Confession of the survivor of sexual violence: The pension I get is raising my two children

Spring (the true identity of which is known for editing) for many years is a user of psycho-Social aid, which is offered to the association “Medica Djokova“from the town of Gjakova.

In the autumn of last year, after six months of waiting, she has been recognised as the victim of sexual violence. As a result, she has gained her pension rights of 230 euros.

I got my pension from September. That means a lot to me because I live by that pension and I raise my two children. But the important thing is that we've been recognized as the status of a sexual victim. I'm glad we have the support of the association, but now the state. We have the support of the family, but mostly from the organization. But, for us, first of all, it is important that those who committed this crime face justice“, says Spring for Radio Free Europe.

Panvera hopes that other women, who have been victims of sexual violence during the war, will be granted status as soon as possible.

The issue of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo has been a taboo topic until 2014, when Kosovo's Assembly has decided that victims of sexual violence are regulated by law and certain benefits are allowed and, among other things, retirement.

The “installation I think of you” of artist Alketa Xhafa-Mripa, dedicated to victims of sexual violence during the recent war in Kosovo.

With the delay of several years, the government Commission has been formed to verify and accept the status of victims of sexual violence, whose work has started since February 2018.

But there are estimates from the civil sector that this process is slowly flowing and that victims of sexual violence are losing confidence, while the record of what happened to them is quite problematic.

More than 500 applications have been considered in Kosovo for accepting the status of the sexual rape victim.

The status of the victim of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo has been admitted in 336 cases, but in 130 other cases, applications have been rejected.

It has been said that there is a possibility that some cases can be reviewed again, while additional documentation or interviewing is still expected for certain occasions.

Mirlinda Sada, who heads the association “Medica Gjakova“, tells Radio Free Europe that accepting the status of the victim of sexual violence is very important because, with this, the state, but also society, after long silence, recognizes what has happened.

She emphasises that the status verification process is developing completely well, but, according to her, there is a delay in the Commission's work.

As she says, for the applications this organisation has made on behalf of some victims for accepting status, the answers have been received a year after the documentation was submitted.

These delays are causing problems or confusion in the survivors themselves. It is difficult when, for example, original medical documents are required. It is known that in 1999 it has been very difficult, given the stigma and family condition of each of the survivors who did not want to leave any trace. But even if they have visited the doctor, documents have been unable to store because it has been a problem to preserve“, Sada says.

She adds that the organisation she heads has the files of each woman who has been a user of their own association, but, according to her, problems arise when women who are not users of the association's assistance are submitted for admission of status.

Minire Begaj-Blay, chairman of the government Commission for verifying and accepting the status of victims of sexual violence, tells Radio Free Europe that this process is quite sensitive.

According to her, cases could be rejected if formal judicial conditions are not met and the commission disobeys.

We, normally, always, give each case the right time until we decide whether it's positive or negatively. We are aware that it is a very complex and sensitive process. In the end, following all steps, to the record, in the interviews... the case is rejected under the circumstances when the commission really refuses that the sexual violence alleged by the side took place. It means, by following all these steps, we come into a trial to reject“, Begaj-Blay says.

She adds that the Commission is aware of difficulties related to the documentation and argumentation of sexual violence. For this reason, according to her, the Commission has been permitted by law to interview people so that direct communication can be realised with those people.

“is not easy to decide or complete a subject, either positively or negatively. When I say it's not easy, I'm considering that we're handling a trauma process”.

Under no circumstances, such as the Commission, we will not allow the side to be damaged. For us, all that is done, all this work, all this sensitivity, is done for the sake of the side, because we are also mandated to work on this “category, Begaj-Blay says.

However, she adds, the delay in the process affects the delivery of additional documents, for which, not rarely, are expected for months. According to her, the Commission primarily requires documentation mentioned on the case of the announcement.

I know there's some kind of pressure and it requires that we decide faster, but we can't. We, like the Commission, are trying to be very objective towards these cases. We don't dare to do any more harm, we can't create trauma, but we have to be very objective in relation to law“, said Begaj-Blay.

Although there are no accurate numbers of cases of sexual violence, it is believed that there have been about 20,000 of them.

The report by Amnesty Internet Organisation shows that Albanian women and girls have been raped by Serbian police, paramilitary forces and the Yugoslav Army. Some women have reported being sometimes raped by many.

The same report points out that apart from sexual violence, nonhuman behavior has been exercised against those women, humiliating them, cutting them with a knife, turning off cigarettes in their bodies, or photographing them. Some have been locked up for days in designated homes where they have been objects of violence.

On the other hand, the United Nations, in its latest report on violations during the conflicts, Kosovo does not mention anything. In this regard, the Kosovo Centre for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims has reacted, which currently deals with victims of sexual violence for two decades.

This centre has said that Kosovo's involvement in this report, as well as its data on sexual violence, would contribute to the fight against prejudice and stigmatisation that this category of society is facing.

Since the end of the war in Kosovo until now, there has been no one convicted of sexual violence crime.