UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 41) Law "On legal aid", which entered into force on 1 June 2018, provide access to justice for individuals with economic difficulties including disadvantaged groups. The law defines conditions, procedures and rules on administration of legal aid guaranteed by the state, equal access to the justice system, professional legal aid, and state institutions responsible for administering legal aid. This law provides as beneficiaries of stateguaranteed legal aid regardless of their income and property, expressly victims of domestic violence, sexually abused victims and victims of trafficking in human beings, to other categories such as child victims and juveniles in conflict with the law, persons in social care, persons without legal capacity to act and victims of discriminatory behavior.
Para 42) Law No.22 / 2018 "On Social Housing", with regard of social housing programs provides for priority in terms of securing social housing victims of domestic violence, victims of trafficking and potential victims of trafficking.
Para 44) National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for cases of violence in family relations was established at the local level in 60 municipalities (out of the then total of 61 municipalities), as well employees for gender equality, with the role of local coordinators against domestic violence. Since 2016 are adopted standards of services for victims of domestic violence. There is need for a multidisciplinary, rapid and effective approach, for national and local government units' awareness on budgeting of gender priorities, applying for funding to provide social services for victims of domestic violence.
Para 45) The State Police has established a telephone service number 129 or 11 for all emergencies which operates 24 hours in 7 days. Since 2017, the Free Counselling Line 116- 117, is offering free of charge primary service of psycho-emotional support, counselling and assistance for the referral of violence, in a secure and confidential environment. National service counselling standards for victims of domestic violence were adopted.
Para 49) There are 6 non-public centers providing residential services (2 in Tirana, 1 in Berat, 1 in Korca, 1 in Elbasan, 1 in Vlora). In December 2018, was opened a Crisis Management Center for Victims of Sexual Violence “Lilium Center”, at the premises of the Tirana University Hospital Center "Mother Theresa". This Center provides 24/7 integrated services to victims of sexual violence by a multidisciplinary team. Standards of this Center were approved by Instruction of the Minister of Health and Social Protection in November 2018.
Para 78) The provision of services to victims of domestic violence has been strengthened. The number of children accommodated annually is relatively consistent, from 38–59 cases per year. A tailored integration service plan is developed for each child that includes their enrolment and monitoring of school attendance. Various awareness-raising and entertainment activities are carried out aiming to develop their social and cognitive skills. Specialist social workers and psychologists at the centre support the mothers to become part of the employment and housing schemes offered by the local government or non-profit organisations, in order to improve their financial situation. Other services available to victims, provided by public and private centres include, housing and psycho-social support, referral for medical care, legal aid, professional training courses, and employment mediation.

UN Compilation:
Para 30) … CEDAW was concerned about the prevalence of gender-based violence, the low rate of reporting of cases of gender-based violence against women, the insufficient implementation of the national referral mechanism, the insufficient number of shelters for victims of gender-based violence and the restrictive criteria for admission to those shelters, and the frequent failure to enforce protection orders and emergency protection orders. The country team made similar observations and highlighted that women from disadvantaged groups faced additional barriers to accessing services.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 27) … Both, JS5 and JS2 reported that the Law “On Free Legal Aid provided by the State” 111/2017, which provided the right for victims of domestic violence to obtain legal assistance, had not been fully implemented.
Para 29) According to JS5, victims of sexual violence received little protection and few services as the country did not have rape crisis centers or sexual violence referral centers. Victims also faced problems accessing short-term housing with the number of shelters in the country and their capacity being insufficient.

National Report:
Para 33) Amendments to the Electoral Code in 2013 on the parliamentary elections, which requiring at least 30% of the candidates on the multi-name lists of candidates to belong to each gender. Amendments of Electoral Code for the 2015 local elections upon a proposal of the Alliance of Women Members of Parliament provide that: 50% of the candidates on the multi-name lists of candidates to belong to each gender. As a result, the current representation of women in the Assembly is 27.85% (39 women out of 140). Women’s representation in the Government is respectively: 8 ministers or 42%; Women’s representation in the city councils is 34.6% (from 12% after the 2011 elections) and 9 mayors (14.7%) out of a total of 61 mayors. Progress has been made in relation with the representation in the public administration. Para 34) Amendments of the Labor Code in December 2015 introduced new provisions, with direct impact in women, including: an improved definition of sexual harassment in the work place; the reverse of the burden of proof for sexual harassment; additional guarantees for women’s return to work after their maternity leave; non-discriminatory remuneration for all, and not only for men and women, etc.
Para 35) A new Code of Administrative Procedures (Law 44/2015) was approved by the Assembly of the Republic of Albania on 30.04.2015 and entered into force on 28.05.2016. An important step is the provision related the reverse of the burden of proof in matters of discrimination. The public body should be guided by the principle of equality and antidiscrimination for grounds provided by law, including gender and gender identity.
Para 36) Several bylaws in relation to economic position of women were adopted , such as: On the right to withdraw economic aid, exclusively by women, that will increase the access to financial resources; Specific measures are adopted to support women entrepreneurs and women's development initiatives in rural areas.

