The road to healing is not a lonely path
A Survivor's Journey from Suffering to Empowerment
Anna is among 115 women and girls identified during 2023 as Potential Victim/ Victim of Human Trafficking in Albania*. Her story began in June when she and her roommate were referred by a local Catholic church to Vatra Shelter, seeking immediate help.
During the introductory meeting, the center's social staff discovered that Anna, despite being seven months pregnant, had not received any health check-up. She had visible signs of violence on her face and body, which she attributed to fainting. Throughout the interview, Anna could not speak about her condition. Her partner controlled the conversation, insisting on being present and preventing the girl from speaking alone to the center's staff.
Anna received immediate medical care and was referred to the Directorate of Social Service and Economic Assistance in the municipality, to apply for financial support, being the head of her household. She and her partner were not married, and she had been estranged from her family for quite a while. Under the pressure of her partner's threats of physical violence, she had taken out loans from several financial institutions and was drowning in heavy debt.
In a heartfelt confession, Anna’s mother revealed that she had been raped and abused by her current partner, and often showed visible signs of violence. The family was aware that she had been forced to beg and steal under her partner's coercion, that she was forced to abandon her university studies in Law, but they felt powerless to help her overcome the traumatic experience.
After an immediate assessment of the situation, the case was referred to the Anti-Trafficking Sector of the Police Directorate in Vlora, as a potential victim of trafficking, identified by the shelter’s staff. Two months later, the local coordinator in the municipality referred Anna back to Vatra Center as she was hospitalized due to extreme violence exercised by her abuser. The rest is history, as since October 2023, Anna and her baby were finally accommodated at Vatra shelter.
I didn't understand the situation I was in at all. I felt terrible. I thought this was my fate and that I deserved to be treated that way. I had seen violence in my family too. I didn't know my rights. I was afraid for myself and the child I was going to give birth to,
The mother and the child were provided with safety, food, clothing, healthcare, and psychosocial support. She agreed to start the reintegration program, and a team of experts from the multidisciplinary working group developed her individual support plan. Initially, Anna was always scared and had trouble sleeping. She resisted sharing her story and showed significant trust issues toward the shelter staff and her case manager.
Gradually, she began participating in counseling sessions, both group and individual, with the shelter's social workers, lawyer, psychologist, and doctor. She engaged in individual and group psychological sessions and joined recreational activities to relieve stress and emotional burdens. Meanwhile, the reintegration social worker and the case manager brought into the picture Anna’s family, aiming to re-establish contact and mend their fractured relationship.
Anna had many scars on her face and body from the violence. She looked tired and sad and hardly trusted anyone, as she came from a violent environment. Motivated by her baby, Anna gathered her strength and asked for advice on how to take care of her daughter. It was a very important moment for her."
As soon as Anna started to get back on her feet, she relied on the free legal assistance provided by the shelter. She and her lawyer decided to go back to the police department to recount her story of abuse and how she survived trafficking, clarifying what that meant and how it differed from other experiences. Anna needed to be brave once more, but this time, she was not alone, the Judicial Police Officer and her lawyer were right there by her side.
Several meetings followed with the prosecutor's office of the First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction to ensure thorough and accountable investigations and to accurately define the criminal offenses. As a result, an arrest warrant was issued for the suspected criminal, and the charges were redefined from “Domestic Violence” to “Serious Intentional Injury” against a cohabitant, as defined by Article 88/2, “Sexual Intercourse with Violence against an Adult,” as defined by Article 102, and “Unlawful Deprivation of Liberty,” as defined by Article 110 of the Penal Code. Her former cohabitant was sentenced to 14 years in prison, in accordance with Article 406/1 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Thanks to the services and all the support she received, Anna's emotional state has stabilized, and her self-care and care for her child have improved. Her relationship with her family has improved drastically, and she is in regular contact with her mother ever since.
I feel safe. I want to be a strong woman so that I can provide a better future for my child. I started my university studies in Law, and I want to continue studying Human Rights to protect others in need, just as I was,
The staff at the shelter will continue to support both Anna and her child with the goal of transitioning them into independent living, the final stage of her reintegration path. They continue the work to mediate with the municipality to provide Anna with social housing services. The good fight is still on!
*Note: The name used is fictitious to protect the survivor's identity.
*Note: ‘48 women and 67 girls were identified as PV/VoTs during 2023’ – reference made to TIP Report 2024 for Albania.
The project is implemented by Vatra Shelter in framework of ‘Transforming the National Response to Human Trafficking in and from Albania’ programme, led by UNICEF Albania and funded by the government of the United Kingdom.
