VOA: Violence against women in Albania, a challenge for the authorities and society

Complaints about this domestic violence in the last 5 years have increased by 21%, and according to the authorities this shows that it has been hidden. During the two years of the Covid 19 pandemic this phenomenon worsened, which led to an increase in the number of murders of women and girls. Officials point out that there are some legal improvements aimed at mitigating this phenomenon while civil society representatives say there is still much to be done.

“It has happened from the beginning, since we met, there has been violence against me. And when I was pregnant she used violence. And in the end I could not stand it anymore, when he used violence against the girl as well. I went to the police station. I was with signs. Raped and beaten, in a very bad condition, me and the girl. I received an immediate protection order and later a protection order for one year. I’m very afraid that all the time he was telling me that if we split up or he did something to me I would kill you. And if I go to jail I will get out “- told VOA Emma, ​​a name used by VOA to preserve the anonymity of this raped woman. She is one of 3960 women raped in the family over the past year, where nearly half of them are wives.

In Albania, gender-based violence, mainly against women and girls, continues to be a heavy burden for society and the authorities. During the last 5 years there is a decrease of 9% in the number of women and girls harmed by criminal offenses in general, while it is noted with concern the increase by 21% of denunciations of violence against women and girls in the family, for the same period. The situation according to experts worsened during the pandemic of Covid 19. According to official data in two years violence against them increased by 10% which led to an increase in the number of homicides. A total of 12 women and girls lost their lives from domestic violence in 2021, 10 of them from domestic violence, compared to 9 women and girls in 2020, 6 of them from domestic violence.

“We have a still hidden violence, which is not reported and generally the cases when we have victims are untreated cases of domestic violence. The pandemic caused a painful phenomenon when many women who were in a situation of domestic violence had to isolate themselves with their aggressors. “Thus, since the time of the pandemic, we had an increase and an aggravation of the situation, which then gave its effects in 2021, because maybe the cases that were aggravated were aggravated and then unfortunately ended in murder.” – spoke for the Voice of America Romina Kuko Deputy. Minister of Interior.

Representatives of civil society argue that the pandemic deepened social problems, which according to them led to an increase in violence and killings of women and girls. Authorities say services for women and girls raped during the Pandemic were not disrupted, and claim that they have taken steps to mitigate the phenomenon of violence against them. They highlight some legal improvements such as obtaining an immediate protection order from women in the police, removing the abuser from the apartment, setting up a mechanism for referring violence by municipalities, increasing the number of shelters and emergency centers for abused women and girls, increasing the financial measure for them from 3 to 9 thousand ALL per month, criminalization of psychological violence, protection of persons in intimate relations with the perpetrator, rehabilitation and integration of victims of violence, etc. But representatives of civil society defending the rights of women and girls say there is still much to be done in terms of providing specialized services.

“Every municipality should have a basket of services such as psychological services, emergency support, free legal aid, immediate and safe housing treatment for the victim, etc. “Today we are talking about a large part of the municipalities do not have this basket of budgeted services” – “Shelter for women and girls,” Marcella Allmuça told VOA.

Ministry of Health and Social Welfare officials told VOA. that across the country there are 26 shelters to help abused women and girls, under state jurisdiction and non-governmental organizations. 17 of them are classified as shelters and 9 as day counseling centers. Ms. Merita Xhafaj, Director of Development Policy at the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, responds to the criticism of the lack of services from small municipalities as follows:

“Municipalities do not all have the capacities and opportunities, especially small municipalities, not only professional, but also financial to set up such centers. For this reason we have put in place the social fund, in order to support some of the municipalities and especially the small ones, which do not have the opportunity to provide such services. There have been about 40 requests from the municipalities for the establishment of missing services. I am very sure that there are requests for centers for the treatment of victims of domestic violence in the municipality “, Merita Xhafaj, Director of Development Policy at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, told VOA.

The situation of domestic violence against women and girls in recent years has also deteriorated due to the lack of many judges as a result of Vetting, and mainly those who specialize in family matters. This, according to experts in the field, has led to endless delays in child custody court cases, and the division of property in a divorce process, following violence against women. Under these conditions they remain even longer exposed to this violence.

“In terms of normalcy when we had a judge present, trials of this nature have lasted one to two and a half years. But in these circumstances we have, now that the judicial system lacks about 45% of the judiciary due to departures from Vetting and resignations, the processes last indefinitely and without limit. There has been a contradiction between the immediate protection order, which has a deadline, and the procrastination of the marriage dissolution process. This has made the violence continue “- spoke to VOA Elta Milori, lawyer.

Violence against women and girls remains a challenge for official authorities and Albanian society. The increase in denunciation cases is an important step for the authorities in dealing with it. Experts say there is some progress today. that have increased women’s trust in institutions and the police and why much remains to be done. Emma raped mother. who shared with VOA a part of her story, has a message for all women and girls who are in a situation of violence: – “ The first must have a lot of courage, and do not have to endure being raped by anyone. To denounce, why not. Do not be afraid. Just courage. This is my message to all women and girls in situations of violence “./ VOA

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