After the change of the system in Albania, there was a completely different reality, especially in the remote mountainous areas, particularly in the North of Albania, as a consequence of the 50-year communist regime.
In the villages surrounding Shkodër, extreme poverty prevailed, not only due to unemployment and lack of income but also because of isolation, social exclusion, traditional norms, the dominant role of men in social and cultural life, the unwritten laws of the Kanun (traditional code of conduct), the phenomenon vengeance, and the lack of information.
Based on the social assessment, it was observed that women and girls in rural areas were forced to accept the difficult situation they were living in, mainly due to the lack of information. By recognizing and seeing the reality up close, and being more attuned to the problems, needs, and concerns of the community, a new approach emerged as a necessity, one with a direct impact on the community.
Starting from this, the focus of activities and the concentration of work in these areas would contribute to improving perceptions regarding issues considered taboo. Thus, from the initial contacts, the first meetings began in the community, trying to involve women and girls, high school students, staff from health centers, teachers, and collaborators. From these meetings, the first reports came in regarding specific cases of domestic violence.
Initially, “Woman for Woman” focused on providing services for victims of domestic violence, and parallel to this, institutional support was sought to provide victims with assistance based on the law. The year 2007 marked the implementation of Law No. 9669, dated 18.12.2006, on Measures Against Violence in Family Relations.
This would provide all competent authorities that offer services to victims of domestic violence with the opportunity to find support within the legal framework, while also including the necessary assistance provided by civil society.
The phenomenon of domestic violence, being extremely complex and difficult to eradicate, was not solely the responsibility of the justice system to combat. Awareness campaigns in the community were annual initiatives that, for their time, were considered bold actions, but they arose out of the community’s need for information. Although the first campaigns only involved the distribution of informative awareness materials, they marked an important step toward addressing the issue.
Driven by the numerous cases of reports, there was a need to take initiatives that required a comprehensive community commitment. This led to the necessity of intervening in the community, and step by step, the development of intervention programs became essential. These included a prevention program for students in 9-year schools (elementary and middle schools), training programs for conflict resolution and management with high schools, services for perpetrators of violence, as well as continued efforts to implement the referral mechanism system for victims of domestic violence.
Throughout this work, the need arose to strengthen the capacities of local staff representatives, which led to the organization of meetings, roundtable discussions, and workshops, both in rural and urban areas.