According to the Kosovo Police report, 1.226 cases of domestic violence were reported in 2016, RTK 2 said. Meanwhile, representatives of a non-governmental sector stated that the Law against Domestic Violence is not implemented the way it should be.
Kosovo Police spokesperson, Daut Hoxha stated that the police along with medical and centers for social welfare, as well as organizations taking care about the shelter of the victims, undertake preventive measures to combat domestic violence.
“According to the information, police have, these cases are related to domestic violence, respectively, to minor bodily injuries, threats and attacks,” said Hoxha. He further added that the increased number of cases indicates a greater awareness as people are now prone to report the cases, unlike in the past, when these cases usually went unreported.
Kosovo Women’s Network, representative Igbale Rugova stated that the network prepared three researches on the level of domestic violence. She also said domestic violence is no longer taboo, but the Law against Domestic Violence is not implemented the way it should, adding that it is not only about increase of domestic violence cases, but violence in general. She mentioned a case of a husband who murdered his wife and wounded their child and was sentenced to 12 years in prison only.
Gordana Djoric, representative of the Association of Businesswomen Avenija, stated that regardless of laws that are good, the problem is non-implementation of these laws. She also added that unfortunately institutions do not implement the laws only, but also breach them, and bullies know they won’t suffer any consequences and remain violent toward closest members of their families, where women suffer the most. She also said that lack of the law implementation caused an increased number of domestic violence cases.
