From Bystanders to Agents of Change: Examining Men’s Engagement in Policy Addressing GBV in Kosovo

Abstract: The issue of domestic violence has been often framed as a women’s issue. Despite men being the majority of perpetrators in Kosovo, the engagement of men in the process of addressing violence against women remains a largely unexplored step in ending it. This paper investigates the state policy on addressing Gender Based Violence (GBV) and evaluates the implementation of measures engaging men in that process, using a gender norm theory-based framework. The data are from two publications about gender equality and GBV from the Kosovo government, supplemented by publications from NGOs and key informant interviews with two experts from Kosovo’s Women’s Network and Centre for Counseling, Social Services and Research. The findings showed a presence of extensive legislation on addressing violence. Despite this, due to the informality of the executive sector and patriarchal culture, there is a lack of implementation and follow-through, with civil society organisations being the primary agents of change. The findings, analytical themes developed and the evaluation of existing measures will provide a stepping-stone to developing improved measures and implementation tactics for GBV in future research.