CRCA/ECPAT Albania, announced today that it has officially asked local law enforcement to investigate two employees of the Tirana Municipality suspected of sexually harassing several high school students in the city.
The complaint alleges that several adolescents alerted the organization to what they termed as “constant sexual harassment” at events organized by Tirana Municipality youth workers in April and May 2019. CRCA/ECPAT Albania is mandated under recent child protection legislation – the Law on Child Rights and Protection – to report any suspected child abuse.
“Based on this we addressed the Police Authority of Tirana with a letter to alert them on our suspicions that adolescents in Tirana were being sexually molested, requesting the immediate investigations into the reports.”
Information about the suspected incidents was also shared with the National Agency for Child Protection and the Office of the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child at the People’s Advocate Office.
CRCA/ECPAT Albania says that sexual harassment and violence against children and adolescents are frequent phenomena in Albania. According to a recent study on violence against children, almost 12 percent of children in the country report being victims of sexual harassment and abuse. And just days before the letter was sent, two other cases against young children were reported by the media in Tirana and Fier.