Gërvalla at EU–Western Balkans forum: Regional cooperation essential for child protection

Protecting children from violence, particularly abuse on digital platforms, was the focus of the second panel at the EU–Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs, attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Donika Gërvalla.

In her remarks, Gërvalla stressed that institutions have a constitutional responsibility to protect children. She said criminal legislation must cover every form of sexual exploitation, from online enticement and manipulation to the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

Discussing online enticement and manipulation, known as “grooming,” the minister explained that abusers first gain children’s trust and then gradually manipulate them, preparing them for sexual abuse. She called for intervention before abuse occurs and for the issue to be addressed in line with the standards of the Lanzarote Convention.

Gërvalla proposed that regional cooperation include joint training on interviewing children and using their testimony. Such training, she said, should help secure reliable evidence and avoid retraumatizing children.

In this context, the minister highlighted the protections provided by the Juvenile Justice Code, which limits the questioning of a child victim to two occasions and allows video-recorded statements to be used as evidence.

She also highlighted the need for easily accessible reporting mechanisms, alongside coordination among justice institutions, social services and healthcare institutions.

In closing, Gërvalla emphasized the responsibility to adapt criminal legislation to constantly evolving forms of abuse and to make child protection effective in practice. She described regional cooperation as essential to fulfilling that responsibility.