UN Compilation:
Para 29) The United Nations country team noted that legislation on gender equality, nondiscrimination and domestic violence had improved, and that Albania was implementing the third National Strategy on Gender Equality for 2016–2020. CEDAW welcomed the amendment to the Labour Code that defined and reversed the burden of proof in cases of sexual harassment, …
Para 33) [CEDAW] welcomed the amendments made in 2015 to the Electoral Code, which established a 50 per cent quota for candidates from both sexes for local elections, and noted an increase in the number of women participating in political and public life.
Para 34) [CEDAW] was also concerned about the concentration of women in the informal labour market without adequate labour and social protection, the significant gender wage gap, particularly in the private sector, and the extremely low minimum wage that disproportionately affected women.83 The United Nations country team raised similar concerns.
Para 35) [CEDAW] welcomed the adoption of the action plan for supporting women entrepreneurs for 2014–202085 and the amendment made in 2014 to the Law on Social Assistance and Social Services, which provided for social assistance to be paid directly to women. Nevertheless, the Committee noted with concern the limited implementation of those measures, in particular at the local level and with regard to women and girls belonging to disadvantaged or marginalized groups.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 23) … JS1 also stated that girls often had fewer opportunities to attend secondary and tertiary education compared to boys.

National Report:
Para 38) Zero Tolerance of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence is a motto of the Albanian government. Law 47/2018 “On Measures against Violence in Family Relations’ has been amended to ensure compliance with the CoE Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Several protection measures, particularly related to domestic violence, included in Law 18/2017, are: prevention and reduction of cases of domestic violence; prediction of the preliminary emergency protection order; participation of the psychologist and the preparation of a report to the police: increasing the efficiency and cooperation of the responsible structures; increasing qualified judicial support for victims of domestic violence.
Para 39) On December 2017, the Assembly of the RoA approved the Resolution "On combating violence against women and girls and increasing the effectiveness of legal mechanisms for its prevention", and established the Permanent Parliamentary Subcommittee on Gender Equality and Prevention of violence against women.
Para 40) Amendments of the Criminal Code, recognising domestic violence, sexual violence, engagement in sexual activity by use of force between spouses or cohabitants and enforced disappearance against pregnant women, children and unprotected persons as a criminal offence.
Para 41) Law "On legal aid", which entered into force on 1 June 2018, provide access to justice for individuals with economic difficulties including disadvantaged groups. The law defines conditions, procedures and rules on administration of legal aid guaranteed by the state, equal access to the justice system, professional legal aid, and state institutions responsible for administering legal aid. This law provides as beneficiaries of stateguaranteed legal aid regardless of their income and property, expressly victims of domestic violence, sexually abused victims and victims of trafficking in human beings, to other categories such as child victims and juveniles in conflict with the law, persons in social care, persons without legal capacity to act and victims of discriminatory behavior.
Para 42) Law No.22 / 2018 "On Social Housing", with regard of social housing programs provides for priority in terms of securing social housing victims of domestic violence, victims of trafficking and potential victims of trafficking.
Para 43) The National Strategy on Gender Equality and Action Plan 2016-2020 provides specific objectives, indicators and budgets for each activity. The National Strategy and Action Plan on Gender Equality 2016–2020 provides for a comprehensive multi-sectoral response to gender-based violence and domestic violence and contains several measures on preventing and addressing violence against women, children and supporting the women and child victims. Para 44) National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for cases of violence in family relations was established at the local level in 60 municipalities (out of the then total of 61 municipalities), as well employees for gender equality, with the role of local coordinators against domestic violence. Since 2016 are adopted standards of services for victims of domestic violence. There is need for a multidisciplinary, rapid and effective approach, for national and local government units' awareness on budgeting of gender priorities, applying for funding to provide social services for victims of domestic violence.
Para 45) The State Police has established a telephone service number 129 or 11 for all emergencies which operates 24 hours in 7 days. Since 2017, the Free Counselling Line 116- 117, is offering free of charge primary service of psycho-emotional support, counselling and assistance for the referral of violence, in a secure and confidential environment. National service counselling standards for victims of domestic violence were adopted.
Para 46) An increase in reporting and cases management, particularly in cases of domestic violence, has been evidenced by the State Police. During 2016–2018, there are in total 13661 cases of domestic violence: 6187 claims for Emergency Protection Orders and Protection Orders (EPO / PO-7837 women and girls identified as victims of violence. 7847 lawsuits for EPO/PO.
Para 47) According to the General Prosecution Office, in relation with criminal offense "Domestic Violence" from 2016–2018, the number of recorded criminal proceedings is: 3566 cases, with an increase of percentage year by year. The Prosecution Office submitted before the court over 79% of the criminal proceedings cases.
Para 48) An online registration system on statistical data on domestic violence at the local level is operational. National Data System on domestic violence cases at the local level (REVALB) is used by 22 municipalities. Local violence coordinators in each municipality collect data on cases identified and addressed by the Referral Mechanism for Addressing Cases of Domestic Violence (Referral Mechanism). The system registers every case of violence identified and addressed by the local referral mechanism.
Para 49) There are 6 non-public centers providing residential services (2 in Tirana, 1 in Berat, 1 in Korca, 1 in Elbasan, 1 in Vlora). In December 2018, was opened a Crisis Management Center for Victims of Sexual Violence “Lilium Center”, at the premises of the Tirana University Hospital Center "Mother Theresa". This Center provides 24/7 integrated services to victims of sexual violence by a multidisciplinary team. Standards of this Center were approved by Instruction of the Minister of Health and Social Protection in November 2018.
Para 50) The awareness raising activities have been organized by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection within “the 16 days of activism against gender based violence and domestic violence” (25 November-10 December yearly), in close cooperation with line ministries, civil society organisations, international organizations.

