26 Jan 2012
Albania, December 2011: During the month of December a series of one-day trainings on domestic violence were organized in 4 regional divisions of Albania. Over 90 actors currently working in the Child Protection Units, the newly established State Agency for Child Protection, Municipal Domestic Violence Departments, Domestic Violence and Minors Sectors within the Police Directorates, State Social Services Departments, prosecutors and judges, daily centers and shelters etc., in 17 different cities throughout Albania received information on the possible manifestations and consequences of domestic violence, the impact violence has on children and family relations, and children as victims and witnesses of violence.
Organized in the framework of the Mario project, the trainings focused on engaging participants in a series of predetermined scenario-based group discussions and informing them of the available legal procedures to treating cases of children witnessing or experiencing domestic violence. The latest changes in the Albanian law Nr. 9669 on “Measures against Violence in Family Relations” were explained in detail. Of these amendments one is of crucial importance as it now allows Police Officers to request a ‘Protection Order’ to the courts on behalf of the victim(s) of family violence, which before could be requested only by the victim itself or the victim’s legal representative or attorney.
“Domestic violence (often called ‘family violence’) can include physical, verbal, sexual or emotional abuse. Children who witness regular acts of violence have greater emotional and behavioural problems than other children. Especially very young children can be profoundly frightened and affected,” explained Ms. Izela Tahsini, leader of these training sessions and by profession a Psychotherapist and Lecturer at the University of Tirana.
These training sessions aside from being informative also proved to serve additional unique purposes in each of the 4 regional divisions. Some used the opportunity to share and discuss specific cases encountered during daily work while protecting the victim’s identity of course, and others used the sessions as a platform to discuss challenges currently facing the Albanian legal system and actors working with domestic violence cases. Some of the concerns raised included the insufficient involvement of State and Local Social Services’ Departments with cases of domestic violence including those involving children; the deficient action of Police in fighting domestic violence and their failure to properly record and file information on reported cases; the current law Nr. 9669 being an Administrative law rather than a Criminal Law; the lack of treatment centers for domestic violence offenders; and the lack of adequate emergency shelters and permanent housing options for victims of domestic violence. Participants also called for better victim protection services.
“As a state, we have a long away ahead of us in achieving a well functioning system which provides for the proper referral, investigation, treatment and prosecution of alleged domestic violence cases, nevertheless it is trainings like these which help lead the way to success. So we are grateful!” concluded a prosecutor from Pogradec at the end of the Elbasan training session. [FG]