KWN Demands Detention of a Juvenile Rape Suspects

Today, with great concern we were informed through the media about another case of rape of a minor girl in the Municipality of Pristina.

The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) through this press release demands the detention of the suspects for committing the criminal offense of “rape” on 27 August this year in Pristina until a final decision is taken by the court, and not to be released after 48 or 24 hours.

KWN calls on the suspect to receive a sentence commensurate with the gravity of the offense after evaluating the evidence. According to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo, Article 227, it is stated that “Whoever subjects another person to a sexual act without such person’s consent shall be punished by imprisonment of two (2) to ten (10) years… and in case committed against a person under the age of sixteen (16) years, the perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment of five (5) to twenty (20) years.

Moreover, KWN is very concerned that so far only two of the five people suspected of rape have been arrested by the competent institutions.

According to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, in over 70% of cases of sexual rape, the victims are underage girls. Sexual violence against women and girls and any other form of violence against women and girls must be combated by the whole society and every perpetrator of violence must receive deserved punishments from the competent bodies.

We also call for a focused approach to the victim when working with the juvenile and for her to receive necessary assistance. KWN remains open to cooperation and assistance to victims of gender-based violence through free legal advice and referral to relevant institutions. If you need free legal aid for cases of gender-based violence, or know someone who needs it, contact us at: 038 245 850.

Deferment of Gender-Based Violence Cases by the Judicial System

Violence against women is the most prevalent form of domestic violence in Kosovo. Based on gender research statistics and monitoring of court hearings, men exercise violence against women or girls in more than 95% of cases.

According to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo (CCRK), domestic violence is a criminal offense punishable by up to three years of imprisonment.

However, based on the monitoring of the KWN in the Criminal Division of the Basic Court in Prishtina, the sentences imposed on the offenders of domestic violence are mainly conditional sentences and fines.

In more than 90% of domestic violence cases based on the monitored hearings, the offenders have been aware of their actions, which means that in the majority of cases there has been criminal responsibility as an element of the criminal offense. However, in the end the judges have found the offenders of violence guilty, but the imposition of the sentence has been conditional and by fine. 

Besides domestic violence, last year there was an increase in the number of sexual violence cases. According to a EULEX report, in 2021 alone, 107 cases of sexual violence have been reported in Kosovo, compared to 60 in 2020. This increase is continuing in 2022 as well, however the response of the institutions is disproportionate.

Based on the data from the registers of the Basic Court in Prishtina, Serious Crimes Department, since 1 January 2022 until 16 August 2022, only four indictments have been filed, out of which two were indictments for the criminal offense of rape, one indictment for human trafficking and one indictment for the criminal offense of sexual assault. The accused in these cases are men, whereas the injured are women. In this very Department, in the Preliminary Proceedings, the Prosecution Office is investigating 11 cases of sexual violence committed by men, while no indictment has been filed yet.

The main factor directly enabling the deferment of the court hearings in domestic violence and sexual violence cases are the rulings for postponement of the court hearings. Based on the monitoring of the hearings, those accused of crimes of sexual violence in most cases intentionally do not appear in the court hearings so that the court proceedings are postponed, which serves to favor the accused.

As a consequence of the postponements and the absence of the accused in the proceedings, the victims of violence as injured parties in the proceedings are suffering in the court proceedings, since the ascertainment of the facts (factual situation) and the collection of evidence before the court is getting more and more difficult, causing the case to “fade” over time.

A concrete case of a criminal offense which resulted in an unfair judgment for the victim of violence as a consequence of postponing the hearings due to the absence of the accused was the case for the criminal offense of sexual abuse of persons under the age of 16. The Basic Prosecution in Prishtina/Juvenile Department only filed the indictment against the accused of this offense in 2014, whereas the investigations related to the case had started in 2012.

The accused had missed tens of hearings, trying “to evade” the court proceedings, and after many decisions by the Court to postpone the hearings, 8 years since the indictment had been filed, the Basic Court in Prishtina/Juvenile Department announced the Judgment in July 2022, whereby it acquitted the accused of the indictment.

