Representatives of civil society and of law enforcement agencies during 16 days aim to carry out a series of activities nationwide to inform and sensitize society to the problem of gender violence in the Republic of Moldova and to the gravity of the consequences of violence against women.
The campaign is conducted by Promo-LEX Association, the Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims “Memoria” and the Association against Violence “Casa Marioarei”, in partnership with the General Police Inspectorate of the Ministry of the Interior, with support from the European Union. The activities are carried out as part of the international campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” that is taking place between November 24 and December 10.
Coordinator of the Human Rights Program of Promo-LEX Olga Manole has told IPN that the campaign will include a number of public lectures staged in cooperation with companies operating in the light industry and with colleagues. In the lectures, specialists will speak about gender-based violence, forms of expression, legal protection mechanisms and services intended for victims of violence.
Olga Manole also said that the general goal of the campaign is to raise people’s awareness of the gender-based violence in Moldova. The population will also be informed about legal protection mechanisms and assistance services available to victims of gender-based violence.
Within the campaign, there was drawn up an Anti-Gender Violence Horoscope for 2018 given that the horoscope and weather rubrics of morning programs enjoy the largest audience. The situation is much the case in the case of websites intended for women and news portals. By this horoscope, the campaign organizers urge women not to bank on astrology, but to defend their rights and to obtain legal protection so as to end or prevent gender violence.
Contacted by IPN, head of the Public Security Division of the General Police Inspectorate Marin Maxian said the prevention and combating of violence against women and the protection of victims of domestic violence are among the priorities of the police. In this respect, measures are being taken continuously to protect the victims of violence. During the campaign, the activities to inform and fight violence at the local level will be stepped up. These will include workshops, meetings, distribution of brochures and other events. Specialists will discuss with victims of violence and will interact with those with an aggressive behavior. There will be explained the legal protection measures that are taken immediately after the police are notified.
According to the data of the General Police Inspectorate, 2,481 cases of domestic violence were reported during the first ten months of this year. Of these, 775 cases were examined in accordance with the Penal Code (average, grave bodily injuring, including death), while 1,706 in accordance with the Contravention Code (minor and insignificant injuring), with 611 women and 44 girls becoming victims of domestic violence committed by aggressors. In order to ensure the protection of victims of domestic violence, the police during May 16 and October 31, 2017 issued 1,643 emergency restraining orders against domestic aggressors.
