The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) with deep concern followed the report made today by Kallxo.com regarding the decision of the Basic Court in Peja, which sentenced the accused KP to only eight months in prison for abusing a 15 -year girl in 2012.

According to the law, this criminal offense is punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison, the Basic Court of Peja has failed to impose the deserved punishment for violence against girls, thus reflecting once again the lack of institutional response to cases of gender-based violence.

The court used unacceptable and scandalous reasonings to this decision. Reasoning such as,  “the victim had not been injured” and “the accused behaved correctly” only prove that the victim was not put as a priority by the Basic Court in Peja.

KWN estimates that these low-level decisions are only motivating perpetrators even more, and are demotivating women and girls to report violence against them.

Therefore, through this press release, KWN requests the Basic Prosecution in Peja to clarify whether they have appealed against this decision to the Court of Appeals. This is recalling that the Basic Prosecution is responsible for handling these cases by protecting the victims and following the cases to the end, and not just by sending the indictment.

KWN reiterates its call on responsible justice institutions such as the Courts, the Prosecution, and the Kosovo Police to prioritize cases of violence against women and girls, always focusing on a victim-based approach.