Domestic Violence in Albania: Restraining Orders Nobody Enforces

Last updated: 15 October 2026

Photo: #orangetheworld - Albania - UN Women

Albanian courts issue thousands of Albania DV restraining orders every year. On paper, these protection orders should keep women safe from violent partners and family members. In reality, nobody enforces them. Women are beaten, threatened, and even killed despite holding valid court orders. This is not a small problem. It is a systemic failure that puts lives at risk every day. For expert witnesses and asylum decision-makers, this gap between law and practice is critical to understand.

Albania signed the Istanbul Convention in 2013. It passed Law 9669 "On Measures Against Violence in Family Relations" even earlier, in 2006. These laws look good on paper. However, the enforcement of protection orders remains one of the biggest failures of the Albanian justice system. This article examines how protection orders work, why they fail, and what this means for women seeking safety.

How Protection Orders Work in Albania

Albania's protection order system is set out in Law 9669, specifically Articles 10 to 17. The law allows victims of domestic violence to apply to the district court for a protection order. There are two main types. First, there is an emergency protection order (also called an immediate protection order). The court must issue this within 48 hours of the application. Second, there is a long-term protection order, which can last up to 12 months and can be renewed.[1]

A protection order can include several measures. It can order the abuser to leave the family home. It can ban contact with the victim. It can set rules about child custody. It can also require the abuser to attend counselling. The law gives courts broad powers to protect victims. In addition, police officers, social workers, and NGOs can apply for an order on behalf of the victim. This means the victim does not have to go to court alone.[2]

The system was designed to follow best European practice. Albania amended the law several times, most recently in 2018 and 2020, to strengthen protections. For example, the 2018 amendments added a "risk assessment" tool that police must complete at the scene of every domestic violence call. This was meant to help identify high-risk cases early. On paper, Albania has a modern legal framework. The problem is what happens after the court signs the order.

The Enforcement Crisis

The biggest problem with Albania DV restraining orders is simple: nobody enforces them. When a court issues a protection order, it is the job of the police to make sure the abuser follows the rules. However, police in Albania often treat domestic violence as a "family matter." They do not check whether abusers are following court orders. They do not arrest people who break the rules. In many cases, they tell the victim to "go home and sort it out."[3]

The penalties for breaking a protection order are very weak. Under Albanian law, breaching a protection order is punishable by a fine of 30,000 to 50,000 ALL. This is approximately 250 to 400 euros. For most abusers, this is not a serious punishment. In theory, repeated breaches can lead to criminal charges. In practice, prosecutors rarely bring these cases to court. A study by the Advocates for Women and Girls found that fewer than 5% of reported breaches led to criminal prosecution.[4]

There is also a practical problem with police response times. Many victims live in rural areas where the nearest police station is far away. Even when a woman calls the police, it can take hours for officers to arrive. By then, the abuser may have left or the violence may have already happened. Furthermore, Albania has no electronic monitoring system for abusers. There are no ankle bracelets or GPS tracking. The only way to know if an abuser has broken the order is if someone reports it.[5]

Women Killed Despite Protection Orders

The most tragic evidence of enforcement failure is the number of women killed by partners or family members despite having protection orders. Between 2018 and 2025, multiple women in Albania were murdered by men who were subject to active court orders. These cases received media attention, but they did not lead to systemic change. Each time, officials expressed shock. Each time, the same failures continued.[6]

In one well-known case, a woman in Elbasan was killed by her ex-husband in 2021. She had obtained a protection order months earlier. She had reported multiple breaches to the police. The police did not act. In another case in Tirana in 2023, a woman was stabbed by her partner outside the courthouse where she had just applied to renew her protection order. These are not isolated incidents. They represent a pattern of state failure to protect women from known dangers.

Human Rights Watch documented several such cases in its 2023 report on Albania. The organization found that police routinely failed to enforce protection orders. They also found that courts sometimes delayed issuing emergency orders beyond the 48-hour legal deadline. In some cases, judges pressured women to reconcile with their abusers rather than granting protection orders.[7]

What the Order Says vs What Actually Happens

GREVIO Monitoring: What the Council of Europe Found

GREVIO is the monitoring body of the Istanbul Convention. It is part of the Council of Europe. GREVIO evaluates how well countries implement the Convention's requirements on domestic violence. Albania received its first GREVIO evaluation report in 2017, with a follow-up assessment in 2023. The findings were deeply critical.[8]

GREVIO found that Albania's legal framework was "largely in place" but that implementation was "seriously deficient." The report highlighted several key failures. Police officers lacked proper training on domestic violence. Courts did not follow up on protection orders. There was no coordination between courts, police, and social services. Shelters for women were underfunded and had limited capacity. GREVIO also noted that judges sometimes used mediation (a process where both sides try to agree) instead of issuing protection orders. This practice puts victims at risk because it treats domestic violence as a dispute between equals.[9]

