Women in Albanian Media: From Secondary Victimisation to ‘Slut-Shaming’

Almost five years have passed, but for the victim, time has stood still, her story becoming an obstacle to her education, employment and personal relationships. She said she had tried to kill herself.

"I thought I would somehow protect myself from my abuser by talking to journalists. I was shocked and not in a good place. I had kept the abuse hidden for too long and I just wanted to scream and ask for help," she said.

Now, she described the exposure as "like being abused for a second time."

"Everyone I knew in school and in my village was able to picture what happened to me and actually judged me for it. I think the journalists took advantage of the fact I was just a child and of my family's situation at the time. We are poor and my father is not in a good mental state."

"Maybe if the whole world did not know, it would be easier to get through the trauma on my own. My parents look at me as if they are ashamed of the whole family. Neither of my uncles speaks to me. They even said that maybe I provoked the abuser."

Her story of media exposure and secondary victimisation is no longer unusual in Albania, where rules and norms concerning coverage of sexual abuse and crimes against minors are frequently flouted.

A BIRN analysis of online articles between January 2020 and April 2022 found 320 concerning cases of sexual abuse in which the victim is identified, the family are identified, the home address is revealed or other personal information is printed.

Likewise, an analysis of domestic violence reporting over the same period turned up 142 articles directly or indirectly trying to justify the violence and 364 articles revealing personal data of the victims, their photos and /or videos. On television, 32 programmes over...