Over 1800 cases of domestic violence for January-August, Pristina region leads

So said the Group for Jury and Political Studies report (GLPS) at today's discussion table “Reporting and handling domestic violence cases”.

Liridon Salihi, host of GLPS analysis, said that in most cases of domestic violence belong to the poor economic situation.

“In Kosovo during this January period of August 2022, 1852 cases have been reported, with much of Pristina's region, in terms of suspected persons and arrested for domestic violence, most are male and adult. And as for victims of domestic violence, most of them are female. In most cases of domestic violence to the accused belongs to the poor economic situation, while in terms of education, more than 50 percent of them for domestic violence have finished middle schooling”, Salihi said.

Salih said the Constitutional Prosecutor in Pristina has shown efficiency in dealing with cases of domestic violence, where, as perpetrators, there have been minors, while according to him, he has not shown such efficiency in dealing with cases of domestic violence committed by major persons.

The Founding Procurory in Pristina has shown efficiency in dealing with domestic violence cases, where as perpetrators we've had minors, while not showing such efficiency in dealing with cases where domestic violence is major. By contrast, by analyzing 43 published judgments, it is that the Constitutional Court in Pristina in only five cases has pronounced prison sentences effective, while most of the judgments were on parole. In 70 percent of these and analysed judgments, the legal deadline for the appointment and hearing of the” has not been respected, Salih added.

He said that in terms of recommendations, other institutions, including the Office for Victims Protection, the Centre for Social Work and the Correcting Service, have invited other institutions, including the Bureau for Protection, to increase capacities to treat each victim more seriously, but also the perpetrators of domestic criminal violence.

While Deputy Justice Minister Blerim Sa Godi sought to work harder in this direction, as he said it is disturbing that out of 1,000 and 725 persons suspected of domestic violence, only 682 have been arrested.

“We must act in this direction to meet and harmonise judicial acts, increase efficiency and leave no space for its non-work or camouflage... Even more disturbing is the fact that from a thousand and 725 persons suspected of domestic violence, only 682 persons have been arrested. From here I call on all relief agents to increase the seriousness of treating these cases and their actions without any compromise for suspects committing domestic violence... The charges should be professional and well argued, so should the efficiency of the work, because for these eight months of this year has resulted in a range of 70 subjects left untreated by the prosecution, for some there are 613 cases, while only 543 of them<1> have been taken into account, Saqu said.

Saun has made it known that for the first time under the care of the Ministry of Justice will organise 16 days of activism, which will be the largest campaign, where multidimensional activities are presented and impact citizens' awareness against domestic violence.

Dren Rugova, deputy chairman of the Constitutional Court in Pristina, said domestic violence should have a more serious treatment. According to him, institutions should not focus exclusively on recent findings ending in court, but also on the measures and effects that must be taken to prevent these cases.

The Judiciary Council has taken a series of actions by adopting the strategy for effective selection of subjects, where issues of domestic violence are priorities. The Supreme Court has also provided a guide for dealing with criminal acts involving domestic violence. Family violence should have serious treatment. Even the Constitutional Court in Pristina and the rest of these criminal acts treats them with extraordinary priorities... In addition to the urgency of these cases in the Judiciary Council strategy, disciplinary measures for judges have been envisioned, so I consider that there are no judges and the court neglecting these cases, in addition to specific circumstances when cases -- whether procedural or operational -- cause delays in dealing with”, Rugova said.

Reyes Charle Cullar, adviser to gender issues from the European Union Office, said this report is important for increased awareness of citizens, while adding that Kosovo must fight in implementing the convention to prevent cases of domestic violence.

“Denial in the family and against women is popular not only in Kosovo, but also any other country, and it is a dominant form. Cases are daily, but they rarely appear in front of newspapers or news, so even such a report is important for raising awareness of this phenomenon. Violence resulting from someone in a place where you need to feel safe is hard to escape from, but there is also fear of reporting. It's a complicated issue that needs to be addressed by different angles of view, domestic violence needs to be addressed with an approach through prevention... However, Kosovo has achieved progress, especially when we read the find in terms of numbers, this does not mean that we should feel comfortable but we must fight further implementation of the” convention, Culler/ KP.