Following the case of sexual harassment of a minor by three boys, also minors, in the primary school “Faik Konica” in Prishtina, Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) supports today’s protest organized by the Collective for Feminist Thinking and Action. This protest took place at the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation starting at 12:00 pm. 

Although gender-based violence is quite common, even among juveniles, there is still a lack of proper reporting and handling of these cases. KWN calls on the responsible institutions to treat this case with due diligence, as should any other case of sexual harassment and assault. It is clear that schools urgently need to establish mechanisms that address cases of violence, harassment and sexual assault. 

We recall that KWN recently published the report “From Laws to Action: Monitoring the Institutional Response to Gender-based Violence in Kosovo” where we recommended to the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation: 

• Provide trainings for educators and psychologists on forms of gender-based violence; how to identify signs of gender-based violence; and how to refer to these cases. 
• Include literature on equality between women and men, mutual respect, non-stereotypical gender roles, gender-based violence and how to report it. in educational curricula appropriate for different age groups, as provided by the Istanbul Convention. 
• Allocate sufficient budget to increase the number of psychologists in schools. 

In conclusion, it should be noted that as with other cases of gender-based violence, KWN will seek justice and closely monitor this case and measures taken to address it.