When the girl comes home late, I'm going to cut her off on the”: Uncertainty Concerns Parents

“I said not to enter the elevator in unknown building”, says Lumniye Salihu from Pristina, concerned that someone could sexually attack her 15-year-old daughter.

Every time she comes home later, Lumson goes out on the road to wait for her.

I'm waiting on the street because I'm scared, I hear often about cases of attacks on girls”, she says about Radio Free Europe.

The river shows that her daughter attends school and that she does not rarely return home in the dark hours.

She recalls one last time she was out waiting in the neighborhood and a car was stopped in front of her daughter.

When I approached him, I told him this car stopped now, the girl told me yes, after seeing me”

Lumney tries not to scare the girl with her concerns but says that sometimes she also talks to her about her own encounters.

Don't get into the elevator when you're going somewhere, I've told him, because you can handle anything, says Lumniya.

I've said ask for help if you ever face a case, ask for help from the citizens around you, she relates.

Dozens of Police Reported Violence

Data from the Kosovo Police indicates that 79 cases of rape or sexual assault were reported at this institution during 2023.

They include victims of 14-18 years of age.

A year earlier, in 2022, 74 such cases have been reported, while so far this year four cases.

The latest case in Kosovo became known on March 11th of this year.

A minor girl was allegedly raped in a village of Drenas by two adults.

What is known so far?

On March 11th, in the 24-hour regular report, Kosovo Police reported this case as the missing “person”.

In the afternoon of March 10th, the victim had left a house in Malisheva and was reported missing.

The police report reported that the next day, in the early hours of March 11th, investigators had located the victim, accompanied by Kosovo male “2 suspects”.

“Rasti is being investigated”, police said.

Because the victim came from the Peja region, the case was passed to regional directorate investigators in Pec, spokesman Fadil Gashi confirmed to Radio Europe Free.

The “Victime has been at a relative in Malisheva on March 9th. On March 10th, it came out and was reported missing”, he said.

He added that after identifying the location in a town of Drenas, police have arrested and interviewed two seniors who, as he said, allegedly violated the minor.

Gashi said the victim, later, has been taken in treatment by social work centres, while the case continues to be investigated.

The spokeswoman of the Foundation Court in Pec, Tringa Zhuti, confirmed that a month-long detention measure has already been imposed against the two suspects.

Institutions Criticised for Failure to Protect Children

The high number of cases of rape, harassment and other acts related to the sexual integrity of children shows the low performance of child protection systems, says the Coalition of NGOs for Child Protection (KOMF).

KOMF cites the lack of programs to prevent situations of assault, sexual abuse, rape, and other acts against the sexual integrity of children.

“This indicates a neglect of institutions regarding these cases”, the KMF says, adding that the sentences pronounced against the perpetrators of criminal acts against sexual integrity must be stiffened.

What does the Kosovo Penal Code say?

Article 227 stipulates prison sentences of between 5 and 15 years for cases of sexual rape of victims aged 16 to 18.

Imprisonment of up to 20 years is envisioned for the head of works on victims under the age of 16.

Article 229 envisions 5 to 10 years in prison for cases when sexual assault is carried out on persons under the age of 16.

If sexual assault is carried out on persons under the age of 14, the chief is sentenced to prison for between 10 and 20 years.

Sociologist Linda Gusia estimates that Kosovo institutions have not made progress in creating mechanisms for the safety of minors.

“Rasts indicate the failure of institutions in child protection. I don't know the number, but in the last 4-5 years, we're constantly going on protests for similar cases and, until today, we don't see mechanisms that have been built to create some security”, Gusia says of Radio Free Europe.

The fact that two men “are supposed to attack a woman” indicates, according to her, that people “are not punished for such crimes”.

The Kosovo Justice Ministry did not answer REL questions about what institutions are undertaking to prevent such cases.

What should be done?

The KMF recommends “immediately invested in the establishment and empowering of preventative, educational and social programmes”.

According to this coalition, adequate treatment and protection should be offered for all children who are victims of harassment or sexual abuse.

The database of persons convicted of criminal acts against the sexual integrity of children should be established and, therefore, preventing their access to children”, says the KOMF.

Gusia also supports the creation of such a registry that a network of social workers should be created as well.

There should be more work on building other mechanisms, having more social workers in educational institutions, psychologists, sociologists, people who can read if a child is under stress or whether a child is facing different problems”, Gusia says.

Calls for the creation of such a public registry have occurred even earlier, as in the wake of the 11-year-old violation in Pristina, two years ago.

In many European countries, there are registers of persons convicted of sexual crimes but are open only to law enforcement.

In Albania, Serbia and Northern Macedonia there are public records of persons convicted of sexual crimes.

In 2010, the Council of Europe ʹ organisation in which Kosovo applied for membership has adopted a resolution through which it has encouraged member states not to create such registers for the public, but only for law bodies.

On Thursday in Pristina, she protested with a request for security for women and girls.

The Organisation for Action and Religious Thinking organised the protest and marched from Square “Zahir Pajaziti” to the Kosovo Government building.

Protesters demanded that the safety of girls and women be treated as national emergency.

The protest was joined by Lumniye Salihu, who said there must be higher sentences for the perpetrators of minor assaults and sexual violations.

There should be more punishment, more security, police around the neighborhood, so that if a person is threatened, they can have their help. I, as a mother, am very concerned”, says Lumniya.