Minister Haxhiu-gras: Early Report Family Violence

During the gathering of girls and women at the city theatre “Avd Hasani” in this municipality, Haxhi said the commitment to combating domestic violence should be even stronger.

“We remain concerned with a phenomenon that is destroying our society, that has serious consequences for citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, in particular for girls and women, and that is domestic violence, gender-based violence, and when we are here, only in the last few days, two women were killed by their mates, and the last case was an extremely serious case, where at the door of the Genekology Department, the woman and the baby who expected to bring her back to life from her former husband. So, despite strategies, laws, the documents we have drafted seem to have to be even stronger and more powerful so that boys and men respect the dignity and life of girls and women in the Republic of Kosovo.”, she said.

The justice minister indicated that from January alone until now there are about 2 thousand and 500 reported cases of domestic violence, but said she thinks there are more cases.

She urged the so - called women and girls to report domestic violence.

I'm here calling on you before you get to the document that we've come up with and the work that needs to be done, to open it up and then the debate that I think you might have questions, suggestions about what can be done differently, you have an extraordinary role in reporting and prevention. So even when you're witnessing domestic violence, it's extremely important that you report it.

The minister said 80% of the cases of sexual rape -- from January until now -- are against minor or minor girls in general. She called that an alarming situation.

So far we have adopted the national strategy against domestic violence and gender-based violence, we have adopted the state protocol for treating sexual assaults, and it is providing only one information, from January to now, in relation to sexual violations 80 percent of them to minors or minors in general. So this is an alarming situation why we're then not sure where our kids are going, you go to school, you go out with a fight, you go buy something, you're constantly worried if something happens to the kid... And now we have recently adopted in Government amendments to the penal code that violators should not have been hired directly for a certain time, that rapists should not have been directly on candidate lists, whether at the local level or at the central level, that the names of offenders will be published on the website of the Republic of Kosovo institutions, that investigations into these cases will be completed for a period within a year, and also that such persons will be pronounced the detention measure. Why do you mention these, only the last case that ended with fatality, the woman in the grain this year had reported the case to the police, but the prosecutor had released her in regular procedure. If he were in custody, I think, however, we could prevent fatal situations like it happened a few days ago.”, she said.

Minister Haxhiu said they are aware that she has problems with the justice system and said they have inherited many problems. The minister argued that there is much work to be done until a state is built, where everyone's life and dignity are respected, where both girls and women are treated equally, just like boys and men. She invited women to support their daughters even when their inheritance is divided, even when they are not in good marriage.

Haxhiu said they plan reform at the Centres for Social Work.

We're planning that the Social Work Centres from January, with a deep reform at the Social Work Centres, because it looks like the same performers, but they actually have very little human and professional capacity. They're actually the first door to say, where the victim knocks. Therefore, we also need the Centres for Social Work, as we may jointly discuss a shelter housing domestic violence victims here in the Podujevo municipality.”, she said.

While the chairman of Podujevo, Bulliqi, said indicators should be drawn that affect the rise in domestic violence cases.

The minister also said it is very obvious that domestic violence is unfortunately increasing and that, of course, indicators that have conditioned this increase of violence, in particular in recent years, are of the most different. I believe that the relevant institution should deal more with it and my analysis and find out who are the primary indicators, which are affecting the number of cases of domestic violence. ”, said the first of Podujevo.

He, like the minister, mentioned empowering the Social Work Centres in the municipalities.

Bulqi said that it is more than necessary for the Centres for Social Work to increase your budget, but it also increases your chances of getting young people, professional people, psychologists, professors, sociologists.

Asked why they should believe in institutions, when institutions release the rapists after a month, the minister replied that violence should always be reported.

And actually appropriate questions, why should we report when institutions are doing their job. The question is valid, but my answer is always to report, despite the low trust citizens have in the institutions of justice or security, because through our efforts to fight negative phenomena and through reports of cases of domestic violence, we except to protect ourselves and the other one from this phenomenon, also, make institutions that do not carry out their duty, seek to remove people who are not carrying out their duties.”, Haxhiu added further. /kp