Tirana, 25 February 2022 – On the occasion of the European Day for the Rights of Victims, CRCA/ECPAT Albania, held a roundtable discussion: THE VOICES OF THE SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN ALBANIA! Participants of the meeting were senior representatives from the Albanian government, ECPAT International, INHOPE and Victim Support Europe, members of the Albanian Parliament and child rights experts.
The meeting included the presentation of the study “Voices of the Survivors: Albania”, which sought to bring the international and national response in support of children and youth victims of sexual crimes and exploitation.
Data on crimes in Albania show an increase in the numbers of victims of sexual violence, exploitation and trafficking, domestic violence etc. During the last three years, Barnahus Albania has provided protection to over 60 children and young people from all over Albania from pedophiles and sexual predators.
The BECAN report conducted in nine Balkan countries, showed that 1 in 10 children in Albania is a victim of sexual violence. A few months ago, the Global Crime Index ranks Albania as the 57th country in the world with high criminality rates and a low ability to deal with it. The Albanian-speaking organized crime, poverty, economic and social inequalities, the widespread spread of the internet among children and adolescents, the desire to leave the country for a better life in an EU country, are exposing an increasing number of children in violence and exploitation for sexual purposes.
CRCA/ECPAT Albania has long fought to be the voice of victims who have survived sexual violence and exploitation. The “VOICES OF SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN ALBANIA”, is the first report in the country that focuses on the voices of children who have survived sexual violence and their experience with the child protection system. The report also brings the voices of child protection professionals, sharing their perspective on how support and care for child and adolescent victims of sexual crimes can be improved. Thie Report is a joint work of the best experts of ECPAT International and CRCA/ECPAT Albania.
The Director of CRCA/ECPAT Albania, Altin Hazizaj, during the meeting underlined the following: “For the last 4 years we have dedicated most of our resources to fight sexual violence against children. Based on the reality that our experts and researchers shared today, we believe that there it is an opportunity to work together and bring a change. We need to build a system that can protect every child and leaves no one behind. By creating this, we place one more stone in the building of the system that protects children’s victims of violence in Albania.”
For more information, contact:
Altin Hazizaj, Executive Director of CRCA / ECPAT Albania
E-mail: crca@crca.al
Contact with the Media:
Albana Mustafaraj
E-mail: albana.mustafaraj@crca.al