Every third woman in Kosovo is subjected to domestic violence, UN Women in Kosovo Director, Flora Macula said today during debate in Media Centre in Caglavica. Police said there are 1269 domestic violence cases reported last year, and five cases ended tragically.
628 cases in which women were the victims were reported in the first half of the year. Out of this number, 78 cases happened in the Serb-populated areas.
Kosovo’s Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Arban Abrashi, said that the process of verification and recognition of victims of sexual violence during the conflict in Kosovo is expected to begin soon. In separate meetings with Flora Macula from the UN Women and Chrystele Todd from United Kingdom’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, Abrashi spoke of the steps the government of Kosovo has taken to provide justice for the victims of sexual violence in conflict.
The UN Women in Kosovo on Wednesday launched the project “Conflict brought no flowers” dedicated to survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo. The project aims at making the voices of the victims of sexual violence be heard and give recommendations to relevant institutions on helping these victims. Flora Macula, chief of the UN Women in Kosovo said this project has been drafted after months of work, and includes consultations with the women who are survivors of sexual violence during the war.
Co-authored by Thaiza Vitória, 15-year-old Brazilian handball player and member of the ‘One Win Leads to Another’ programme in Rio de Janeiro and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Both of them carried the Olympic Torch on the day of the opening ceremony of the Rio Games.
Kosovo’s Minister without portfolio, Edita Tahiri, participated in an international conference organized by UN Women that was held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 11 and 12 February. The conference was attended by representatives of governments and civil society of the countries of Europe and Central Asia that are committed to the women’s agenda for peace and security.
Kosovo’s Deputy Justice Minister Lirak Çelaj said at the end of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign that it is no coincidence that Dragash was chosen for the closing event because the municipality authorities have shown commitment and professionalism in dealing with cases of domestic violence. According to Celaj, this is also evident in the latest UN Women Report.
The UN Women office in Pristina and the Agency for Gender Equality have lit the Kosovo Government building in orange as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign. Orange is the official colour of the campaign symbolizing a brighter future and a world free of violence against women and girls. Ahead of this activity, the UN Women launched in Pristina a report on gender-based violence in different Kosovo municipalities.
Women politicians from Serbia refused to attend the Regional Women Conference organized by the UN Women, which was held on Wednesday in Mitrovica South. The refusal came after the organizer of the event organized the round-table to take place in Mitrovica South and not in Mitrovica North. Women parliamentarians from Serbia and Kosovo as well as representatives of northern municipalities were supposed to discuss the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, particularly the challenges that women from northern Kosovo face.
By UN Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Our world is out of balance. It is both wealthier and more unequal today than at any time since the Second World War.
We are recovering from a global economic crisis - but that recovery has been jobless. We have the largest cohort ever of educated women, yet globally women are struggling to find work. Unemployment rates are at historic highs in many countries, including those in the Middle East and North Africa, in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as in southern Europe.
During the Week of Women activities in Pristina, on Thursday was discussed the topic of inclusion of women in security institutions in Kosovo. The participants concluded that the representation of women in security institutions is not at a satisfactory level. Women are represented in Kosovo Security Force (KSF) with 8.1 per cent and in Kosovo Police (KP) with 11.1 per cent. The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) MP, Ganimete Musliu, said that women should work together to reach their goals.