Harassment, victimization to be punished as misdemeanor

Chisinau, Dec. 15 /MOLDPRES/- Parliament adopted today in the second reading several legislative amendments aimed at improving the protection mechanisms against discrimination.

The legislative initiative was set up under the National Action Plan for implementation of the Association Agreement between Moldova and the European Union and aims to remove the deficiencies of the regulatory framework in this field.

The document sees expansion of non-discrimination criteria, improvement of data collection in the equality, monitoring, evaluation and annual reporting of results and strengthening of the institutional framework. Thus, the Criminal Code was supplemented with the notions of "harassment" and "victimization". Thus, any unwanted behavior that leads to the creation of an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment, with the aim or effect of harming a person's dignity, will be sanctioned. At the same time, sexual harassment remains sanctioned by the Criminal Code.

Another provision of the document is the completion of the Law on ensuring equality with discriminatory criteria, including those related to social origin, national origin, social status, state of health, political opinions or any other opinions. The inclusion of these criteria derives from the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.

The bill was voted by 53 MPs.

Photo: Parliament