In Albania, the Ombudsman and the United Nations opened a research center on the killing of women in an attempt to prevent this phenomenon.

In the last 13 years, 159 Albanian women and girls have been murdered by family members and partners, or otherwise, a gender-based murder occurs every month.

Violence against women and girls in Albania continues at alarming rates, reports of violence are increasing, while their murders by family members and partners continue despite the strengthening of laws.

On average, one female victim per month, or 159 women and girls, have been killed by family members and partners in the last 13 years from 2010 to date, 12 of whom were killed just last year.

The country representative of UN Women, Michele Ribotta, said that as in other countries, in Albania, the figures of women killed by their spouses and partners are horrifying, and this is alarming, indicating that society is at risk because it is the most extreme form of violence against women, and their loss of life is the most serious violation of their rights, security, and integrity.

“When we gather more information, after studying in detail each of the sources of the murders, as well as the judicial part for each case, the profiles of the participants in these events, then we can strengthen preventive mechanisms, including doctors, schools, police, prosecutors, local authorities, to use a full database on the risks of each case,” said Ribotta.

The Ombudsman and the United Nations have built a cooperation program to end violence against women in Albania.

“Based on the scientific findings of the studies, the Observatory for Femicide at the Ombudsman’s Office will recommend preventive policies and the strengthening of legal mechanisms against gender-based violence,” said Erinda Ballanca, the Ombudsperson.

Participants in the UN panel with the Ombudsman and the government called for the urgent need to create a national coalition against violence against women and girls.

Experts and law enforcement authorities believe that an in-depth study of the data and the reasons why these murders occur has become a necessity, and the findings should be used simultaneously and in the same way to increase the effectiveness of preventing these violent events.

In addition to the 12 female murders last year, Interior Minister Taulant Balla said that last year, there were also numerous other reports of domestic violence, which are only a small part of the true extent of this phenomenon in society, so new methods should be used because the protection of Albanian women is never enough.

He urged women and girls to trust the police and to consider the day of reporting domestic violence as their day of freedom.

“Just in January and February of this year, the police registered 629 girls and women who reported violence. The total number of reports of domestic violence is 890. The ratio is 3 to 1 of cases against women, compared to the rest. A depressing panorama is also seen with protection orders. There are 465 people who have received protection orders, of which 350 are girls and women. Undoubtedly, the most affected are girls and women. Sexual crimes are 125 cases, of which 103 are against women and girls. But never forget that these figures are only the tip of the iceberg, and there are many other cases that have not yet been reported,” said Balla.

The Observatory for Femicide will gather and analyze data on gender-based violence, various forms of violence against women and girls leading to their loss of life, in order to prevent as many of these criminal acts as possible by understanding them more deeply.