Highlighting Progress on Public Attitudes towards Equal Property Rights

Thursday, July 27, 2017
USAID Program and Policy Office Director [Left to right] Hana Limani, PRP, Paul Vaca, USAID Program Officer, Brian Kemple [PRP] and Driton Zeqiri [PRP]
Katherine Hope, USAID

USAID’s Property Rights Program (PRP) announced the results of a new national public opinion survey on July 13th, highlighting significant progress made in changing attitudes in Kosovo on the importance of equal property rights for men and women.  According to the Midterm Survey results, public attitudes are shifting in a number of ways, particularly among people who have been exposed to the PRP’s outreach efforts.  For example, the 2015 Baseline Survey showed that 37% of people believed that sons and daughters should not inherit equally, whereas in the Midterm Survey only 27% of respondents held that view.  In his remarks at the event, Program and Policy Office Director Paul Vaca congratulated the PRP on the progress made to date and encouraged their continued efforts.  He emphasized that the ongoing difficulties women face in exercising their property rights in Kosovo affect the country as a whole, noting “The difficulties women in Kosovo face in acquiring property often preclude them from becoming the entrepreneurs, investors, and business owners that every country needs to innovate, drive growth, and create jobs.  This is an economic loss that Kosovo cannot afford.”  The PRP has conducted extensive public outreach on equal property rights, including a TV and radio media campaign, public service announcements, billboards, community-level efforts, and support to the development of the National Strategy on Property Rights, adopted in January 2017.