NATIONAL REVIEW FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION BEIJING+25 30 APRIL 2019 TABLE OF CONTENT SECTION ONE: PRIORITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS, CHALLENGES AND SETBACKS .................................................... 2 SECTION TWO: PROGRESS ACROSS THE 12 CRITICAL AREAS OF CONCERN .................................................... 7 I. INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT, SHARED PROSPERITY AND DECENT WORK ........................................................ 7 II. POVERTY ERADICATION, SOCIAL PROTECTION AND SOCIAL SERVICES ..................................................... 14 III. FREEDOM FROM VIOLENCE, STIGMA AND STEREOTYPES .......................................................................... 29 IV. PARTICIPATION, ACCOUNTABILITY AND GENDER - RESPONSIVE INSTITUTIONS ....................................... 43 V. PEACEFUL AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES ........................................................................................................ 51 VI. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, PROTECTION AND REHABILITATION .................................................. 57 SECTION THREE: NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND PROCESSES ......................................................................... 60 SECTION FOUR: DATA AND STATISTICS ......................................................................................................... 64 ANNEXES ....................................................................................................................................................... 68 ANNEX I: ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 68 ANNEX II: LIST OF GLOBAL GENDER-RELATED INDICATORS, AVAILABLE IN ALBANIA FOR MONITORING PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ................................................................................................................... 70 ANNEX III: IMPORTANT DATA REPATED TO THE THEMATIC GROUPS OF THE SECOND PART OF THE REPORT ............................... 82 ANNEX IV: LIST OF STATE INSTITUTIONS, INDEPENDENT INSTITUTIONS AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN THE PROVISION OF INFORMATION, ASSESSMENT AND CONSULTATION ROUNDTABLES FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE REPORT ........... 88 ANNEX V: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 90 1 SECTION ONE: PRIORITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS, CHALLENGES AND SETBACKS 1. What have been the most important achievements, challenges and set-backs in progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of women over the past 5 years? The Government of Albania over the last five years has undertaken a number of important steps that contribute to the progress towards gender equality and empowerment of women. The main achievements in this regard are: Improving national legal framework aiming at updating and completion of the legal framework in line with ratified international documents, as well as its approximation with European Union legislation. Legislative measures taken by Albania over the past five years are indicative of the government's commitment to combat and eliminate the causes leading to gender inequality and violence against women. In its entirety the legal framework has undergone changes and improvements that affect almost all areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action. Thus, in amendments to legislation on employment we can identify, among others, measures to prevent sexual harassment, the prohibition of discrimination against pregnant women, as well as significant improvement of the working conditions for pregnant women and young mothers with breastfeeding babies. Legal actions and measures undertaken by Albania to promote participation of women in politics, in public life and decision-making during these five years, have been limited to the local government level. Upon amendments to the Electoral Code, women candidates have been promoted by increasing gender quotas on candidate lists running for municipal councils at 50%, changing the gender in each second name. In addition, in case of announcing a vacancy in the council, replacement should be made with the subsequent candidate of the same gender listed above on the list. In the context of reducing poverty of women and their involvement in social care services, the applicable legislation and the relevant employment programs, are specifically targeted at vulnerable groups such as: victims of gender-based violence or domestic violence, victims of trafficking / potential victims of trafficking, new mothers, etc. While the law on notary and that on cadastre place emphasis on the rights of women’s ownership by guaranteeing spouse’s property rights for assets acquired during the marriage, when the spouses are under the community marital property regime. Improvements to the law on social insurances and assistance gave rise to the provision of the right to seek and withdraw the economic assistance from adult women. Amendments to the social insurance law brought, inter alia, the social pension scheme, which can benefited by anyone older than 70 years of age and who is not eligible for obtaining any other type of pension, or, income from any other source is smaller than the income that social pension scheme provides. Amendments to the law on social care services stipulate provision of specialized services for abused, raped or trafficked women and girls, and all categories that need such services, as well as shelter service for pregnant women and girls or women single parent with children aged up to 1 year old. Meanwhile the law on social housing reflects new international standards that precede the fulfilment of the Albanian state obligations to protect and support the social strata, and in particular victims of violence. Amendments to the law on mandatory health care insurance, among others, identify also the victims of trafficking as beneficiaries of health care services. The draft law on social assistance recognizes as beneficiaries of economic aid specifically the victims of trafficking, after leaving the social care institutions till their employment and victims of violence in family relations, for the duration of the protection order or the emergency protection order, who are not dealt with in social care institutions. Regarding the prevention and elimination of violence against women, to be singled out are the amendments to the law on domestic violence which has strengthened safeguards for a more effective response to domestic violence and protection of victims of violence, by providing the mechanism of issuing the Order for 2 the Preliminary Measures of the Emergent Protection for a more urgent treatment of domestic violence cases, emphasizing the protection of people with disabilities and the importance of sign language interpreter, risk assessment, etc. Also, victims of domestic violence, along with victims of trafficking are subjects that benefit from the law on legal aid, such as legal counselling and representation in the competent institutions. Improvements of legal rights for women who are victims of sexual violence and trafficking, have been reflected in the Code of Criminal Procedure which grants special rights to be questioned and heard without delay and to refuse answering to questions about privacy. As to the elimination of discrimination and violation of the girl child’s rights, to be mentioned is the adoption of the law on the rights and child protection which designates the State Agency for the Protection of Children's Rights as a monitoring institution of children's rights violations and any other form of exploitation and abuse. The Code of Criminal Justice for Children also guarantees legal, social, psychological and medical protection for children in conflict with the law and children as victims of criminal offenses appropriate to their gender. It is worth mentioning as very important in this regard also the Resolutions prepared and adopted by the Parliament, similar to the one on punishment of violence against women and girls and increase of the effectiveness of legal mechanisms for its prevention, resolution for promotion, implementation and monitoring of the Agenda 2030 and SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), through comprehensive development processes, in line with Albania's development priorities and EU integration, etc. Improving national and local policies and plans, aimed at planning and implementing concrete actions for empowerment of women and progress towards gender equality. Albania has prepared the Economic Reform Programme covering the period 2019-2021, with 15 reform measures reflecting the government's priorities, among which the employment and social inclusion, professional trainings and vocational training, businesses improvement, consolidation and defragmentation of land, water and sewage management, etc., are not lacking. Meanwhile, over the past five years a whole set of important strategies, in which gender perspective has been mainstreamed or through the implementation of which empowerment of women and gender equality has been enabled, has been overlooked. So, among the most important strategies, we can mention the National Strategy for Development and Integration 2015 -2020, the National Strategy for Employment and Skills 2014-2020, Sectoral Strategy for Social Protection 2015-2020, the Policy Document of Social Inclusion, Health Strategy 2016 2020, etc. But the main strategy guiding actions to achieve gender