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Domestic violence indicators on the rise in Albania

2023-05-07 20:20:03, Sociale CNA

Domestic violence indicators on the rise in Albania

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Domestic violence indicators are increasing year after year in Albania, making this phenomenon increasingly worrying for society and authorities, both local and national.

According to crime and criminal justice statistics in Albania, in 2022, there were about 1,880 cases of domestic violence with over two thousand perpetrators of this crime.

In Gjirokastra District, judicial authorities are asking citizens to be more active in reporting cases of violence, while local structures are trying to increase services to victims of violence.

A few days ago, in a meeting with journalists and local social protection structures, the deputy president of the Gjirokastra Court, Suelda Dashi, pointed out that almost all cases of domestic violence were brought to court by police stations.

Mrs. Dashi said that the citizens themselves could file lawsuits about cases of violence directly in court to have immediate actions.

"Not everything can come from the police station. The citizens themselves must be educated to address the court themselves with a request-lawsuit. Because it may happen that due to bureaucracy, police stations may delay the sending of reports by days or hours, but in cases of domestic violence, this time can be fatal. It is enough for the citizens to go to the chief secretary of the court and submit a lawsuit request in written form, and then the court is the one that invests everything in considering the cases."

Ms. Dashi said that during 2022, the Court of Gjirokastra issued 70 protection orders for cases of reporting violence, while in 2021, 20 protection orders were issued for violence against women and minors.

According to statistics of crimes and criminal justice in Albania, cases of domestic violence have increased year after year. In 2022, 1,887 cases of domestic violence were recorded from 1,631 that were recorded in 2021 and 1,374 in 2018.

The number of perpetrators of these criminal offenses has also increased. According to official statistics in 2022 in Albania, there are 2003 perpetrators of domestic violence from 1733 in 2021 and 1459 in 2018.

Cases of violence are often reported with difficulty, says Loreta Mamani, representative of the Psychologist's Journey in Gjirokastër.

"It is noted that violence is not reported immediately in the first cases. But it lasts because it happens within the four walls of the family. Minors, mothers, always have hope that the father who abuses them will be fixed, the situation will improve, but when a long time passes that the person continues this violence, they report it to the police.

Municipalities have created special structures for these categories and in Gjirokastër there is also a center for dealing with cases of domestic violence.

Erjona Shkrepa, a psychologist near this center, talks about the services that are coming:

"The center offers psychological service, counseling and psycho-social support, we offer 72-hour accommodation for cases of violence, support with economic assistance with a package of 9800 thousand lek, we support the children of the abused with kindergartens and other services for free, and we also offer free legal service for cases presented at the center.

Ms. Shkrepa says that the most cases of reporting violence come from urban areas and from families with a low economic level.

"The cases that are not reported come from families with low economic status. Maybe it's low education, the economy, there are many factors that influence domestic violence."

In Albania, the phenomenon of violence, especially against women, girls and minors, remains a challenge for the authorities and society, not only from the increasing indicators, but also from the deepening of poverty, especially in rural areas./ VOA