Since October 2021, until the 1 August 2022, out of 114 hearings monitored, predominantly domestic violence and sexual violence cases, around 35 hearings had been postponed.

KWN, Partners Increase Awareness on Parents and Carers’ Rights

The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) conducted a social media campaign aimed at informing governments, the public and businesses about the benefits of the European Union (EU) Work-Life Balance Directive. Thanks to regional cooperation and synergies built between partner organisations and funders, the month-long campaign reached at least 100,000 men and women in the Western Balkans using infographics.

This Directive aims to combat gender inequalities by expanding the rights of workers with children and those who provide care to their family members. Thus, new fathers can get 10 days of fully paid paternity leave, carers can have five days of leave to care for a relative, parents may have four months of paid parental leave and parents of children under eight may request flexible working hours.

The campaign to raise awareness about the Directive and its relationship with gender responsive family policies was launched initially in Kosovo by KWN in partnership with the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).

Given the importance of the campaign, KWN worked with partners throughout the Western Balkans to spread ten online posts outlining the benefits of the EU Directive in relevant regional languages.

In Kosovo, as a result of the campaign, many women contacted KWN after seeing various posts, especially those related to maternity leave rights; they requested help reporting cases where their rights had been violated. KWN has assisted these cases by offering free legal advice and assistance in cooperation with the Kosovo Law Institute (KLI). Many of these cases are currently in legal proceedings in the relevant institutions, thanks to synergy support from the European Union (EU), the Swedish Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and KLI’s committed ongoing work.

The regional initiative to boost the campaign to a broader audience also received financial support from the EU and Sida. Through this synergy among partners and funders, the campaign has reached a broad audience with information about the Directive and the importance of Western Balkan countries harmonising their legal frameworks with the Directive.

“We strongly believe that all countries’ adoption of the Directive will contribute to increasing women’s labour force participation, to improving the wellbeing of women, men, children and families, and to gender equality,” said Nicole Farnsworth, Program Director and Lead Researcher at KWN. Recognising the importance of implementing this Directive, KWN and its partners in the region continue to encourage their respective governments to harmonise laws and policies with the EU Work-Life Balance Directive. They also continue to call for all employers to apply this Directive in the workplace towards gender equality, increased employee satisfaction, improved performance and, related improvements to success and increased profit.

Handikos in Mitrovica Publishes the Report on the Challenges of Women and Girls with Disabilities During COVID-19

The member organization of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWK), Handikos Mitrovica, on August 19 published the report “Challenges of women and girls with disabilities during COVID-19 in the municipality of Mitrovica”.

Some of the problems that were mentioned in the findings of this research were the physical and psychological violence that women and girls with disabilities encountered during the pandemic; problems in obtaining social services in public institutions due to the lack of access; and the further deterioration of the situation of women with disabilities in employment.

The research, in which 65 people participated, found that in order to receive social services, family members were forced to carry family members with disabilities up to the third floor as the facility does not have an elevator.

After sharing the findings of the research by Handikos Mitrovica, Arbër Berisha from the Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo and Gani Berisha, director of Social Work in the municipality of Mitrovica, admitted that their offices are inaccessible for people with disabilities. Therefore, both institutions at the meeting agreed to push forward the idea that one of the offices on the ground floor should be used to hear complaints and to accept the requests of people with disabilities, at least until the facility is equipped with an elevator.

According to this research, learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was not adapted to different types of disabilities.

“Also in the region of Mitrovica, there is a need for the functioning of the Pedagogical Assessment Team and the drafting of individual educational plans for children with disabilities in coordination with the DKA, the PSC, schools and parents”, the report states.

The director of Handikos Mitrovica, Myrvete Hasani, said that representatives from the Directorate of European Integration and Social Welfare and from the Directorate of Health did not participate in the drive despite all the confirmation. However, she said that these directorates will be kept informed about the problems and challenges of people with disabilities.

