In Kosovo, System ‘Failing to Protect’ Domestic Abuse Victims

At one point, during the beatings, Magbule [not her real name] thought her only choice was whether to endure the violence or take her own life.

"I had nowhere to go," she said. "I was severely beaten, but I endured it all. On the day I was thrown out, I could not cope anymore."

Magbule was driven out of her home by her family in a remote region of southern Kosovo last year.

Today, Magbule - whom BIRN cannot identify or describe - is one of seven residents of a safe house for victims of domestic abuse in the southern Kosovo city of Prizren.

For the timebeing at least, she is safe from violence, but statistics suggest a growing number of women in Kosovo are not.

The safe houses that can help them are struggling to cope financially, and experts say the way authorities deal with cases of domestic violence is not helping.

System 'failed to protect'

Kosovo citizen holds a picture of Antigona Morina who died from bleeding three days after marrying, as they take part in a march to mark International Women's Day in Pristina, Kosovo, March 8, 2019. Morina's family accuses her husband for worsening her condition. He was eventually sentenced with two years in prison for not fulfilling family obligations. Photo: EPA-EFE/VALDRIN XHEMAJ

The number of cases of domestic violence reported to police has risen steadily, from 1,541 in 2018 to 1,915 in 2019 and just over 2,000 in 2020. In the first six months of this year alone, a further 165 cases were registered.

At the end of last year, Kosovo's government at the time allocated 105,000 euros for shelters.

But Jubilea Kabashi, director of the Prizren shelter, said it was not enough, not least because some women end up staying longer than the...

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