A total of 67 cases of domestic violence were registered in northern Kosovo in 2020, the majority of which were reported at the North Mitrovica police station, while 18 cases of domestic violence were reported in Leposavic, 6 in Zvecan, and 2 in Zubin Potok. The most common victims of domestic violence are women and children.
Out of the 67 cases of domestic violence registered in the north, 39 were characterized as „domestic violence“, 8 as „minor bodily injuries“, four cases of „assault“ and „harassment“ each, 5 threats, and 5 violations of restraining orders.
The number of such cases registered by police region North in 2020 – the year of the Covid-19 outbreak – is only slightly higher when compared to 2019.
At that time, 55 domestic violence cases were registered in this region, while in South Mitrovica, for example, almost twice as many cases were reported – 107 cases and as many as 595 were registered in Pristina.
The inspectors in the regional investigation unit for domestic violence and juvenile delinquency told KoSSev that this difference in statistics can be explained by the fact that the north has fewer inhabitants compared to other areas.
Also, unlike the municipalities in the south, the more serious forms of domestic violence, i.e. criminal acts, such as murder, attempted murder, and abuse were not registered in the northern municipalities.
One of the key triggers for this type of violence has been avoided because the majority of people in the north are economically stable, this regional investigation unit said, adding, however, that there is noticeable frustration due to the lockdown, the obligation to wear protective masks, fear of the disease and its consequences, and the lack of socializing.
In the north, cases of domestic violence are not often reported for several other reasons, characteristics of traditional and patriarchal environments: shame, fear of abusers, but also fear of condemnation from the community, and the perception that there is no one who could truly help the victims.
The most common victims of domestic violence are women and children. The most common causes of violence in the north of Kosovo are alcoholism and bad family relationships, followed by economic reasons, the investigators said.
Trust in the police is of key importance – they added, noting that the victims must believe that they will receive help after reporting abuse.
Each police station has one investigator in charge of cases of domestic violence, while an investigative unit of the Department for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Juvenile Delinquency and the Investigation of Serious Cases was established in 2016, where three inspectors who are currently employed there to deal with more serious forms of domestic violence. Other cases punishable by up to 5 years in prison are dealt with at the police station level.
The police officers then explained the procedure for reporting abuse in detail, noting:
„We adhere to one rule here, and that is to remove the abuser from the home. If the violence is more serious, then he goes to prison.“
The police said that the judge decides on whether the abusers will be removed from their place of residence. They add that the abusers also receive a restraining order.
Last year, a restraining order was filed against a member of the police in the north, who was suspended for six months – the police reveal.
The work on cases of domestic violence is specific, the police officers further explained because the police remain in contact with the victim even after submitting the files to the prosecutor’s office.
„It is not in our job description, but we are more flexible when it comes to victims of domestic violence.”
The police officers emphasize that they have good cooperation with social centers in the four northern municipalities, which play a key role in the chain of institutional support for victims of domestic violence.
When asked how professional the competent authorities are in dealing with domestic abuse and whether there are examples when the competent authorities in a small community such as the north of Kosovo blamed the victim and covered up cases of violence, this investigative unit said that such things cannot be allowed, citing as an example a domestic violence case in which the perpetrator was a fellow police officer.
The KoSSev portal did not receive a direct answer to our inquiry as to why the police in the north rarely publicly react when it comes to the topic of domestic abuse.
Education programs carried out over the years and civic initiatives have contributed to such crimes being more frequently reported to the police.
The police officers state that significant funds have been used in the past on training and education programs, noting the recent opening of a safe house in Zupce – which is financed by the program support of institutions and does not depend on donations or initiatives of individual international NGOs -.as the most concrete and positive form of assistance.
The fact that the safe house is located in a well-known location and in a relatively small territory where people know each other well is not an obstacle, they add, citing as an example the experiences during previous years, when the police did not know where to place the victims and the victims’ children who have reported domestic abuse.
What do you need an ID for? Everyone knows you’re my wife
In one of the most extreme examples of domestic abuse, a woman reported her husband after suffering abuse for years, whose ID card expired five years earlier and whose husband did not allow her to take a new ID card, claiming that she would not need one as everyone knows that she is his wife.
According to the police, a strong woman will very rarely become a victim. She will suffer abuse once and never again. The women who suffer abuse are usually confined by economic conditions as well as patriarchal culture.
How to recognize abuse or violence?
„If someone yells at you, if they humiliate you in different ways, if they threaten you economically, if they force you to have sex when you don’t want to, if they physically abuse you,“ said the inspectors who deal with this type of sensitive crime.
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