How Kosovo 2.0’s award-winning investigations exposed image-based abuse and sexual harassment
Two outstanding investigations by Kosovo 2.0 have earned recognition at the EU Investigative Journalism Awards 2024 as they shed light on forms of harassment deeply embedded in Kosovo’s society. Journalists Aulonë Kadriu and Dardan Hoti split the third prize with their newsroom colleague Dafina Halili by reporting untold stories of suffering, silence, and institutional failure to the surface.
Aulone Kadriu, alongside her co-author Dardan Hoti, focused on the consequences of image-based sexual abuse, a topic rarely addressed and highly stigmatised. In ‘If the videos are posted, I will lose everything”, they revealed how victims, overwhelmingly women, are not only violated through the non-consensual sharing of explicit imagery but were also re-victimised by their families, communities, and institutions. Kadriu explained the mission of theirstory was to place responsibility where it belongs – on the perpetrators and the institutions failing to protect these women. The absence of a legal framework recognising this abuse in Kosovo made the investigation even more significant.
Halili’s piece, meanwhile, exposed sexual harassment at the University of Prishtina, the country’s most prominent educational institution. Inspired by the global #MeToo movement and student protests, Halili sought to document the systemic silencing of victims and the lack of institutional accountability. Months of work, including building trust with survivors and navigating bureaucratic resistance, revealed a pervasive culture of harassment and impunity. “We acted as the safe space that victims lacked,” Halili shared, emphasising the journalist’s role as investigators and advocates.
Hear more in the video interview below.