Hasani said that during the research they noticed that women and girls with disabilities could not have regular gynecological check-ups due to inadequate conditions.

“There is no bed where they can carry out that check and during the pandemic they also had a lack of hygiene tools. We have tried to help them a little but we have no chance. So, I believe that through this research we have to fight to improve the conditions for these women and girls,” said Hasani.

The member of Handikos MItrovica, Leonita Sadiku, said that the research clearly shows the problems that women and girls have gone through during the period of isolation as a result of the pandemic. She calls for concrete help and not just promises for people with disabilities.

“I have lobbied a lot and tried a lot so that it is always better and there are no barriers. However, I am seeing that it is very difficult. Lobby, lobby, lobby and in the end, you get very little”, said Sadiku, who, although she is a lawyer, is unable to get a job.

“Within this month I have applied to maybe 15 places and what is even more painful, I have not received a single answer. At least one answer that I was not selected or something, but I was not called in any interview,” Sadiku says.

The research involved different methods, including 50 face-to-face interviews with women and girls with disabilities; 4 focus groups with women and girls with disabilities; and meetings with 8 relevant institutions in the municipality of Mitrovica and observing the participants.

Handikos in Mitrovica has been supported within the framework of the 17th round of the Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF) with the support of the European Union Office in Kosovo through the KWN initiative “Raising the capacities and sustainability of CSOs: Advancing gender equality among of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

KWN, MEST Deepen their Cooperation

On 19 August, the Executive Director of Kosovo Women Network (KWN) Igballe Rogova met with the Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MEST), Mrs. Arbërie Nagavci. On this occasion, they discussed the Memorandum of Understanding signed last year regarding gender-sensitive education which challenges existing gender norms and unbalanced power relations.

During the meeting they discussed, among other things, the Administrative Instruction for the Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Measures for secondary high school students and the recent online campaign to allow religious uniforms in schools.

On this occasion, Rogova said:

“The KWN considers that such a change of the administrative instruction is unnecessary and the arguments that are being put forward do not stand. Article 3, paragraph 1.13 of the AI no. 06/2014 is in accordance with the Constitution and its repeal has the consequence of exposing minor girls to the influence of the fanatical religious circle.”

Rogova went on to inform Minister Nagavci about the KWN campaign for the removal of taxes on menstrual products. They also discussed the possibility of equipping schools with menstrual products, but according to them the commitment of both civil society organisations and local and international institutions is required for this purpose.

Medica Kosova Helps Children Who Have Experienced Trauma or Violence during the Pandemic

On 8 July, Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) member organisation Medica Kosova finished training primary school teachers in the municipality of Gjakova. Activists organised this training as part of their initiative “Capacity building in the primary education system in Gjakova for treating children/students who are victims of violence, abuse or suffer from the consequences of COVID-19”.

Their initiative aims to identify children who have experienced violence, abuse or trauma during the pandemic-related isolation measures. They have provided training to school principals, officials of the Directorate of Education and parents on how to identify signs of violence, to communicate with children with trauma and appropriate procedures for reporting it. This included six meetings with principals of six schools.

Medica Kosova also has taught students how to manage their emotions, communicate, improve their self-esteem, stimulate fantasy and improve their concentration skills.

Medica Kosova has worked closely with the Directorate of Education, which granted permission for this work. In close collaboration with the principals of six schools, Medica carefully selected children who needed extra support.

According to Arbnore Shehu-Bunjaku, Medica’s lawyer, this included: –“children who are more hyperactive”.

Then, the Medica’s psychologist organised activities with these children for two weeks.

“She visits schools every day, and, for an hour and a half, she holds activities,” Shehu Bunjaku continued.

Medica Kosova’s psychologist, Fatjona Karakushi, explained that the activities include art, music and drama therapy.

“The sessions have already started, and they are showing good results,” she said. Children are becoming more relaxed. There are children who have become much more outgoing; children who overcame their anxiety by speaking in front of an audience; [and who] became much more social. Through art therapy activities, they have started to respect, draw and express their own emotions. They have learned how to empathise with each other, respect others when they are experiencing any [particular] emotions or a feeling that one needs to share with someone,” said Karakushi.

