Over a quarter of Albanians surveyed by the Albanian Women’s Empowerment Network, believe that women are not as smart as men, and 19% said that women don’t have the same level of logical thinking as men.
These are the results of a survey called “Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Among Young People in Albania” conducted during 2020.
The report also found that a third of respondents believe a marriage functions better if the husband isn’t involved in chores and household matters. More than half said men shouldn’t be involved in changing a baby, and 36% said men shouldn’t have to supervise a baby’s activities.
Three-quarters said men and women should have equal access to education and opportunities.
On the topic of domestic violence, only a third said they would intervene if a neighbor were experiencing it. Only a third of men thought domestic violence was a widespread issue compared to 50% of women. Almost half of the respondents said they knew someone in their neighborhood who has experienced domestic violence, and 41% said someone in their family had experienced it.
Most women said they would tell a family member if they experienced violence. A third didn’t trust the police to deal with the situation.
85% of men said they had never felt threatened by a stranger, whereas only 55% of women said the same. When asked about past romantic relationships, 90% of men said they had experienced no issues during their relationship, but only 22% of women said the same thing.
Half of the women said they hesitated to leave home alone, and almost 60% said they avoided certain streets or places. Women were also three times more likely to avoid being alone with a boss or colleague than men.
In terms of sexual violence, 10% of women lost their virginity during rape. They are also three times more likely to be raped because they feared their partner than men.
Furthermore, over 40% said they didn’t use birth control due to lack of information and shame. The majority of those raped when losing their virginity didn’t use birth control.
Two-thirds of respondents didn’t seek any help for physical or sexual violence because of a lack of trust in the police and courts. They also fear damaging their reputation or that of their family.
Almost a quarter of respondents thought that rape could be due to fliting, provocative behavior, or walking alone at night.
12 % of women said they had been blackmailed with sexual content featuring them at least once.
