My voice is not shame”, the survivors of sexual violence during the war seek justice

In the case of the International Day for Elimination of Sex Violence in Conflict, the Kosovar Centre for the rehabilitation of Torture Survivors (QKRMT) organised a panel discussion, where the necessity of justice for survivors was stressed and the prevention of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

QKRT Executive Director Feride Rushiti said sexual violence continues to be a heavy burden for thousands of women and men who have experienced it during the war in Kosovo.

For the burden it continues to keep thousands of women silent, even men who have experienced sexual violence during the war. Unfortunately, even in 2025, when we are marking this day in this serious global situation, where crises, wars and conflicts are under way, sexual violence as a weapon is being applied in these countries and thousands of women and girls, but unfortunately men are becoming the prey of the battlefield being innocent and bearing long - term consequences not only to themselves but also to society and community as a whole,” she pointed out.

Rushiti added that through the campaign “Trauma has no deadline,” intended to stop silent, hear the stories of survivors and take concrete steps.

A video message from a survivor of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo, whose author has been sentenced to 15 years in prison this week, also appeared at the event.

She said that during 26 years she has dreamed of justice, which she added she thought would never come.

“As a survivor of violence during the war, I have lived for 26 years on a unseen wound, but it eroded every day from within. All these years I have dreamed of justice and thought that this day would never come, but this day came. I don't have words to describe this feeling, today justice triumphed, today I'm breathing freely”, she said.

British Ambassador to Kosovo Jonathan Hargreaves said that Kosovo is a global guide in the fight against sexual violence in the conflict, reports EO, broadcasts Klakosova.tv.

“Texa together marks the International Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, a day on which Kosovo and all you have been global guides and symbols of what is possible and necessary. Unfortunately, sexual violence is still used as a weapon and as a deliberate war strategy in many conflicts worldwide. Today is an opportunity to accept this and fight it, but it is also a day to celebrate the resistance and call for justice. Survivors should never be silenced or ignored again, but they must always be recognized, supported, and empowered. You know the pain, but you also know the force”, he said.

Ramadan Nishori, another survivor of sexual violence, said he had long been silent because of fear of prejudice, but has now chosen to speak.

I've been silent too long, thinking silence protects us from prejudice, but it just destroyed me from the inside. One day I decided to stop silent, stop hiding because what happened to me doesn't determine my manhood. My voice is not shame, shame is not ours, shame is theirs,” he said. /EO/Periscopi/