A new start after 10 years of oppression

Spring 1999 - war in Kosova. medica mondiale launched an emergency aid programme while the Nato bombs were still falling. Staff put up tents for oppressed, traumatised refugee women in Albanian refugee camps. Emergency aid first and foremost involves providing for the most urgent practical needs, initial gynaecological treatment and careful psychosocial support.

Immediately after the end of the war, in summer 1999, the refugees returned home. medica mondiale shifted its work with Kosovar women from Albania to Kosovo. Gjakova was chosen as an appropriate site for a therapy centre. The city had been what was known as a "hot spot" and was among the first targets of Milosevic's brutally violent attacks. Women and girls suffered vicious torture and rape there during the war.

35 female specialist staff - doctors, nurses and psychosocial counsellors - now work for medica mondiale Kosova in Gjakova. The local staff receive ongoing training for their work with women traumatised by war and their children.

Kosovar women and girls, who had never had a gynaecological examination before, are given medical treatment, psychosocial support and legal advice; they can also take part in the therapy sessions medica organises.

The outpatient unit is active outside the city. A gynaecologist and a nurse travel to the surrounding villages and offer the women help. The women in the area have not got over the war yet. They will need much more time to work through their experiences. One of the greatest difficulties is the silence surrounding sexualised violence, which is a taboo in Kosovar society. medica mondiale Kosova's work has only just begun here.