Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a major threat to the safety and wellbeing of women and girls in Kosovo. Since the fall of 2024, EWMI has been supporting coordinated action by Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), a coalition of more than 100 women’s organizations of all ethnic groups from throughout Kosovo, to strengthen mechanisms and responses to prevent GBV and provide support to survivors.
Educating and engaging women and girls, men and boys, parents and neighbours, community members and leaders about the impact of GBV and the resources available to prevent, report, and address it is crucial to generating social and cultural shifts that lead to eliminating GBV. To that end, during May – December 2025, EWMI and KWN supported community outreach campaigns using participatory approaches by four locally-led advocacy organizations. The organizations distributed multilingual information on GBV and technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) through door-to-door visits, small community group discussions, and online interactions, ultimately reaching more than a quarter of a million people.
Among the project’s local partners, the Organization of Persons with Muscular Dystrophy in Kosovo (OPDMK), reached over 700 people — including direct outreach to 226 persons with disabilities — and generated 1,756 digital interactions. The Women’s Inclusion Centre (ZEC), working with the Serbian community, reached 1,549 people and recorded 760 online engagements.
The Network of Organizations of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian Women in Kosovo (RROGRAEK) reached 725 people, the majority of whom were engaged through in-person activities. Among those reached was a mother in the Ali Ibra neighborhood of Gjakova who shared her experience during the visit, explaining that fear and social prejudice had previously prevented her from seeking help: “The brochure and contact details I received gave me the courage to consider the next steps toward protecting myself and my children.”
“We felt heard and respected. Being informed about the free legal aid office helps us understand that we are not alone and that institutions exist to support us,” said a family from the village of Hereq in the municipality of Gjakova, emphasizing that severe economic conditions and unemployment had directly contributed to tensions within the household.
Another family from the Sef neighborhood expressed relief at learning for the first time about the availability of free legal aid services for survivors of domestic violence: “We have often remained silent due to fear and lack of information, but receiving the brochure and contact numbers increased our sense of safety and hope.”
A family from the Blloku i Ri neighborhood in Gjakova also responded positively to the outreach engagement, reflecting on the broader social context in Kosovo: “The general social situation often makes people feel powerless. These activities raise awareness and strengthen trust in legal support, especially in domestic violence cases.”
Complementing the direct outreach of RROGRAEK, OPDMK, and ZEC, cultural initiatives played a key role in these public education efforts. Artpolis, a nonprofit arts and human rights organization, staged the forum theatre performance “Prapa Ekranit” (Behind the Screen) in six municipalities, engaging 345 students aged 15–18 in discussions on violence against women and online abuse, while related promotional efforts reached nearly 150,000 people.
The show was well-received among both the students and school staff members who attended the performances. One of the student attendees said: “I liked how the actors expressed real-life situations through art, almost like an awareness-raising video. We also received a very important message: control and care are not the same thing because violence is not love, it is a crime.” A high school staff member concurred: “The show carries an educational message, especially for the generations who are currently our high school students. I think many of the interactive discussions with the characters provided a good example for young people on how to act, not to be controlling but to be careful and considerate of their partners.”
Complementing these direct outreach activities, EWMI partner KWN’s nine-day digital campaign on domestic and online violence reached over 595,000 online users, and more than 13,500 — primarily women aged 25–44 — engaged directly with the materials.
EWMI looks forward to continuing to support KWN and our other partners as they expand their comprehensive approach to addressing GBV across Kosovo through outreach, advocacy, and legal action in 2026.