Some of the pairs were accompanied by a red rose. They were placed there to symbolize the number of women murdered by men as a result of domestic or sexual violence in Albania.

At least seven women were murdered in 2020, but the number of cases of violence increased. Furthermore, there were several incidents of rape and sexual violence inflicted on minors during the year. Over 120 women have been murdered in the last 10 years in Albania.

More than 50% of all Albanian women will be victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives and at least once. Furthermore, the police fail to adequately protect and prosecute offenders.

According to data from the State Police seen by Exit, only 13% of complaints of domestic violence were criminally prosecuted between January and December 2020.

Out of 4701 reported cases of domestic violence during the year, the police prosecuted 615. They also issued 2816 protection orders, equating to 59.9% of the reports.

Data suggests that Albanian women spend almost a quarter of their day doing unpaid work such as cooking, cleaning, and caring. Men on the other hand do just 3.47%.

This equates to Albanian women working 40 hours a month, almost a full working week, for free.

The Albanian government continues to do little to meaningfully combat sex trafficking, despite Albania being designated as a source country and it predominantly impacted women and girls. According to the Council of Europe, the judiciary’s response to holding traffickers to account is getting worse.