Supporting lesbian, bisexual and transgender women in Albania: Interview with Livia Zotrija, Project Manager at Alliance Against Discrimination of LGBT People
Alliance Against Discrimination of LGBT People (Aleanca LGBT) is an Albanian non-governmental organization that works to support, empower and increase the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities in Albania, including those who self-identify as sex workers.
A twice-funded grantee of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund), Aleanca LGBT’s current project focuses on creating safe spaces for lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LBT)* women, promoting their economic inclusion and delivering quality services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We talked with Livia Zotrija, Project Manager at Aleanca LGBT, about their two UN Trust Fund-supported projects and the challenges facing LBT women and girls in Albania.
How have UN Trust Fund grants supported your organization in preventing and ending violence against LGBTI people in Albania?
We received a two-year grant in 2015 thanks to which our organization strengthened its relationship with different women’s rights organizations throughout the country and built their capacities to offer services to LBT women.
We are one of the few organizations that advocate for the rights of LBT women, including self-identified sex workers, and offers them services.
Since 2015, our collaboration with women’s rights organizations has helped a lot in terms of outreach, so we have been able to offer different services, including shelter, mediation and vocational courses to more survivors of domestic violence in hard-to-reach rural areas.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges, these services have become even more sustainable for the LBT community thanks to the second UN Trust Fund grant.
In 2010, Albania’s government passed legislation banning discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. What has been the impact for LGBTI people in the country?
Our assessment is that the actual implementation of this law has been limited and many are still not aware of it. This has impacted greatly the lives of minorities and vulnerable groups.
Only six cases have been prosecuted whereas our organization alone has received hundreds of reports of gender-based discrimination and violence in public or private spaces. LGBTI people become hesitant to report because they believe it will not lead to justice.
For LBT women, economic dependency on homophobic families and isolation are the most alarming issues, especially for those living in rural areas and for transgender women. While some are kicked out of their homes, others are forced into marriage and so are exposed to even more violence.
What has been the role of AALGBT and other civil society organizations in this context?
Civil society and women’s rights organizations are increasingly the first contact point for LBT women survivors of violence for essential services.
Aleanca LGBT has been advocating for the last two years for a protocol that guides medical professionals on cases of gender affirmation, including access to free hormone therapy, and medical monitoring for transgender women and girls who choose to undergo this process. Many people are facing severe and potentially fatal side effects from hormone treatments obtained from the black market.
What challenges have you faced in your work?
Patriarchal structures persist in Albanian society, where violence against women and girls is still widely tolerated.
Since our creation, we have witnessed a lot of positive changes but also resistance. This often comes from the public, the media and religious groups who have formed a coalition against “rainbow families”. Recently, we have been accused of threatening the traditional family structure and erasing the word “mother” from the Albanian vocabulary, because we supported a lesbian couple who gave birth to twins last year.
We are developing the first strategic litigation plan for the recognition of same-sex partnerships and gender identity, and the registration of children born into same-sex families. We have already started a court process with the lesbian couple, challenging the Albanian state and its laws.
What was the impact of COVID-19 and how did you respond?
The current socio-political and economic situation has made Albania vulnerable to crises. So, when the pandemic hit, some groups that were often marginalized were undoubtedly left behind as they could no longer afford to buy food or pay their rent.
We immediately contacted donors and embassies, including the UN Trust Fund, to request emergency support to provide food packages and rent reimbursement. Their support has enabled us to distribute at least 100 food packages per month. In addition, 80 LBT women were supported with rent reimbursement, which meant that they did not have to return to homophobic and abusive families.
In the past year, we have also witnessed an increase in the number of LGBTI people in need of psychological support.
What is your approach to preventing violence against marginalized women and girls?
Our approach has always focused on building a strong community that is aware of their rights. We were able to make progress by uniting with other movements because social causes intersect.
We focus on raising awareness in our own community, so they are better able to advocate for their own rights and be vocal about it. In this regard, our community of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women has been the main organizer of the 8 March (International Women’s Day) march and many other activities on women’s rights aiming to prevent violence against women in Albania.
In Albania, UN Women’s in-country presence is advancing the gender equality agenda. Since 2018, it has supported the establishment of the Monitoring Network Against Gender-Based Violence and more recently the preparation of the LGBTI Action Plan (2021–2027).
“UN Women is very active in engaging with civil society organizations and supporting their advocacy efforts.” — Megi Llubani, Technical Project Analyst at UN Women Albania.
UN Women supports Albanian Disability Rights Foundation and its partner organizations, one of which is Aleanca LGBT, to work on a project to guarantee access to free legal aid, psychosocial counselling and referral to specialized services for 70 women and girls. The project collaborates with Vodafone to provide women and girls with smartphones and digital literacy training to use technology for when their safety is at risk. Aleanca LGBT not only supports the outreach of this project but also strengthen the capacity of service providers to be LGBTI-friendly and competent.
Aleanca LGBT’s current project focuses on providing services to LBT women. The term “LGBTI” used throughout this piece refers to a wider group of people who face constant violence and discrimination based on diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and sex characteristics.
In 2022, Xheni Karaj, founder and Executive Director of Aleanca LGBT has been awarded the Civil Rights Defenders of the Year Award 2022, by Civil Rights Defenders, for their advocacy for the rights of LGBTI+ people in Albania.
