22-year-old Kosovar relates to sexual harassment at work

She had to work at the office and field with many male colleagues in a field that counted a few female employees.

Soon, this worker says that he began to feel uncomfortable inside the workplace because of his repeated comments about her appearance.

“Based on the most serious events it was when my colleague struck me in the form of a joke and then insisted on caressing me on that part of my body to ease my pain”, it tells Radio Free Europe.

Margona relates that during work, there have been times when touch and kiss were attempted during the greeting.

“It's almost tried to reason in the form of a compliment, but it makes you uncomfortable”, she says.

Twenty - two - year - old says that besides raising concerns with his colleagues who harassed her, she has not dared to report cases elsewhere for fear of embarrassing him and firing him.

As women, especially in this profession, we have to do much more than men to match them. We've been created of thinking that you've gone through and you've been working on your”, reports Marigona.

In Kosovo, sexual harassment at the workplace can be reported within the workplace, Labour Inspectorate, and since 2019, the act of sexual harassment is a criminal offense inside Criminal Codes.

By definition within the Penal Code, “sexual harassment implies any form of unwanted verbal, nonverbal or physical behavior of sexual nature, with the aim of violating dignity or violating the person's dignity, and creating an environment that is objectively frightening, hostile, degrading, or degrading.

Depending on the circumstances of carrying out the work, the sentences for this work may be up to five years in prison.

Fields to Identify Sexual Harassment

One of the main problems related to the fight against sexual harassment and especially those in the workplace, according to activists, is the lack of knowledge about this phenomenon.

For this reason, the Kosovo Women's Group Network together with the Agency for Gender Equality and the Ombudsman have launched a campaign from October 18th against this phenomenon.

The aim of the campaign is to primarily inform citizens about the forms of sexual harassment in the workplace, laws condemning this form of gender-based discrimination”, says Adelina Trshan of the Women Group Network.

According to her, in this campaign they will also try to offer examples of sexual harassment instead of work so that people can find it easier to identify these cases when they happen to them.

A 2019 study of the Women's Group Network says that the number of sexually harassed women in the workplace, according to statistics, is higher than the number of men.

If you are a woman or work in the private sector or civil society (compared to the public sector)”, it says.

On the other hand, Kosovo Police for Radio Free Europe have offered figures regarding general cases initiated for sexual harassment.

The data is not divided on the basis of where harassment occurred, nor the gender of victim or suspect.

By 2018 41 cases of sexual harassment were reported, in 2019, 47 cases were reported, and in 2020 45 cases of sexual harassment.

Unions: Lack of Reporting in Fear of Stigma

According to activists and unionists, the form of reporting sexual harassment at work is widespread. In particular, people who have been victims of this type of harassment often report to women's rights organizations only or even to union organizations.

According to At and Hycol, chairman of the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Kosovo, cases of harassment should be dealt with seriously by law enforcement.

“This is a bad phenomenon that should be reported immediately to the police and that must be obtained due punishment”, he tells Radio Free Europe.

He says that in addition to violating sexual integrity, victims of this harassment are often deprived of opportunities to work.

The “E force it to leave the workplace, because of situations it forces it to keep inside”, he says.

The situation is the worst in the private sector, says Independent Private Sector Union Chairman Yusuf Azemi.

He says they have a problem representing the cases of workers complaining because of the victims' reluctance to face the person they accuse.

The worst thing is that many workers come to us and expressly reveal their cases, but the worker does not give us a written statement”, he relates.

According to research by the Women's Network, situations with sexual harassment at the workplace, especially women, can affect their performance in the job market.

According to Statistics Agency data, Kosovo The Number of Women High - schooling job is greater than the number of men.

According to official data, the level of employment among women in Kosovo is 14.4 percent, while male employment is 46.2 percent.