KGSC part of the Advocacy Week in Brussels



Members of Kosovar Gender Studies Center together with representatives of women’s rights organizations from the Western Balkans region were part of the Advocacy Week in Brussels. Throughout the week the delegation had meetings with members of the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European External Action Service, and the DG NEAR. In these meetings, the need for an improved gender perspective in the EU Accession Process was emphasized. Some of the key advocacy points presented by KGSC together with members of KWN were: women’s labor rights; violence against women and Gender-based violence; peacebuilding and the women, peace, and security agenda. Some of the issues discussed more in-depth were Kosovo’s labour law, including parental leave, informal economy, property rights-Women remain discriminated in all of these areas. The weak coordination between the police, prosecutors and other players in addressing violence against women was addressed. It was also addressed the need for a legal definition of domestic violence and sexual harassment in the Criminal Code. The issue of shelters financing was raised as a concern during these meetings. Regarding the peacebuilding process, it was mentioned the need for more women and an improved gender perspective in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.