A discussion between women members of parliament (MPs) from Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Albania inspires a Kosovo MP to take action. On April 27, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a USAID partner, organized a virtual meeting of women MPs to discuss the pandemic and its impact on women and other vulnerable groups. Kosovo MP Valdete Idrizi joined women MPs from the three countries in sharing views on the various approaches and measures introduced in their individual countries.
While focusing on actions that MPs need to take to deal with the aftermath of COVID-19, the women MPs paid special consideration to women’s economic and social situations and other vulnerable groups during the discussion. The topics during the virtual meeting ranged from employment and education to the prevalence of domestic violence in their respective countries. Kosovo MP Valdete Idrizi left the meeting feeling that she had to do more.
On May 20, Valdete met online with national and local institutions and civil society to gather more information regarding the situation of domestic violence in her home town of Mitrovica. One of the participants, the Head of the Office for the Protection of Victims from the State Prosecutor’s Office, shared sobering reports from South Mitrovica. He highlighted that 32 out of the 35 cases reported to his office have been cases of domestic violence. While out of the 204 cases reported in Kosovo as a whole, 195 cases were domestic violence. It was clear to Valdete that women have been increasingly affected by domestic violence as protective measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have forced them to stay in their homes.
Valdete visited a women’s shelter in person to see survivors of this issue first hand. She is now planning to present her findings from the two virtual meetings and her visit to the shelter at the next meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Gender Equality, Missing Persons and Petition, where she is a member. She has collected a number of recommendations since the initial meeting with women MPs, including the need for a legislative review of the Kosovo Law on Protection Against Domestic Violence.
Using a mix of virtual meetings and in-person visits while physically distancing, Valdete is not letting a global pandemic stop her from gathering information and taking action against domestic violence in Kosovo. It is examples like this that show how the sharing of experience and approaches between regions can lead to representatives of government taking the initiative to respond to their citizens’ needs.
NDI for USAIDKosovo