the end of this parliamentary session, changes the 2006 law on measures to violence in family relations.

Through significant changes, the bill aims to prevent and reduce cases of violence, through increased co-operation of responsible structures, speed and toughness of measures, a more powerful role of police and local government, offering free attorneys, removing all judicial fees, etc.

Reform or Prison for Men

For the first time, the bill envisions the establishment of emergency centres for the immediate treatment of domestic violence victims, as well as the establishment of training facilities for rapists, who are mainly men. These training facilities must be established by local government. The legal initiative envisions that the court orders the violator or rapist to participate in parenting, rehabilitation and psycho-social programmes organised by public or private subjects.

For the first time, managers of the rehabilitation programme report before local co-ordinators on reference to cases of domestic violence, participation of indictees in the programme and its performance progressively, but not less than a programme completion report, in which to include the results of the rape rehabilitation. If the bully refuses to participate in this parenting training programme, the Penal Code provisions will be applied to him for actions carried out contrary to the court's decision on defence orders.

The draft also envisions taking measures to predict pre-university and professional education programmes of minors and young people between the ages of 18 and 21, who are rapists, and of minor victims, with the aim of rehabilitation, reintegration and re-communication.

Immediate Protection

The bill envisions adding a new article for immediate protection for victims of domestic violence. The initiative envisions that the bodies responsible for addressing domestic violence cases near the State Police, when they estimate that the violence exercised poses a danger to life, health, and freedom of family members, as well as when violence is exercised against children, take immediate measures to prevent violence, and, primarily, issue the immediate safeguard order.

This measure is taken immediately before the court decides, because in many cases this time span was used by the bully to carry out the violence. Meanwhile, within 24 hours, from issuing a preliminary command of immediate defence, the bodies responsible for handling domestic violence cases near the State Police apply to the court to establish the order and issue the immediate command of defence.

The bill envisions that the court's decision to issue the immediate defence order is executive and cannot be complained. The decision is executed immediately by police bodies, in co-operation with the completion office and the local unit's social services office, where there are permanent or temporary residence victims and other persons mentioned in the decision.

Request for Protection

The request for the immediate defense warrant is the victims of violence, the victim's attorney, police, prosecution, parent, or custody. Relatives, representatives of the social service office and centres and services for the protection and rehabilitation of victims of domestic violence.

In the event of violence, the victim may be addressed by a request of the nearest police (of the area where he lives or is located), the local (united) health centre of the area where he resides or is located, or at the request of the residential court, its location or its violators'/res, to take the necessary measures.

Any person who finds a case of domestic violence can be addressed by a request to take necessary measures.

Categories Benefiting From Project Prognoses

-A mate/or co-existence/or ex-husband/former partner/

Co-exister;

-The brothers, sisters, including, in case, even their husband or co-existenceer, as well as the children of the brothers and sisters, if they are members of the domestic unit;

-Parents and descendants in the right line, without restrictions, including when this relationship is created through adoption;

-Parents and children of husband/e or co-existence/s, including adopted children.

-The justice line, including parents, even foster children of the husband/e or co-existence/s;

-The brothers and sisters of their spouse if they've been living together for the past three months;

-The children of marriage mates or co-existence partners;

-The persons, who are related to the effects of the couple, not necessarily accompanied by coexistence, enjoy the same protection;

- The guardian and the person in his care during the ongoing custody, according to the appointment of custody of minors and the person who has been removed or restricted to the ability to act according to the Family Code guidelines. /Albanian. com