This innovative methodology, introduced by ESD Albania with the support of UN Women and funding from the Swedish Government, aims to prevent violence and reduce bullying in schools. This is the story of a dedicated teacher and her students at “Karl Gega” High School in an Albanian village, and how ESD has transformed their lives.

Over the past decades, women and girls around the world have demolished barriers, dismantled stereotypes and driven progress towards more just and equal societies. Women’s rights were recognised as fundamental and universal human rights.

On International Women’s Day, the People’s Advocate in cooperation with UN Women launched the ‘Femicide Watch’. This first of its kind initiative will collect and analyze data at the national level to promote more effective policies and mechanisms to prevent gender-based killings of women.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, UN Women and students of the Faculty of Social Sciences in Albania launched a campaign to tackle gender stereotypes and discrimination, in partnership with Sophie Caffe, a popular coffee shop chain in the country. The initiative won first prize in a student “bootcamp” organized by UN Women as part of the joint UN programme "Leave No One Behind”.

How a women’s rights organization and the National Employment and Skills Agency in Albania are joining forces to support women survivors of violence integrate in the job market.

Forty one percent of Albanian women active online have experienced some form of technology-facilitated violence in their lifetime – the new research “The Dark Side of Digitalization: Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women in Eastern Europe and Central Asia” shows.

They are asking for increased long-term, sustainable investments from government, private sector, foundations, and other donors to prevent violence against women and girls.

In a dedicated effort to promote gender equality and eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, Albania is preparing for its fifth report to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), scheduled for October 18, 2023.

After six years of dedicated work, the UN Women regional programme Ending Violence Against Women and Girls in the Western Balkans and Turkyie “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds” comes to a close. Civil society organizations, government representatives and partners met to take stock of achievements, challenges, and the way forward.

Supported by a small grant from the UN Trust Fund, the Center "Shelter Edlira Haxhiymeri", in close partnership with the Streha Center for LBT women survivors of domestic violence, runs a project to end violence against women and girls in four remote areas of Albania.

Gjeline Doda, from Lezha, northwest Albania, is one of the first educators in Albania certified as an Empowerment Self-Defense (ESD) instructor in 2021. Apart from teaching high school math, which she has been doing for almost 15 years, she is now working to empower and teach personal safety to a new generation by boosting students’ self-esteem and communications skills to prevent and mitigate the risk of violence.

More than fifty young people from the region engaged virtually in a constructive dialogue addressing the root causes of gender inequalities and its implication for social cohesion. This was the first regional consultation organized by UN Women as part of UN’s ‘Youth 4 Inclusion, Equality & Trust’ project supported by the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund, contributing to promoting gender equality as a driver for social cohesion and reconciliation in the Region.

Aferdita Kote’s* old Nokia phone had only one contact: that of her husband of 10 years. He called her constantly to know her whereabouts. But she did not tell him when she got a new smartphone equipped with a mobile application (Bright Sky) to report violence.

On 24 February 2023, the Government of Albania and UN Women hosted a sub-regional consultation for the Western Balkans and Türkiye, in preparation for the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67). The consultation provided an opportunity to discuss the gender gap in digital access, women's underrepresentation in certain professions, women’s entrepreneurship, decision-making in the digital transformation, as well as online discrimination and violence in the region.

Fabiola Laço Egro is the founder and leader of the “Today for the Future” Community Center as well as a member of National Council of Civil Society in Albania and the Monitoring Network against Gender-Based Violence. One of the most prominent civil society activists in Albania, Ms. Laço Egro shares her perspectives and lessons learned on building networks and alliances to advance the gender equality agenda.

Anjeza Bojaxhiu is the local coordinator of the domestic violence referral mechanism – a dedicated mechanism that aims to protect and support survivors of violence, composed of a team of community professionals in Tirana, Albania. With extensive experience in good local governance and social services for women and girls from disadvantaged groups, Ms. Bojaxhiu shares the most promising practices related to establishing and operating local referral systems as well as ways to address challenges that may arise.

The UN Women office in Albania teamed up with the government, civil society organizations, international partners, and other UN agencies operating in the country to mark this year's 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence with a variety of public events, university lectures, trainings, social media campaigns and much more.

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection and UN Agencies in Albania launched the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” campaign supported by UN Women. The event brought together government and international partners, feminists, women’s rights activists, as well as many others who work every day to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.

As a result of continuous lobbying efforts, Empowerment through Self Defense has now become part of the first National Strategy for Youth and its Action Plan 2022-2029 which was approved in October of the current year. This innovative approach addresses gender equality by helping build healthy interpersonal relations and empowers girls and boys.

Afërdita Prroni, the Executive Director of the Human Rights in Democracy Center, a grassroot civil society organization involved in promoting and protecting human rights in Albania, has been working to strengthen the implementation of the domestic violence law under UN Joint Programme on “Ending Violence Against Women in Albania” and UN Women’s project “Gender sensitive post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction” funded by the Swedish Government.