Parliament today gave a first reading to the bill to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence known as the Istanbul Convention. The bill secured 54 votes of MP, IPN reports.
According to Minister of Labor and Social Protection Marcel Spatari, the national legislation that regulates the prevention and combating of domestic violence in 2016 and 2020 was partially brought into compliance with the provisions of the Convention, amendments being made to over 20 legal acts. In 2018, the Government approved the first policy document in the field – the national strategy for preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence for 2018-20123 and the action plan for 2018-2020 that is based on the pillars of the Convention, such as the prevention, protection, prosecution and coordinated policies.
PAS MP Ion Babici said the Istanbul Convention is the most efficient international instrument for preventing violence against women and domestic violence. It comes to change the perception of violence in society so that this is not tolerated.
PAS MP Marcela Adam said that WHO reports show about 35% of the women suffer because of violence. In Moldova, the data of the National Bureau of Statistics reveal that six in ten women aged between 15 and 65 were subject to domestic violence by the life partner. During the first nine months of this year, there were recorded over 9,000 acts of violence.
The MPs of the BCS Bloc left the assembly hall before the bill was put to the vote, saying the intention to ratify the Convention is shameful as this document contains provisions that destroy the Christian values and traditions, promote abortion and legalize same-sex marriages.
