MPs pass new protection measures for women

Parliament of the Republic of Moldova today voted in the first reading a bill that provides for the amendment of national legislation with additional measures to protect women against all forms of violence and harassment, including digital harassment.

The legislative initiative was developed by a group of MPs from the Action and Solidarity Party faction in collaboration with the National Agency for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Family Violence.

According to the authors, the modifications are necessary to align with international standards, particularly those laid out by the Istanbul Convention.

The new provisions include the introduction of the concept of digital violence, adjusting the definition of domestic violence to include online abuse, and expanding the definition of economic violence to cover the illegal use of the victim's bank funds.

Measures such as obliging the aggressor to remove abusive content from digital devices and restricting access to electronic networks are also proposed.

The amendments also include additions to the Criminal Code, among them: introducing the offense of stalking; criminalizing forced marriages with penalties of up to 3 years in prison (or up to 7 years in the case of underage victims); tightening penalties for sexual harassment, which will be sanctioned with fines of up to 50,000 lei or up to four years in detention.

Another significant amendment involves covering medical and psychological expert costs necessary for identifying cases of violence from the state budget.

According to data, 73% of women in the Republic of Moldova have been victims of some form of violence, with psychological violence being the most prevalent.

Authorities announced that last year, they monitored 1,104 protection orders, of which 498 were violated by aggressors.