Domestic violence is a worrying phenomenon, which is seeing an increase in the number of reports. According to official data, on average, about 5,000 cases of domestic violence are reported every year, where 74% are women and 26% are men.

An audit of the High State Control which has examined “The effectiveness of the system for the protection of victims of domestic violence with a focus on abused women”, has come to the conclusion that often the victims of violence have not received the appropriate service, while the local leaders in many small municipalities have treated this phenomenon as a secondary problem.

“Domestic violence, as one of the most sensitive issues facing Albanian society today, is presented with a high number of reported cases in state institutions. The mechanism set up at the national level for domestic violence has failed to adequately respond to the cases presented, which represents the need for a clear and objective assessment of the situation by all the actors involved, improvement of existing processes as well as taking appropriate measures, to respond in a dignified manner to citizens in need, and to support overcoming the problems of their social needs”, says the High State Control report.

The lack of risk-based activity of the police structures, the failure to take preventive and awareness measures as well as the failure to cover all remote areas with full police service, according to the auditors, has an impact on the timely and professional response to this phenomenon.

“The structures of the State Police have not consistently worked on a risk basis. There is a lack of dedicated training for employees who work in high-risk areas for crimes of violence against women and girls and domestic violence, which affects both the non-declaration of cases by the victims, but also the non-follow-up of problems for the protection of the victims of violence as well as bringing the perpetrator’s legal responsibility to the fore”, the report underlines.

Experts point out that the majority of abused persons are women, often accompanied by children, proving that violence in family-marital relations is already a deep wound of Albanian society. The trend in the percentage of male victims in recent years seems to be increasing, which also suggests that gender-based violence in society spares no one.