Government Declares April 14 Memorial Days for Survivors of Sexual Violence During War

At the executive meeting held on 12 April, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said this decision has been made in co-ordination with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani.

He said the announcement this day is made to “recognise the pain and suffering of women and girls, but also of surviving men and boys of sexual violence during the last” in Kosovo in 1998-99.

Although there is no accurate number, according to data presented by institutions in Kosovo, during the recent war there are about 20,000 cases of sexual assault by members of Serbian forces.

Since 2014, when legislation has been adopted, survivors of sexual violence in Kosovo can obtain the status of the victim of sexual violence and benefit a pension of 230 euros.

They do the application through several selected organisations by the Government of Kosovo. But they must go through some procedures for recognition and verification of their status.

For the application, the victim must complete a form of information and detail for the country and the period when the violation occurred, with statements by witnesses and with eventual medical reports. This data is presented to a government commission, and if this commission fails to comply, the victim must physically appear before it.

So far, over 1,000 people have been recognised as the status victim of sexual violence during the war.