UN Women Albania, in partnership with the Government, civil society, international partners, and UN agencies, marked this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against GBV under the theme #NoExcuse – UNiTE to End Violence Against Women and Girls. Activities included awareness campaigns, exhibitions, an award ceremony, youth initiatives, and private sector collaborations.

United Nations Agencies in Albania, alongside government institutions, civil society, and citizens, kick off the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence under the theme #NoExcuse – Unite to End Violence Against Women and Girls.

Through the UN Joint Programme and UN Women’s intervention, nearly 500 women and children received support with healthcare, legal aid, counseling, vocational training, and housing, resulting in 69 women securing employment and over 250 families receiving rental assistance in Albania.

From 23 to 25 September, UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Director, Belen Sanz Luque, and the Deputy Regional Director, Elisa Fernandez Saenz conducted their first visit to Tirana to participate in the Beijing+30 International Conference and meet government representatives and funding partners in the country.

UN agencies, national and international partners, visit North Albania to assess progress of the UN Joint Programme on Ending Violence Against Women.

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.

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.

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

The UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and UN Women Albania co-organized an online training on the Gender Equality Marker (GEM) and the Human Rights Marker (HRM). The overall aim of the training was to ensure that the GEM and HR Marker scoring will be accurate for the upcoming Joint Work Planning cycle, which will cover the 2024-2025 period. The training was also an important step for ensuring the accuracy of markers is instrumental for adequately score UNCT SWAP Indicator 6.1, which verifies whether adequate resources for gender mainstreaming are allocated and tracked.

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.

In the last two years, thanks to support from the European Union-funded regional programme on ending violence against women “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds,” more than 3,000 women survivors have used the helpline for information, referrals and reporting – 900 of whom further obtained free legal aid and psychosocial counselling as well as referrals to more specialized support services.

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.

Interview with Michele Ribotta, Head of the UN Gender Group and UN Women Representative in Albania

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.

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.

UN Women in Albania, the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator (RCO), and the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia organized a training on Monitoring & Evaluation and Gender Data dedicated to UN staff involved in programme management.

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.