This initiative has received support from the Kosovo Women’s Fund, financed by the European Union Office in Kosovo through KWN initiative: “Enhancing the Capacities and Resilience of CSOs: Furthering Gender Equality amid the COVID-19 Pandemic”.

If you want to support KWN and its member organisations’ future work, including to support children who have suffered violence, improve the educational system’s ability to support children and KWN’s general work to improve teaching so that it transforms traditional gender norms and relations within schools, you can donate to KWN at https://womensnetwork.org/donate/.

Gender Budget Watchdog Network reaching milestones in 2022

The Gender Budget Watchdog Network (GBWN) is a regional network that seeks to further gender responsive budgeting in the Western Balkans and the Republic of Moldova, towards more efficient, effective, transparent, and just use of resources that benefit diverse women and men.

Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) is one of the funders and partner organizations of GBWN since 2019. Moreover, several KWN members are also members of GBWN, as well as sub-grant beneficiaries. Since 2019, GBWN has developed significantly and now has more than 70 members across the Western Balkans.

This year, GBWN has officially adopted its statute and code of conduct, which is a step towards the full establishment of the network. In June, the first GBWN Assembly of Members was organized in Ohrid, North Macedonia, where representatives from each country participated and shared their experience within the regional network. Since this kick-start meeting, GBWN now has an operative Executive Committee composed of Marija Risteska, Mirela Arqimandriti, Višnja Baćanović, and Nicole Farnsworth (4 years term) and Slavica Strikovic, Mersiha Jaskić and Ludmila Ciocan (2 years term).  The Assembly of Members also voted unanimously for the GBWN Oversight Committee during this meeting.

As well as discussing the future of the Network, this meeting served as a good team-building initiative. KWN had the chance to meet the GBWN members and sub-grantees from the region and share experiences with them which helps to strengthen the GBWN team.  Moreover, GBWN’s structure was immediately put into action by organizing the international conference “Role of civil society in (gender responsive) budgeting: participation, advocacy and accountability” which gathered in one place multiple stakeholders including government officials, public finance management experts, women rights activist, and international and local Civil Society Organizations.

Let’s recall that this year GBWN also participated in its third study visit. This time GBWN representatives traveled to Dublin, Ireland, to meet and exchange GRB practices with Irish Government representatives, members of the Irish Parliament, as well as Civil Society Organizations. The insights of the performance budgeting gained in Ireland will inform the on-going advocacy towards the institutionalization of GRB in Kosovo.

This regional network is funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

Volunteers Appreciate KWN’s Role in Strengthening the Feminist Movement

The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) has been committed to supporting and promoting the rights and interests of women and girls throughout Kosovo for decades. Over the years, KWN has made efforts to provide opportunities for volunteers from Kosovo, as well as from around the world, to engage directly in internships and volunteer opportunities. 

One volunteer who recently has worked with KWN is Emily Prechtl from the United States of America. Emily said that she was aware of KWN for a long time while she learned details after interviewing a member of KWN back in 2019.

“I remember being blown away by the wide and ambitious scope of all the work that they do for women and girls in Kosovo. When I applied for my Fulbright fellowship, I had them in mind; I wanted to get a closer look at the organizations and missions they serve,” she said.

Among numerous programs and initiatives, KWN has developed a more specific program for volunteer engagement, which aims to establish a sustainable mechanism for volunteering in KWN, but also directly to some of its 189 member organizations across Kosovo.

KWN’s staff work daily to further strengthen the feminist movement in Kosovo, including by engaging more activists in the quest for equality and social justice.

“I think the feminist movement in Kosovo is very strong; there is an acknowledgement from leaders in the space, such as KWN, that inequality must be viewed through many different lenses: political, social, cultural, financial, academic, and so on. They oversee funding for a myriad of small-scale NGOs who are implementing important projects at the community level. It is truly feminism in action, not just words,” Prechtl said.

