An initiative submitted by the authorities stipulates that the working fathers will be entitled to fully paid three-day paternity leave during the first days of the child’s birth. Representatives of civil society told a news conference at IPN that they support this initiative it will bring more benefits to society and will contribute to ensuring equality between women and men.

Cristian Ciobanu, of the Partnership for Development Center, said that many of the EU member states provide paternity leave of 12 days on average during the first 56 days of the child’s birth. By this initiative, to offer three-day paternity leave to fathers, Moldova takes one step forward.

According to Cristian Ciobanu, the paternity leave has a number of benefits. When fathers help care for the child, they become more active and more present in the child’s life. The interaction between the child and father during the baby’s first days of life will help the children easier develop cognitive abilities. Also, the mothers helped by fathers return easier to work.

However, there are a number of risks. The employer may refuse to pay for the three days of paternity leave. Therefore, the members of civil society suggest that the three days should be paid with money from the social insurance fund as the sum is not so large against the benefits. Furthermore, the working fathers pay taxes and the state should offer them benefits instead.

Victoria Apostol, of the Resource Center for Human Rights (CReDO), said both of the parents must be able to return to work when they want and the state should create conditions in this regard, first of all by setting up crèches, including private ones or entrepreneurial ones, when the employers open crèches themselves. Now Moldova does not have the legal framework needed for opening private crèches. The legislation provides that the local authorities can set up crèches at the parents’ request, but does not specify how many parents should ask for this and in what conditions this is done.

Andrei Brighidin, of the East Europe Foundation, said only the working fathers are entitled to the three-day paternity leave. Statistics show that those who had away from work for looking after the child were 98% women. This initiative will make the fathers more present in the child’s life. This leave should be afterward extended to 14 days. In some of the European states, the parent who chose to work is allowed to go on leave for a month in parallel with the parent caring for the child.