The common dialog platform of women MPs of Moldova and the National Coalition “Life without Violence in the Family” undertook a public commitment to demand that the Government hasten up the signing and ratification by Moldova of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). Deputy Speaker of Parliament Liliana Palihovich said the paradigm of actions in the area of protection of victims of violence will change when this document is ratified, IPN reports.
“The Republic of Moldova hasn’t signed the Istanbul Convention because the costs were assessed as rather large. The signing and ratification of this convention means observance of its provisions and their implementation as a member state of the Council of Europe. This will mean large costs and investments for prevention and education services, in policies to develop assistance services for persons who sustained different forms of violence, etc. The phenomenon is so harsh that we are simply obliged to sign and implements document,” stated Liliana Palihovich.
Angelina Zaporojan, director of the Women’s Law Center, which holds the secretariat of the National Coalition “Life without Violence in the Family”, said the scourge of domestic violence is deep-rooted in Moldovan society and concerted effort should be made to root it out and to change the stereotypes and mentality. Each case is unique and the system should be efficient for all forms of abuse.
Director of the Center of Assistance and Counseling for Family Aggressors Simion Sarbu said the aggressors are not born like this, but turn so. Since they started work with family aggressors, no case of murder of women as a result of domestic violence was reported in Drochia district. “We work by a program according to which the aggressor comes not only once, but for at least three months, with meetings of 3-4 hours a day two times a week and then we send this home to work. We have very good results. 90% of the aggressors who took part in the program do not resort to violence,” he stated.
According to statistics, seven in ten women in rural areas in Moldova were subject to at least one form of violence. Shame, fear of social stigmatization, lack of information about the existing services and laws are the key reasons that prevent the women from reporting cases of violence.
