Violence against women is rarely reported to the police and other organizations as there is lack of trust in the institutions that should provide support and services to victims. Shame, fear of the perpetrator, and lack of long-term and practical support, such as housing and financial assistance, are obstacles that prevent women from reporting domestic violence incidents. This is one finding of the study “Assessing Criminal Justice System Response to Domestic Violence Cases” conducted in four regions of the country – Criuleni, Soroca, Cimișlia and Comrat – by the Women’s Law Center, IPN reports.
In 2020, authorities were notified in 12,970 cases of domestic violence, with over 1,100 more cases than in 2019 and with almost 2000 more cases than in 2018. Despite the growing tendencies of the number of domestic violence cases, the study authors noted that the number of started criminal cases against perpetrators is declining. Last year, prosecutors led investigation in 866 criminal cases, with over 100 less than in 2019, when 969 criminal cases were initiated. This trend is conditioned by the legislative amendments made in 2016, including inclusion in the Contravention Code of a new article stipulating that “abuse or other violent acts committed by a family member against another family member, which caused insignificant harm to corporal integrity, shall be sanctioned by unpaid community work from 40 to 60 hours or by arrest from 7 to 15 days.”
Other findings of the study are that domestic violence victims come from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and know very little about the services designed for them, and that too soft sanctions for the violation of emergency restraining orders encourage perpetrators to reoffend. The study also highlighted that women were most often victims of domestic violence.
To reduce the number of domestic violence incidents, the study authors recommend conducting awareness campaigns to inform domestic violence victims about their rights and how to access legal, psychological, social and healthcare protection and assistance services, setting up a network of lawyers to provide state-guaranteed legal aid, creating separate entrances to court buildings for victims and perpetrators as well as organize separate waiting areas for domestic violence victims within court buildings.
The study was carried out in the framework of the “Strengthening Efficiency and Access to Justice in Moldova” Project, implemented by UNDP Moldova, with the financial support of Sweden.
