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- June 19, 2025 19:14
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Justice, recognition and support for victims of sexual violence during the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo were called for on Thursday, marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Through the “Trauma Has No Deadline” campaign, representatives of organizations representing survivors of sexual violence in war, civil society and state institutions stressed that the consequences of this crime are long-term.
Sexual violence experienced during the war in Kosovo still remains a heavy burden for thousands of women and men, it was emphasized on Thursday in marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.
As part of the "Trauma has no limit" campaign, the Kosovo Center for the Rehabilitation of Torture Survivors (KRRT) has demanded justice, recognition of status, and support for victims of sexual violence during the war.
Feride Rushiti, Director of the KRCT, said that the long-term consequences of sexual violence in war are healed with justice, care and rehabilitation. She described as unacceptable the setting of the deadline for submitting a request for recognition of the status of a victim of current violence, which is currently until May 15, 2027.
"Setting a time limit for the recognition of their status, but also rehabilitation programs and access to justice is a kind of disloyalty that in itself denies the very creation and consequences of this macabre act. We as a society and institutions cannot set deadlines for the legal recognition of victims. They must be heard, felt and supported... We are gathered here to show that trauma has no expiration date, just as the demand for justice has no deadline," she emphasized.
Jonathan Hargreaves, British ambassador to Kosovo, has emphasized that sexual violence is still being used as a weapon and as a deliberate strategy of war.
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"Today is an opportunity to acknowledge and fight this, but also a day to celebrate resilience and call for justice. It is a day to emphasize our belief that survivors should never again be silenced or ignored, but recognized, supported and empowered. You know the pain, but you also know the strength," Hargreaves said.
As part of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, tributes were paid on Wednesday at the "Heroinat" park in Pristina.
Acting Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said on this occasion that the Government has addressed war crimes.
"As you are aware, the Government has established the War Crimes Institute, where all crimes that occurred in Kosovo will be documented, identified and investigated... We have enabled the increase in capacities in the Special Prosecution Office for addressing war crimes and we have enabled trials in absentia, taking into account that Serbia does not extradite war criminals," Haxhiu emphasized.
In the context of marking this day, "Medica Gjakova" has organized a symbolic activity with 20 silhouettes representing survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo.
Each silhouette contained a real message from the survivors, written in the three official languages of Kosovo.
And in Strasbourg, the artist from Kosovo, Alketa Xhafa-Mripa, has created an installation titled "I Think About You". Regarding this installation, the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, wrote on social networks that as an internationally renowned artist from Kosovo, Xhafa-Mripa continues to speak about those who will never be forgotten.
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The Day of Survivors of Sexual Violence During War is marked, collective memory is respected
“Rooted in the suffering of Kosovo’s survivors – 20.000 women, children and men raped during the war – Alketa’s work transcends borders. She remembers, but also demands. She awakens conscience, calls for accountability and insists that justice must prevail. Through her art, Kosovo stands proud – not only as a country that has endured, but also as one that leads. There can be no healing without justice. There is no peace without ending impunity,” he wrote on Facebook.
Based on data from civil society organizations, during the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo, around 20 victims of sexual violence were identified. Over 1 people have already been recognized as survivors.
