NEWBORN With a New Look

Each letter represents a sad story in itself. They recall the sufferings of the category that justice takes 20 years now, but still without results.

In the 12th year of declaring independence, THE symbol of Kosovo Independence is dedicated to survivors of sexual violence during the war, with the aim of increasing awareness of the survival situation, but especially fighting stigma and mobilizing for more support for survivors.

The director of the Kosovar Centre for the rehabilitation of Torture Survivors, Feride Rushiti, said this year that NEWBORN is dedicated to a sensitive category, where confessions of victims of sexual violence worldwide are combined in each letter.

We think that Kosovo society will once and for all stop prejudging and bypass the suffering experienced by victims of sexual violence. I thank the head of the Kosovo Assembly that has been attached to our campaign, in order that beyond civil society and Kosovo society, to see and read tales of sexual violence. The voice of survivors to be heard in the Kosovo Parliament and Kosovo institutions”, Rushiti said.

And Vjosa Osmani, who heads the Kosovo Assembly, considers that each Kosovo citizen's voice to fight stigma is needed in order to honour their sacrifices and experiences during the recent war in Kosovo.

One of them impressed me. It says: “I want to once again vow that this wound has a voice, today and forever. There will be voice in Kosovo's institutions, there will be voice in international institutions, just as there will be voice in the U.S. Congress of Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman, as did Shyhreta, as did Mrs. Kadire. So we vow together that in the Kosovo Assembly it will be the place where the voice of wounds will resound daily, the place where we will show the world the pain of these women”, Osmani said.

She said it is each citizen's debt to support victims of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo, as this battle is not yet over.

Vasfije's brother, Nafi Krasniqi, asked all to support the victims of sexual violence, since it has so far not been done enough.

If there's someone who has suffered a lot after the war, 12 years after independence is this very category of women and men who have bad luck. We call on everyone to support because what happened to them is not shame, but the biggest shame is that we as a society have done very little”, Krasniqi said.

During the recent war in Kosovo, nearly 20,000 women and men were allegedly violated. Those who have caused such violations have yet to find the deserved punishment.

In honour of victims of sexual violence, representatives of organisations for their protection and members of the government cabinet y bowed down to the memorial “Herina” today.