The ratification of the Istanbul Convention became a new reason for dispute between the oppositions and the government in Chisinau. Representatives of the government say the document is designed to prevent domestic violence and to punish the aggressors, while the oppositions says that by ratifying the Convention, the traditional values of Moldovans are encroached upon. The Convention introduces the notion of “gender” that, according to the Socialists, is a concept that is different from “the biological sex of the person”, IPN reports.
According to the Istanbul Convention, “gender” shall mean the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men. The Socialists consider the document makes a difference between the gender and sex of the person, which infringes the traditional values of most of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.
“We are against the text of the Convention in general. We have reserves to some of the aspects of this document. By this Convention, a difference is made between sex and gender, which is a catastrophe for our traditional values. We fully support the bills that are aimed at combating violence,” MP of the PCRM-PSRM Bloc Grigore Novac stated in the talk show “Moldova Live” on the public TV channel M1.
At the same time, by ratifying this Convention, the Republic of Moldova commits itself to allocate resources for creating crisis centers, 24/24 emergency hotlines and shelters for victims of violence and to also provide the victims with psychological counseling and legal services and to prosecute the perpetrators.
“This term “gender” is not a premiere for us as a country. The law on the equality of chances also stipulates this notion. The phantasies and myths that are disseminated by the oppositions through TV are very serious as they divide society. Violence is not about sex or gender. It is about us all as a society. In 2020, we had by 1,800 officially reported cases of violence more than in 2019,” stated PAS MP Doina Gherman.
The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence was signed by the Republic of Moldova in February 2017. The bill to ratify the document was adopted by the PAS parliamentary majority after giving it a second, final reading. The document was challenged in the Constitutional Court by the MPs of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists.
