Frequent reports of sexual harassment against women in Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo have prompted increased concern, with victims speaking of fear, anger and a deep lack of trust in institutions that, according to them, are not responding appropriately.
As the Kosovo Police urge citizens to report cases, proposals are being heard from the local Serb community for the formation of "neighborhood guards" as an alternative, due to the lack of trust in the Kosovo Police. The response of international representatives is also being sought.
The police have announced that on May 13, in North Mitrovica, they arrested a person suspected of harassing women, who was fined and placed under arrest for 48 hours due to threats.
What do the victims say?
"It's a mix of negative emotions – there's fear, there's anger," an interlocutor from one of the four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo tells Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL), describing an unpleasant situation she says she experienced two weeks ago.
She says that several unknown men, from a car, had made inappropriate sexist comments to her. According to her account, she was followed by a van with several men who spoke to her in Albanian and invited her to get into the car.
"I was driving along and, when I got far enough away, it occurred to me that I should take a picture of the license plates. It didn't even occur to me at that moment," she tells REL. She claims she's had similar experiences before - people have addressed her in Serbian, but from the accent and pronunciation, she realized it wasn't their native language.
Her full identity is known to the REL editorial team, but she has agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity because she does not want to experience additional discomfort.
For the same reason, this 25-year-old has not reported the harassment cases to the Kosovo Police, because, as she says, she does not trust this institution.
The Kosovo Police, which is multiethnic, faces its own challenges in the part of the country inhabited mainly by Serbs – especially in the last two years, since the Kosovo Government has been trying to establish full control over security, and eliminate the remnants of a parallel power – between Kosovo institutions and those funded by Serbia.
These circumstances have created an environment in which many women experience harassment.
Another REL interlocutor, who also insists on anonymity, says that every day she experiences "some form of discomfort" through inappropriate comments or offensive gestures.
"They tease me in both Serbian and Albanian, they tease me with gestures, they blow me kisses, they signal me to get in the car," she says, adding that she was most frightened when, on one occasion, a gesture was made to her that imitated the shape of a firearm.
"I can't do anything, I can't even tell my father, because I don't know how he'll react," she adds.
She has not informed the Kosovo Police about this either.
What do the Police say?
Kosovo Police claims that all reported cases of sexual harassment are treated seriously, but adds that in some cases it is not possible to verify the victims' claims.
The Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Veton Elshani, calls for harassment to be reported, emphasizing that without a report, no measures can be taken.
"We had a case where two guys on a motorbike harassed girls, but we didn't have a complaint. We learned about it from the media and stopped them, we had no evidence of harassment, but we confiscated their motorbike because they hadn't paid the customs," Elshani tells REL.
He believes that the Police also act preventively, even when they cannot prove sexual harassment, by interrogating suspects for several hours.
"We do our job, step by step. We do not hide cases. We treat this issue very seriously, but they must be reported," adds Elshani.
He gives as an example the case of May 13, when, following a citizen's complaint, a person was arrested in North Mitrovica, whom witnesses said had harassed women on the street.
He was fined for disturbing public order, while the prosecutor imposed a 48-hour detention for the criminal offense of "threatening".
Regarding citizens' comments about the lack of trust in the Kosovo Police, Elshani reiterates that all cases should be reported to the relevant institutions.
What do the statistics say?
According to Kosovo Police data, as of March 10, 2025, 15 cases of rape had been reported across the territory - compared to 71 cases in 2024 and 94 cases in 2023.
Also, as of March 10, 6 cases of sexual assault have been recorded, while last year there were 71, and in 2023 a total of 67.
The police have not clarified in which municipalities these cases were registered.
According to the Criminal Code of Kosovo, these criminal offenses are punishable by a fine or imprisonment of 1 to 10 years.
Women's rights activists from the Albanian and Serbian communities, Luljeta Demolli and Ruzhica Simic, tell REL that there is a lack of adequate response from relevant institutions, and that the growing phenomenon of sexual harassment in northern Kosovo should be taken seriously.
Demolli, from the Kosovo Center for Gender Studies in Pristina, emphasizes that many women do not know where to seek help. She claims that some of them do not report cases due to lack of trust in institutions and social stigma.
"Anyone who commits such an act should be punished with a deserved sentence. Also, alternatives should be considered to work more with the community to report cases to the Police," said Demolli.
According to the Criminal Code of Kosovo, sexual harassment means any unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct that has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, causing fear or creating a hostile, humiliating or offensive environment. The punishment for this offense provides for a fine or imprisonment of up to five years.
Simić, from the organization "Women's Rights", based in North Mitrovica, says that, due to the lack of agreement between institutions, a broader dialogue between citizens, civil society, institutions and the international community is necessary to combat this phenomenon.
"Verbal violence in our society is simply a reality. I have been dealing with the issue of violence against women for a long time, I know cases of rape, domestic violence, but we have not really had a problem [in northern Kosovo] with sexual harassment on the streets. This is a new negative trend and phenomenon, which we have faced last year," she says.
She emphasizes that the Serbian community in the north does not know how to "protect itself", because the Police does not show any will to fight this phenomenon that "violates the dignity of women".
"When they see a beautiful woman or girl, they stop, approach her aggressively, make obscene gestures. It's a form of degradation. And this has consequences," says Simic.
"There are cases in the south as well," she adds, "but in the north it is more sensitive, because the victims are women from the Serbian community."
EULEX calls for response
Due to what they called a lack of adequate response from Kosovo institutions, a group of Serbian non-governmental organizations on May 12 addressed a public appeal to the international community, particularly the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX).
They want to know whether cases of harassment of women and girls in northern Kosovo are currently being monitored and documented, and what concrete steps are being taken when systematic failures in the work of the Kosovo Police in protecting citizens from non-majority communities are identified.
"The frequency and continuity of such cases point to a deep institutional problem - the inability or unwillingness of the Kosovo Police to provide protection to all citizens. Particularly worrying are the evidence of attempts to relativize these incidents and allegations of pressure on witnesses by members of the Police themselves," the statement said, without giving specific examples.
REL has contacted EULEX with questions about this issue, but, as of the publication of the text, has not received a response.
"Neighborhood Watch" as an alternative solution?
Local Serbian politician Aleksandar Arsenijevic recently proposed that due to the numerous cases of harassment against women, citizens should organize themselves into "neighborhood guards."
According to him, these groups should not replace the Police, but should "monitor, warn and report any attempted attack, harassment or suspicious behavior."
On Monday, such a meeting was held with citizens in North Mitrovica, but it was closed to the public.
In a statement to REL, Arsenijevic said that some members of the Kosovo Police in the north "deliberately delay" the handling of reports of harassment, often do not see grounds for criminal prosecution, and there are cases where police officers have witnessed harassment but have not reacted.
"I'm not saying everyone is the same, but this - not reacting to harassment - has started to become a pattern of behavior, like general tolerance," he concluded./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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