UN Compilation:
Para 30) The United Nations country team noted that the amendments made in 2018 to the law on measures against domestic violence had improved the legal definition of domestic violence, … CEDAW was concerned about the prevalence of gender-based violence, the low rate of reporting of cases of gender-based violence against women, the insufficient implementation of the national referral mechanism, the insufficient number of shelters for victims of gender-based violence and the restrictive criteria for admission to those shelters, and the frequent failure to enforce protection orders and emergency protection orders. The country team made similar observations and highlighted that women from disadvantaged groups faced additional barriers to accessing services.
Para 31) CEDAW expressed concern about the persistence of gender stereotypes and harmful practices.

National Report:
Para 76) According to the law "On Social Assistance and Services" victims of trafficking are provided with social services during their accommodation in reception and reintegration centers. They also benefit economic assistance once they come out of the residential centers until the moment of their employment. The funding of non-public residential Centers of victims of trafficking is done by transferring central budget funds to local government bodies and from them to these Centers.

Para 77) With the recent amendments to the Penal Code, the issue of internal trafficking was solved and clarified and some provisions were added concerning non-discrimination of victims of trafficking, sentencing persons benefiting from services of victims of trafficking and exploitation of prostitution.

Para 78) "The National Action Plan on the Combat against Trafficking in Human Beings" and "The Action Plan on the Combat against Trafficking of Children and Protection of Children, Victims of Trafficking" adopted in 2011, constitute an important development in the context of strategic planning to address issues of combat against trafficking in human beings.

Para 79) Legal framework/by-laws:
- Criteria, procedures and measures of economic assistance are defined for Victims of Trafficking when coming out of care Facilities.
- Instruction on application of standards of social care services for individuals trafficked or at risk of being trafficked.
- Provision "On the Treatment of Victims of Trafficking and their Health Services Benefits".
- Standard Action Procedures (SAP) for the Identification and Referral of Victims/Potential Victims of Trafficking (VT/PVT).
- The New Cooperation Agreement on the Functioning of the National Referral Mechanism of Victims/Potential Victims of Trafficking (2012).
- Provisions "On the Treatment of Victims of Trafficking and their Health Services Benefits".
- Order of General Director of State Police "On the coordination of the work between central and local structures for combating trafficking in human beings and identification of victims of trafficking".

Para 80) The activity of the main structures at the national and regional level related to trafficking in human being is strengthened. To mention here: the Responsible Authority for the protection and assistance of victims of trafficking, Anti-Trafficking Unit, Sector against Illegal Trafficking in the General Directorate of State Police operating in any Police Directorate of the country, Section for the Investigation of Issues related to Trafficking in Human Beings at Serious Crime Prosecution Office.

Para 81) The involvement of social workers in the Regional Social Services Offices and of the anti-trafficking police officers has contributed for the strengthening and sustainability of the functional network for cases of trafficking, reduction of the number of victims of trafficking.

Para 82) National Reception Center of Victims of Trafficking hosts, accommodates, rehabilitates, provides medical assistance, refers for integration and returning to the their
The activity of the main structures at the national and regional level related to
country of origin: Albanian girls and women trafficked or at risk of being trafficked; foreign girls and women trafficked or at risk of being trafficked; children victims of trafficking, unaccompanied minors or at risk of being trafficked.

Para 83) Further, partnership with the civil society has strengthened in order to consolidate the establishment of sustainable cooperation mechanisms and to prevent and address issues of trafficking. With regard to these issues awareness raising campaigns are conducted.

National Report:
Para 84) Law "On the Protection of the Rights of the Child" aims at improving the system of child protection and provides for measures guaranteeing the life, upbringing and development of the child through the coordination of all actors. This law defines the monitoring mechanisms for the implementation of law, responsibilities of central and local government, the setting up of responsible institutions and administrative sanctions for cases of violation of child rights. Further, it provides for the protection of children from trafficking and from any form of exploitation and sexual ill treatment.

Para 85) The Criminal Code provision on the offence of pornography is amended by adding new elements and making the punishment more severe. Regarding the offence of "trafficking in human beings" two provisions are added "Profiting or using services provided by trafficked persons" "Actions that facilitate trafficking" where more severe punishments are envisaged if these offences are committed against children.