A small survey conducted by KosovaLive on October 2017 with 30 participants aged 10-17 coming from different municipalities, discovered that the majority of participants experienced some type of domestic violence within the last year.
On the other hand, none of them reported it to the police.
F.B., a 17-year-old from Prishtina, says that although he was the victim of domestic violence a few times, he decided not to report his father. He says he experienced beating with different objects like belts or wooden rods, and was often left with bruises.
Convinced that he deserved it since he wasn’t obedient to his parents, today, he is glad he didn’t report his father.
“It has been a long time since my father last beat me. But when he did it, he was not to blame because I deserved it. I used to be a spoiled child but I am not anymore, that’s why my parents have a better attitude toward me,” he says.
F.B. says that the beating made him more violent and as a result, he got into a lot of fights with other children in the neighborhood and in school.
The most recent statistics for the years 2013-2014 come from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics. By surveying 4,127 families it was concluded that 61% of children aged 1-14 years old have been victims of at least one psychological or physical punishment from family members. From that number, 24% have experienced physical punishment, while 6% were victims of severe punishments (getting hit on the head, ear or face, or receiving severe repeated hits).
Last year, only 12 children reported domestic violence.
According to Kosovo Police, 40 individuals and 210 lawsuits have been have been sent to court for violence against children in the family, school and other environments.
“Investigative measures are taken for these cases. With the authorization of the state prosecutor individuals are arrested, while the child victims are offered psychological programs and shelter if needed. When a member of the family is the abuser, other organizations are involved in addition to the police, like The Center for Social Work, victim protectors, psychologists, schools and NGOs that have rehabilitation programs for child victims,” is the written response from the Information Office of Kosovo Police.
The criminal law in Kosovo sentences parents or legal guardians who abuse their children physically or psychologically with up to six months of jail time.
KosovaLive has made some efforts to find out what measures are taken against the abusers but the Information Office of the State Prosecution has not replied.
Kosovo Police explains that children who are victims of domestic violence are taken away from their homes for a while and placed into child shelter. That decision only takes place if the child and social worker agree.
Valbona Çitaku, executive director of the shelter “Shpresa dhe Shtëpitë e Fëmijëve” (Children’s hope and homes) in Prishtina, says that during 2017, three children have been sheltered in that institution. The shelter offers safety for children aged 3-18 years old who have been victims of domestic violence.
“The stay in the shelter can last up to six months, however, there are cases when the custodian body cannot find other alternatives and the duration of the stay is prolonged. Unfortunately, we have children who stay 2-3 years in the shelter. The custodian body from the Center for Social Work tries to find strategies to get the child out of the shelter, either send them back to their biological family after stabilizing their family relationship. When that is not possible, there are other alternatives like finding shelter at their relatives’ houses, or getting them registered in long term projects offered by various NGOs in Kosovo,” she says for KosovaLive.
Arbnora Kllokoqi, project coordinator at the Coalition of NGOs for Child Protection in Kosovo (KOMF), says that the number of children who are victims of domestic violence is low because there are no sufficient efforts made in order to identify them.
“KOMF recommends to increase investments from the government and municipalities to create prevention services, including programs that enable parents and professionals to be in direct contact with children for positive disciplinary measures. We also recommend making investments to improve mechanisms to identify and report domestic violence cases,” she says.
According to her, KOMF organizes meetings with children in order to inform and encourage them to report violence to the relevant institutions.
“Violence against children is unacceptable and it is a criminal offence punishable by the criminal law. It is a legal obligation for all citizens and professionals to report it. Kosovo’s actions to prevent different forms of violence against children are more apparent in its laws, policies and protocols. However, the capacity of Kosovo to create appropriate services to prevent violence, to protect and to reintegrate victims is still limited, ”Kllokoqi points out for KosovaLive.
Psychologist Dritë Demelezi-Sejdiu confirms that violence against children might cause anxiety and depression.
“Children become aggressive and participate in fights at school, at home, and in the neighborhood. They also have sleeping problems. The child has difficulty sleeping, because they have anxiety attacks while sleeping and wake up frightened and distressed. Often they experience physical symptoms like headaches and stomach cramps. In this way problems in everyday life appear, like: quarrels, unhealthy relationships, violation of the law, abusing narcotic substances, smoking and drinking alcohol, in this way creating, a destructive personality,”she emphasizes.
According to the information official at Republic of Kosovo Ombudsperson, Majlinda Sinani Lulaj, children’s rights in Kosovo are not respected enough.
“Despite the fact that Kosovo has a good legal framework to protect and promote child rights, in practice, protecting children’s rights remains a challenge for Kosovo institutions. Republic of Kosovo Ombudsperson inspects the complaints regarding human rights violations made by public authorities, including Kosovo Police. However, when it comes to prosecutions and courts the Ombudsperson deals only with cases suspected of dragging out legal procedures,” Lulaj points out.
Arbresha Berisha