The goal of KWN’s program is to include more activists in furthering feminism in Kosovo. The program also provides volunteers with the opportunity to take a closer look at the work of small women’s rights organizations, their work in the community, and the needs of women at the local level.

Recently, KWN has conducted two successful campaigns thanks to the contributions of volunteers. In 2019, about 200 volunteers for five days (September 25-29) met with citizens, door to door, in over 15 municipalities, including Serb municipalities, to discuss with women and men voters the importance of voting for more women in the early parliamentary elections held on October 6, 2019. Whereas, in 2021, about 80 volunteers, for five days (October 11-15), talked to citizens in 23 municipalities of Kosovo, again, going door to door, to discuss the importance of equal participation and representation of women in elections.

KWN remains committed to providing as many volunteer opportunities as possible to anyone who is interested. If you are interested in being a part of our volunteer team, please contact us at Etleva@womensnetwork.org

Our program for engaging volunteers recently has been supported through the four-year initiative “Strengthening Women’s Participation in Politics”, funded by the European Union Office in Kosovo, and it continues to receive support from the Austrian Development Agency.

Art Without Limit empowers people with disabilities through art

The member organization of the Kosova Women’s Network, Art Without Limit has successfully concluded the initiative “Empowerment of people with disabilities through art”.

Among the concrete results of the initiative, is the second edition of the film festival “Art Without Limit International Film Festival” dedicated to people with disabilities.

Fifty international films from different countries were presented in the festival. The films treated issues such as autism, Down syndrome, people’s physical disabilities and the blindness. There were films calling to stop the domestic violence and to promote the rights of women, especially those with special needs. The festival has been open to a wide audience.

 “We had foreseen to have about 900 people during the three days of the festival due to the capacity of Kino Armata. But, this number has exceeded as we had an audience all day from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and in total we had 1,500 people who attended the festival and the exhibition,” says Ganimete Sava, AWL’s manager.

The exhibition with ten professional photos opened during the festival is a product of a workshop attended by seven people with disabilities who were trained in the field of photography.  

The AWL has also held meetings with the leaders of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to enable the voting of all persons with disabilities.

To raise awareness about the removal of obstacles that these people encounter during voting, some people with disabilities were photographed while they went to their voting centers in Pristina for the last local elections.

The Art Without Limit’s  initiative has been supported by the Office of the European Union (EU) in Kosovo, through the 15th round of the Kosovo Women’s Fund.

DSK’s recommendations for inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Decision-Making

Kosovo Women’s Network member organization Down Syndrome Kosovo (DSK), branch in Ferizaj, has successfully concluded the initiative “Involving Persons with Disabilities in Decision-Making.”

The DSK has identified the needs and priorities of 16 persons with disabilities and received recommendations from 19 parents of children with disabilities. Forty-nine people have benefited from this project.

Over the course of eight months, the DSK branch in Ferizaj has organized separate information sessions with persons with disabilities (3), parents (3) and with civil society organizations (3).

Persons with disabilities have given recommendations to their involvement in the decision-making processes at the local level.

In February 2022, these recommendations were presented to the municipal Directorate of Health and Social Welfare.

In the period February-April 2022, the DSK has summarized the recommendations in a political paper, with four main objectives:

  1. Ensuring inclusive education and strengthening support mechanisms to provide quality services to persons with disabilities;
  2. Expansion and improvement of medical, rehabilitative and social services for persons with disabilities;
  3. Creation of equal conditions and opportunities for the employment of persons with disabilities;
  4. Advancing and improving access to infrastructure, transportation, information, culture, sports and other services for all persons with disabilities.

The recommendations have been shared with the municipal directorates aiming at improving the quality of life and advancing the rights of persons with disabilities in Ferizaj in the period 2022-2023.

The document has been distributed to the Center for Social Work as well as to all Handikos, Hendifer and Pema organizations.

The initiative “Involving Persons with Disabilities in Decision-Making”, was supported by the 15th round of the Kosovo Women’s Fund, funded by the European Union (EU) Office in Kosovo.