Project: “Creating Collective Strategies to Protect Lesbian* Women from Gender-Based Violence in Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Albania”
Reporting period: March–April 2025 (research/focus groups) — published August 2025
Promoted by: ERA LGBTI Association for the Western Balkans and Türkiye
Analysis on Gender Equality and Prevention of Violence against Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer (LBQ) Women in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia – Report
This research, funded by EL*C and the European Union, examines how national policy and legal frameworks on gender equality and gender-based violence in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia address (or fail to address) the specific needs of lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) women and non-binary people. Combining desk-based document analysis, four country focus groups with CSOs (March–April 2025), and a limited institutional survey, the report evaluates each country’s legal framework against the Istanbul Convention and identifies shared regional gaps — institutional neglect, underfunded services, and rising anti-gender sentiment — alongside country-specific differences. It closes with country-by-country conclusions and concrete policy recommendations for public authorities and civil society to make LBQ women visible and protected within national gender-equality and anti-violence frameworks.
Companion Policy Briefs (August 2025, same author Bojana Jovanovska, same research base):
- Strengthening Gender-Based Violence Protection for LBQ Women in Albania — ALB / ENG
- Strengthening Gender-Based Violence Protection for LBQ Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina — BiH / ENG
- Strengthening Gender-Based Violence Protection for LBQ Women in Kosovo — ALB / ENG
- Strengthening Gender-Based Violence Protection for LBQ Women in Serbia — SRB / ENG
