More than 40 NGOs ask the Government to take urgent measures to prevent and combat violence against women and harmonize national legislation with EU Directive 1385/2024. The organizations call for the criminalization of some forms of gender-based violence and better protection for victims.
A march to prevent and combat gender violence will take place on October 20 -FB Filia
More than 40 NGOs sent an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Minister of Justice Alina Gorghiu and Minister of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities Natalia Intotero, requesting urgent measures to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence. In the document, the organizations demand the harmonization of national legislation with the provisions of Directive (EU) 1385/2024, which aims at the protection and support of victims. NGOs emphasize the importance of the rapid implementation of these measures to ensure an adequate and effective legal framework.
In this regard, an online petition for the Safety of Girls and Women has also been initiated, which can be signed here.
Organizations require:
- Consultation of relevant NGOs: We ask that the organizations in the Network for preventing and combating violence against women be involved in the whole process of transposing the Directive. Their expertise is essential for effective and fair legislative changes.
- Criminalization of acts of gender-based violence: The directive criminalizes acts such as female genital mutilation, forced/early or child marriage, non-consensual sharing of intimate or manipulated material, cyber stalking for the purpose of harassment, cyber bullying, cyber incitement to violence or hatred. These measures must be urgently introduced into the Romanian legislation.
- Protection of rape victims: We request that the criminal complaint for rape not depend on the withdrawal of the victim’s complaint, so that the perpetrators are held accountable, regardless of the victim’s desire to continue the proceedings.
- Supporting victims in accessing justice: We demand the elimination of the 3-month deadline for filing a preliminary complaint in cases of sexual violence.
- Definition of rape by lack of consent: We demand that the definition of the crime of rape be amended to include the lack of validly expressed consent.
- Violence Prevention: The directive emphasizes prevention through education and awareness campaigns. We call for education on consent and healthy relationships to be included in education plans, alongside appropriately budgeted measures.
In the first half of this year alone, more than 600 cases of rape and almost 2,000 cases of rape of a minor were reported to the police.
“We remind you that only in the first 6 months of 2024, there were 648 cases of rape and 1983 cases of rape against a minor. And these data are added to the hundreds of cases of sexual assault, sexual corruption of minors, recruitment of minors for sexual purposes and sexual harassment. These are the registered cases. Many victims of sexual violence do not come to the police for fear of being judged by the authorities and the community, for fear that the aggressor will take revenge, or because they do not know that what they experienced is a form of violence.“, mentions the Filia Center.
The letter was initiated by the Network to Prevent and Combat Violence against Women.
