Gusia: Municipalities are not implementing the regulation on coordinating cases of violence against women

Edi Gusia, chief executive of the Agency for Gender Equality (AGE), warned that municipal mechanisms for coordinating cases of violence against women are not functioning properly and meet very rarely. She made the comments while reporting to the Committee on Human Rights, Gender Equality and Petitions following the killing of Arlinda Zekaj, speaking about the AGE’s role, the legal protection of women and institutional responsibilities.

Gusia explained that the law does not authorize the AGE to investigate or directly handle individual cases of domestic violence or discrimination. Kosovo’s legal framework clearly divides responsibilities among institutions: the Assembly has the relevant committee, the AGE acts as an executive agency that drafts policies and monitors their implementation, while cases of gender discrimination fall under the remit of the Ombudsperson Institution.

She recalled that the AGE drafted the first law on protection from domestic violence in 2010, as well as standard operating procedures defining institutions’ responsibilities in handling these cases. The procedures remain in force; they were reviewed this year and are awaiting approval by the national coordinator and the Ministry of Justice.

Gusia said the agency has worked closely with the Ministry of Justice to review legislation on domestic violence, violence against women and gender-based violence. Over the past four years, she said, the ministry has supplemented, amended and drafted 22 normative acts, including laws, sublegal acts and regulations addressing these forms of violence.

In 2013, the AGE proposed that the Government establish a national coordinator mechanism to help institutions better coordinate their work on gender equality and violence against women. Gusia said the agency called for the role to be held by someone with a political mandate, since the head of the AGE is a civil servant who reports directly to the prime minister. She added that the establishment of an independent mechanism is also recommended by the 1995 Beijing Platform, which identifies it as one of four mechanisms alongside policy.

On training for the Kosovo Police, Gusia said the AGE has trained around 11,300 police officers since the standard operating procedures took effect in 2013. She said this number is not sufficient, but stressed that the agency’s capacity is constrained by its human resources: the Legislation Division, which organizes the training, has only three employees, and its staff has not increased over the years.

Gusia noted that municipalities are required to establish coordinating mechanisms under a regulation drafted by the Ministry of Justice. The mayor chairs the mechanism and must convene it at least three times a year. Meetings should include the director of the Center for Social Work, representatives of health services, the police, the basic court and the prosecution, victim advocates and the free legal aid service, so that cases of violence against women in the municipality can be reviewed.

According to the AGE chief executive, the regulation is not being properly implemented. She suggested that committee members contact the 38 mayors to find out how often they have convened the coordinating mechanisms, saying that meetings are virtually nonexistent.

Regarding funding for shelters, Gusia said the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare has allocated 1.5 million euros for Kosovo’s ten shelters. One, dedicated to victims of human trafficking, is run by the Government, while the other nine are managed by civil society organizations.

She stressed that municipalities should contribute financially to shelters housing victims from their areas. Although it is not possible for each of the 38 municipalities to have its own shelter due to a lack of funding, Gusia said not all municipalities are providing support. She said the issue falls outside the AGE’s remit and could be addressed through the Ministry of Local Government Administration by identifying municipalities that do not fund shelters.