Feride Rushiti

Founder of Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims, Pioneering Trauma Care & Justice for War Survivors, Kosovo

Empowering Survivors – A Must for Building Better Future Generations

Highlights from this session:

In an insightful conversation, Feride Rushiti shares insights into her advocacy work for survivors of sexual violence, emphasizing the importance of empathy, compassion, and bold solutions in fostering a culture of radical care. She discusses the challenges of changing institutional mindsets and the necessity of collaboration with human rights organizations, state prosecutors, and the UN administration. Feride highlights the empowering effects of advocacy and justice, noting the significant impact on survivors' healing journeys. She stresses the feminist perspective within her organization, advocating for solidarity, compassion, and empathy, while acknowledging lingering patriarchal attitudes. The conversation concludes with a focus on promoting global healing through solidarity and effective communication.

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Feride Rushiti

Dr Feride Rushiti is the founder of the Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims. After almost two decades of research and advocacy, she secured access to healthcare and justice for civilian victims of Kosovo’s 1998-1999 war, and her advocacy led to the recognition of the survivors of wartime sexual violence among other civilian victims of war as well as the landmark decision by the Cossack government to fund pensions for Kosovo’s victims of wartime sexual violence.

As a medical doctor, she began treating civilian victims of war during the active conflict in 1999. She was among the first doctors to recognize the need for treatment of psychological trauma for refugees fleeing the violence, particularly for women and minority groups. She pioneered a multi-disciplinary approach to addressing the needs of conflict victims, with an aspiration to build a single organization to provide psycho-social support, legal assistance, medication, treatment, and policy advocacy.

Aleksandra Hirszfeld