20/10/2022
KCSS has organized the next meeting with women, representatives of security institucions and municipal institutions to discuss domestic violence and challenges in dealing with this problem. The last meeting was held on the 20th of October 2022 in the Municipality of Vushtrri.
The meeting was attended by the Director of the Municipality Administration, representatives from the Kosovo Police, representatives from the Center for Social Work, representatives from the Victim Protection Office, representatives from the Safe House in Mitrovica, the Gender Equality Officer within the Municipality and activists from the non-governmental organizations of this municipality.
During the discussion, the many problems that institutions encounter in the prevention of domestic violence were presented, from economic conditions to essential problems such as the heating of buildings and the lack of institutional cars. Furthermore, the need for increasing inter-institutional communication was presented, especially for sensitive issues such as domestic violence and the re-functionalization of victims in society. The main problem of preventive and reactive mechanisms was the lack of budget lines from municipalities in the region.
The main causes of violence, emphasized during the meeting, were economic conditions, the use of narcotic substances and alcohol and children who grow up in environments where domestic violence is expressed, in this form normalizing a behavior that continues into adulthood. Participants noted with concern the increase in cases of domestic violence, from 30% during the pandemic to 40% in the first 10 months of 2022. The citizens who participated in the meeting expressed their continued will to fight this phenomenon and received the confirmation and continuous support of relevant institutions in the fight against domestic violence.
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies is supported by the program of the Kosovo Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) 'EJA Kosovo', co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Sweden and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
