In Albania, the People’s Advocate and the United Nations opened today a study center on the killing of women, in an effort to prevent this phenomenon.
In the last 13 years, 159 Albanian women and girls have been killed by family members and partners, or otherwise a gender-based murder every month.
Violence against women and girls in Albania continues at an alarming rate, reports of violence are increasing, while their murders by family members and partners continue despite the strengthening of laws.
On average, one female victim every month, or 159 women and girls have been killed by family members and partners in the last 13 years from 2010 to date, 12 of which were killed in the last year alone.
The representative in Albania of the United Nations, Mikele Ribotta, from UN Women, says that just like in other countries, also in Albania the figures of women who are killed by their husbands and partners are terrible, and this is an alarm bell, that it shows that society is in danger, because it is the most extreme form of violence against women and the loss of their lives is the most serious violation of their rights, security and integrity.
“When we collect more information, after studying in fine detail each of the sources of the murders, as well as the judicial part of each case, the profiles of the participants in these events, then we can strengthen the prevention mechanisms, including doctors, schools, police , prosecutors, local government, to use a complete data base on the risks of each case”, says Mr. Ribotta.
The Ombudsman and the United Nations have built a cooperation program to end violence against women in Albania.
“Based on the scientific conclusions of the studies, the Observatory for Femicide at the Ombudsman will recommend preventive policies and the strengthening of legal mechanisms against gender-based violence”, says Erinda Ballanca, Ombudsman.
The participants in today’s UN round table with the Ombudsman and the government described the creation of a national coalition against violence against women and girls as an urgent need.
Experts and police authorities estimate that an in-depth study on the data and the reasons why these murders occur has now become a necessity and the conclusions should be used at the same time and in a way to increase the effectiveness of the prevention of these violent events.
In addition to the 12 murders of women last year, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Taulant Balla, says that last year, there were also a number of other reports of domestic violence, which are also only a small part of the true scale. of this phenomenon in society, so new methods must be used, because the protection of Albanian women is never enough.
He called on women and girls to believe in the police and to consider the day of reporting domestic violence as the day of their freedom.
“Only in January and February of this year, the police registered 629 girls and women who reported violence. The total number of reports of violence within the family is 890. So the ratio is 3 to 1 of cases against women, compared to the rest. We also have a sad panorama with protection orders. There are 465 injured persons who have received protection orders, of which 350 are girls and women. Undoubtedly, the most affected part are girls and women. Sexual crimes are 125 cases, of which 103 are against women and girls. But never forget that these numbers are only the tip of the iceberg, and there are many other cases that are still not reported,” said Mr. Balla.
The Femicide Observatory will collect and analyze data on gender-based violence, various forms of violence against women and girls up to the loss of their lives, in order to avoid these criminal acts as much as possible, recognizing them more in depth./ Voice of America
