Combating gender-based violence in Kosovo
By Nazlie Bala, Project Manager, Women’s Safety and Security Initiative, UNDP Kosovo

“I know … that in my village there are three to four families suffering from violence. Two days ago a man beat his wife. She was all black with bruises. In another family, the husband beats his wife. His brothers beat her too. About two days ago the police came for this case.”

This statement, given by a woman recently surveyed by the Kosovo Women’s Network for the UNDP-supported Kosovo Women’s Safety and Security Initiative, shows the inferior status to which many women in Kosovo are resigned. Violence against women is widespread in Kosovo, with an estimated 43 percent of respondents in the survey - both men and women - reporting violence in their homes. Close to 40 percent of those polled agreed that, in Kosovo, “violence is a normal part of any relationship, and society in general accepts that violence happens sometimes.” Longstanding practices that foster inequality further frustrate efforts to end the violence.

Progress is being made, however: the Kosovo authority adopted the first strategy and action plan against trafficking in human beings in 2008. It is the culmination of a highly participatory exercise supported by UNDP that reached out to national and local stakeholders. The aim is to improve the security environment for women in Kosovo by undertaking comprehensive efforts to combat human trafficking and violence against women. To ensure that the action plan against trafficking in human beings becomes a reality, UNDP is now helping the Ministry of Internal Affairs establish implementation mechanisms, including a secretariat and a civil society monitoring and reporting network. UNDP is also supporting the development of a national action plan against domestic violence in Kosovo. This plan complements the law on domestic violence drafted earlier this year, which is due to be passed by the Kosovo Assembly later in 2009.

In addition, UNDP has forged a successful partnership with the Trafficking in Human Beings Section of the Kosovo Police. In 2007, UNDP helped establish and equip interview rooms for survivors of trafficking and domestic violence in six regional police stations. For over 18 months these rooms have provided spaces in which survivors and service providers can interact in safety. The Kosovo Women’s Safety and Security Initiative is part of a larger justice and security programme supported by UNDP Kosovo, and has received funding through the UNDP/BCPR Global Programme for Strengthening the Rule of Law in Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations.

Much more remains to be done to advance women’s security in Kosovo. UNDP will continue to work with a wide range of institutions and civil society organizations - from the Office of the Prime Minister to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Kosovo Women’s Network – all actors are regarded as crucial players in delivering a secure environment to the women of Kosovo. CPR

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In this Issue

> Fighting impunity: DRC
> Gender-Based Violence in Kosovo
> Sexual violence in Liberia
> Sexual Violence in Somalia
> Access to justice in Sri Lanka

Quick Links

Rule of Law in Conflict and Post-conflict Situations

Learn more about UNDP Rule of Law initiatives in Strengthening the Rule of Law in Conflict/Post-Conflict Situations: Global Programme 2008-2011 (pdf).

Gender and crisis

Donor proposal on Women and Girls in Crisis (pdf)