Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) member organization Humanus Vita successfully concludes the 15th round of the Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF) beneficiary initiative “Awareness of young people about harassment and sexual assault and the importance of early reporting”.

From October 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022, for five months, Humanus Vita held information sessions with students of primary and secondary schools in the municipality of Drenas and the villages of Nekoc and Llapushnik. In total, 720 students were informed about gender-based violence including sexual harassment in schools.

Local and international legal framework; Challenging gender stereotypes; How does sexual violence and sexual harassment affect young people; Causes of low reporting; were some of the topics covered during these sessions.

The number of indirect beneficiaries (awareness raising and information sharing) has been significantly large, given that its realization was accompanied by several television appearances.

The first sessions were held on October 21st at the Technical High School “Fehmi Lladrovci” in Drenas, where students discussed about their perceptions of harassment and sexual assault.

Trainer Valentina Bejtullahu, explained the concepts of gender-based violence and sexual assault, and informed the participating students about the local and international legal framework that regulates this issue. Particular attention was paid to combating gender stereotypes, identified as some of the most common causes of sexual harassment.

“If there were no gender stereotypes from society and the media, there would be fewer harassment cases. Therefore, young people should avoid generalisations, be open-minded, and make the fight for equality part of their daily lives,” she added.

Humannus Vita, also held two information sessions for 30 women from the community and rural areas. The topic of gender-based violence and sexual harassment was the main topic discussed in these sessions held in the village of Krajkova, in schools and in the Municipality of Drenas in community homes.

This initiative of “Humanus Vita” is supported by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), through KWN’s “Further Advancement of Women’s Rights in Kosovo II” initiative, co-financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), through the Swedish Embassy in Prishtina.