Albania has made legislative progress, but the gap between law and practice remains wide. Protection orders are not systematically enforced, and women continue to face violence despite judicial intervention. The authorities must move from a reactive to a proactive approach to protecting victims.
GREVIO, Baseline Evaluation Report on Albania (Follow-up Assessment, 2023)

The Council of Europe's Committee of the Parties also expressed concern. It recommended that Albania allocate more resources to police training, create a central register of protection orders, and introduce electronic monitoring for high-risk abusers. As of early 2026, Albania has not fully implemented these recommendations. For those working on human rights issues in the Western Balkans, this gap between promise and practice is a recurring theme.

Comparison with UK and EU Enforcement

To understand how bad the situation in Albania is, it helps to compare it with other countries. In the United Kingdom, breaching a non-molestation order (the UK equivalent of a protection order) is a criminal offence. It carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Police can arrest the abuser immediately without a warrant. Courts can also impose electronic monitoring. The system is not perfect, but there are real consequences for breaking the rules.[10]

In EU member states like Spain and Austria, similar systems exist. Spain's approach is often seen as a model. It has specialised domestic violence courts, 24-hour police units, and electronic ankle bracelets for high-risk offenders. Austria allows police to remove the abuser from the home immediately, even before a court order. These countries show that effective enforcement is possible when the political will exists.

Albania's system falls far short of these standards. The fine of 250-400 euros is not a real punishment. The lack of arrest powers in practice means abusers face no immediate consequences. This is especially relevant for asylum claims where applicants must show that the state cannot or will not protect them. When a country's own monitoring body says enforcement is "seriously deficient," this is powerful evidence.

Why Women Do Not Report

The enforcement crisis is made worse by the fact that many women never report domestic violence at all. According to INSTAT (Albania's statistics agency), only about 8% of women who experience domestic violence contact the police. There are several reasons for this.[11]

Shame and social pressure. Albanian society, especially in rural areas, treats domestic violence as a private family matter. Women who report their husbands may face criticism from their own families. The concept of "honour" means that speaking about violence brings shame on the whole family. Many women are told by their mothers or mothers-in-law to endure the violence quietly.

Economic dependence. Many Albanian women depend on their husbands for money and housing. Albania has a high rate of female unemployment, especially in rural areas. If a woman leaves her husband, she may have nowhere to go. Shelters have limited space. Government financial support for victims is very small. This means that reporting violence could lead to homelessness and poverty.

Fear of retaliation. Women who report domestic violence often face more violence as a result. Because protection orders are not enforced, reporting can make the situation worse. The abuser knows there will be no real consequences. In some cases, police officers have told the abuser that his wife reported him, which led to further violence.

Distrust of police. Many women do not believe the police will help them. This belief is based on experience. Women who have reported violence in the past and received no help are unlikely to report again. Some police officers are themselves perpetrators of domestic violence. A 2022 survey found that 37% of Albanian women said they would not go to the police because they did not trust the response.[12]

Implications for Asylum Claims

The failure of Albania DV restraining orders has direct consequences for asylum claims in the UK and across Europe. When an Albanian woman applies for asylum based on domestic violence, the decision-maker must assess whether the Albanian state can provide effective protection. The evidence presented in this article shows that it often cannot.[13]

Under the Refugee Convention, a person can qualify for protection if they face persecution on account of their membership of a particular social group. Women who suffer domestic violence in countries where the state fails to protect them may fall within this category. The key question is whether the state protection is "effective" rather than just "available." A protection order that exists on paper but is never enforced is not effective protection.

An expert witness on Albania can help asylum tribunals understand this gap. They can explain how the system works in theory and in practice. They can point to GREVIO findings, case studies, and statistical evidence. This type of expert evidence is often essential for Albanian women's asylum claims, because decision-makers may assume that Albania's legal framework is enough. For further context on how country conditions affect asylum decisions, see our country reports section.[14]

Evidence on why restraining orders go unenforced in practice can be applied to the individual woman's circumstances in our Albania country expert witness reports.

Conclusion

Albania has the laws. It has signed the international conventions. It has protection orders, risk assessments, and emergency procedures. What it does not have is enforcement. The result is a system that gives women false hope. A court order means nothing when police will not act, fines are tiny, and abusers face no real consequences. Women continue to suffer violence, and some lose their lives despite having done everything the law asked of them.

For asylum decision-makers, the lesson is clear. Do not assume that legal protections mean real protections. Look at the evidence of enforcement. Ask what happens after the court issues the order. In Albania, the answer is too often: nothing. This failure of state protection is exactly the kind of evidence that should be central to any asylum claim involving domestic violence in Albania.