Around 264,000 elementary school pupils in Kosovo have the option to learn sexual education in subjects such as biology or some other elective subjects. However, not all teachers teach the chapter about sexual education, although it is included in the curriculums designed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

“When you grow up in a small country where the LGBTQ community is still taboo, you have to be very strong to tell society how you feel. You have to expect common negative comments,which can really hurt you. Now I have friends who belong to the community and I feel like my true self when I am surrounded by people like me. My family still doesn’t know. They have their doubts but I haven’t told them how I feel. This bothers me the most because they don’t know and I am always stressed about it. When you know your family and you know that they are homophobes, you know what you will be dealing with,” says Y.U.

“Racing with men does not affect me, because it is a tradition I have inherited from my grandfather, my aunt, my father and brother, all of whom auto race. I’ve inherited the culture of this sport and automobiles in general…It’s a family tradition that we have passed on from generation to generation,” she added.