Family violence: 11 women and a girl killed in Kosovo within two years

These numbers are sections of “anquet for the welfare and security of women in Kosovo”, realised by approximately 2 thousand women in Kosovo.

The report says that <x0.0 or two-thirds of women surveyed (64 percent) feel that violence by partners, acquaintances or strangers is very common or quite common, and more than one quarter (27 percent) think it is very common”.

The report also shows that women in Kosovo agree with the idea that violence against women is often provoked by victims and that domestic violence is a private issue that needs to be addressed within it. Only a small number of women surveyed have informed police of what they considered to be their worst case of violence in the hands of the current partner, former partner or anyone else. In particular, only 2 percent of women reported the most serious violence incident from the current partner to police”.

Vlora Tuzi Nushi of the United Nations Women's Organization says that in the past two years, 11 women and one daughter have been killed mainly in their home, and violence against women and girls continues to be widespread in Kosovo.

The number of reported cases is still very low. Violence against women is not an individual problem, it worries us all, and therefore it should not be kept in the private sphere. More importantly, we have to deal with the core of the problem and this is about gender stereotypes, old social norms that support the violence and the values of the rule of men”, she said.

Kosovo government co-ordinator against domestic violence, Naim Celaj, said Kosovo has developed effective mechanisms for protecting women from all forms of violence

“Yet from the established database for domestic violence cases, so far there are 10,000 and 700 reported cases, that means domestic violence is very widespread in our families and it is a very disturbing phenomenon. The state has not been lagging behind with measures it must take in order to combat this phenomenon. Overarching policies have been created to prevent domestic violence. Kosovo has taken different legislative measures and other measures to protect all victims of domestic violence”, he said.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said the report highlights despair with the woman's position, with violence exercised against women, with threats to their welfare and security in Kosovo society.

“Non-respondents, questions, interviews have highlighted data requiring debate and substantial discussions in Kosovo society. Moreover, the survey you are publishing today does more than just confirm the situation but looks for causes, analyzes causes and consequences, and provides recommendations to improve the situation. We are talking about improving the position of the woman in Kosovo, strengthening it”, said President Thaci.

O mission chief The SEU in Kosovo, Ambassador Ian Brathu, said violence against women is violence against society.

“Cases of violence also exist here in Kosovo, where, according to the Kosovo Police, women were killed by their husbands, and this is an issue affecting the entire family”, Ambassador Brathu said.

The chief of the European Union office in Kosovo, Natalia Apostolova, said domestic violence remains a disturbing phenomenon and one of the issues that are not reported enough.

I agree with the poll but also that it requires application in terms of the find. It may not be necessarily say that we have been told something we have not known but that the government should take more care of by sharing additional assets in this regard. I hope the findings will contribute to fighting this” phenomenon, said Mrs. Apostolova.

Representatives of civil society in Kosovo say violence against women is a phenomenon that burdens life in Kosovo and threatens fundamental human rights and freedoms. According to humanitarian activists and police authorities, the most frequent form of violence against women is domestic violence. The issue has been counted as one of the main problems of the field of human rights and freedoms in Kosovo, as well as by international organisations.