Domestic violence is reaching alarming proportions in Albania. According to official data from the State Police, cases of denunciations nationwide, range from 10 to 12 within a day.
But are these reported cases of violence the only ones?
"The deeper we go to the villages of Albania, the more rural we are, the deeper are the problems, concerns and inability to get out of the problems and suffering that women may have in these areas" - said Helena Halilaj to Euronews Albania, social science lecturer.
According to official sources, Tirana is the city that ranks first in terms of the number of reports of domestic violence. The victims, in more than 90% of cases, are women.
These cases then spread, according to the most populous cities, Durrës, Fieri, Elbasan, Shkodra and Vlora. Dibra is another district that has recently seen an increase in the number of conflicts within the family.
But why exactly does Tirana have the highest number of violence? According to Helena Halilaj, it is precisely the inability to integrate for the citizens of the districts that is the main problem.
"There are more economic issues that affect the non-coordination of relations between family members or between the head of the family and the wife. We live in a society where the head of the household has economic duties and has to fulfill these duties. We are women who demand equal rights and then do not measure the contribution whether or not we have the same in the family. Then it seems that the metropolis gives us the opportunity to have a little more freedom of action and behavior, and sometimes maybe this shocks the individual or the people who come from the villages a little bit"- said Halilaj.
Only in the first 5 months of 2021,