Documentary series: Justice for Women

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flora lucka

and ariana lucka from albania married in

2010

and had two children facing economic

duress

they began arguing mr lecka made violent

threats

after those erupted in violent actions

mrs lucka reported him to the police

the court issued an immediate protection

order for mrs lucka

for 12 months less than one month later

mr lucka killed his wife how did this

happen

how did the system fail mrs lucka

because the police

never received the protection order and

were not there to protect her

because the social services office did

not receive the order

and did not follow up because no one

notified the local coordinator

against domestic violence institutions

that should have protected mrs lecka

failed to coordinate and communicate on

her case

they failed to follow legal procedures

for domestic violence

how can we prevent tragedies like this

ensure a better coordination among

institutions to protect survivors

make it compulsory training for police

officers to assess risks

require mandatory training for judges

and prosecutors on laws to protect

against domestic

violence establish emergency teams of

specialists

to evaluate and manage risks guarantee

obligatory and timely outreach to

survivors

on case status

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the six children of mirella kushta and

aryan kushta from albania

witnessed their drunk father repeatedly

abusing them

and their mother after the children

called the police

all family members were immediately

escorted to the police station

but mrs kushta and her children refused

to report mr kushta for

domestic violence or request a

protection order

mr kushta was detained for a few hours

six months later he killed his wife

how did this happen how did the system

fail mrs

kusta because the police did not assess

the risks

despite evidence of psychological

violence and alcohol abuse

because the police did not continuously

monitor the case

because the case was not reported to the

referral mechanism

to help survivors get support because

the survivors of violence

under the threat did not report it

because the police

without a report could not file a case

how can we prevent tragedies like this

require

mandatory training for police on

assessing and managing risks

amend the criminal code to criminalize

psychological violence

establishing emergency teams of field

specialists to evaluate and manage risks

ensure a better coordination and

communication among institutions

providing protection from violence

annis became psychologically and

physically violent with his wife

indira as soon as they married after a

year of

insults blackmail and constant attempts

to control her behavior

indira initiated a divorce anas

begged indira to come back he promised

he would change

indira became pregnant but the

harassment and violence

persisted afraid for their child andera

reported the abuse

for years aness used child custody

visits to hurt andera

the stress psychologically harmed their

daughter

how did this happen how did the system

fail indira

because social workers assigned to the

case rarely attended child custody

visits

because nothing was done about repeated

violence in front of the child

despite video evidence because the

center for social work

showed bias and prejudice towards indira

because civil and criminal procedures

took an unreasonably long time

because the courts prioritized anes's

right to see his daughter

over protecting her and indira how can

we prevent

tragedies like this ensure timely and

coordinated actions by social workers

the police and the judiciary provide

gender sensitive training for social

workers

to prevent harmful biases require

mandatory

training for judges and prosecutors on

laws against domestic violence

take into account all circumstances in a

case

such as repeated violence in front of a

child

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one afternoon alina returned home to

find a stack of firewood outside her

door

a gift from her former partner when she

lit a fire a few days later

the wood exploded her former partner had

hidden an

m52 hand grenade inside alina survived

but with devastating physical and

psychological injuries

she was forced to take out a loan to

cover her medical costs

since she received no compensation from

the perpetrator

and didn't qualify for free legal aid

despite a below average salary

the perpetrator was convicted but since

his eight-year sentence was postponed

nearly every day he drives by the bus

station where alina waits

staring at her from his car how did this

happen

how did the system fail alina because

she was never informed that she could

file for compensation from the

perpetrator

because lawyers were not knowledgeable

about best practices for cases of

violence against women

because protective measures were not

taken to stop the perpetrator from

harassing

alina because the state does not offer

integrated services

shielding victims from financial

hardship

how can we prevent tragedies like this

develop individual plans for protection

and support for every woman survivor

secure adequate and continuous financing

for integrated services

for victims at low or no cost require

mandatory training on responding to

violence against women

for everyone in the system of protection

amend laws to make quality

specialized support services and free

legal aid

available to all women survivors

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after ten years together fatima filed to

end her extramarital union with baseem

she took their daughter and went to live

with her parents

after basin began constantly threatening

her

fatime requested an emergency protection

order

three weeks later baseem killed fatime

in the center of pristina he has never

been brought to justice

and his parents were given custody of

the child

how did this happen how did the system

fail

fatime because the court did not issue

the protection order within 24 hours

as required by law because when fatima

died