MORE THAN WORDS ON PAPER? The Response of Justice Providers to Domestic Violence in Kosovo
Publisher: Kosovo Women's Network (KWN), Kosovo Date: 2009 Volume: 85 pages, pdf Description Unfortunately, a deluge of obstacles still prevent victims of domestic violence from ac- cessing justice in Kosovo. Identifying challenges to implementing the existing legisla- tion can inform policy drafting processes and potentially amend current deficiencies. Therefore, to support the Government of Kosovo and other stakeholders in preparing the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence and the National Strategy and Ac- tion Plan against Domestic Violence, the Kosova Women’s Network (KWN) interviewed representatives of diverse institutions as well as domestic violence victims from June to September 2009. In regards to protection against domestic violence, KWN identified numerous issues with the response of civil court judges, including: delays in the issuance of protection orders (POs); limitations in the types of measures issued by judges; poor reasoning of judgments; insufficient follow-up of the implementation of POs; lenient sentencing when POs were broken; and rare imprisonment of perpetrators for violating POs, even in cases of recidivism.