March against Domestic and Sexual Violence Held in Eight Romanian Cities

BTA correspondent Martina Gancheva; Diana Dukovska

March in support of victims of domestic and sexual violence, Bucharest, October 22, 2023 (BTA Photo/Martina Gancheva)

Bucharest,

22.10.2023 20:19

(BTA)

A march in support of victims of domestic and sexual violence took place on Sunday in eight Romanian cities and towns: Bucharest, Brasov, Timisoara, Baia Mare, Cluj, Giurgiu, Mizil and Valea Seaca.

The demonstration in the Romanian capital started in front of the Ion Luca Caragiale National Theatre and was mottoed "Together for Women's Safety". Some 300 people, most of them young, joined the march.

"We don't want to be martyrs on the altar of patriarchy any more," "We are fed up with empty words and promises, we want social services," "No excuses for violence," "Zero tolerance for harassment," "Real men believe in equality," "We want security at home and on the street," "Tomorrow may be too late," "How much is a woman's life worth" - these were some of the posters the organizers of the march had arranged around the theatre building.

The protesters condemned all forms of violence: domestic, sexual and institutional. They demanded safety for girls and women of all ethnic and socio-economic groups.

"We are taking to the streets to demand funding for prevention programmes and adequate services for victims of domestic and sexual violence. We want integrated social services without discrimination," said the organizers.

They explained that a domestic violence victim should be able to get financial support to move to a safe place and start a new life, as well as to be able to terminate a possible unwanted pregnancy at any county hospital in Romania. "Otherwise motherhood is a form of violence," the protesters said.

They hold information that the places in shelters in Romania fall a long way short of the international standard. In 2021, 784 accommodation places were available against a minimum requirement of 1,980 places.

"The total budget allocated for services for domestic violence victims in 2021 was RON 27,302,569 million. The law says the allocation should increase every year, but this is not happening," the organizers explained.

They cited official data from Romania's National Police, which show that in 2022, law enforcers intervened in 90,174 cases of domestic violence and issued 12,972 temporary protection orders.

"Many women file complaints only to withdraw them later. This is widespread because the authorities are very slow to respond. A lawsuit sometimes drags on for five years. This is not normal," said Nicoleta, one of the organizers of the demonstration, who is the voice of women victims of domestic violence.

"The last two years of the pandemic did not make the State pay attention to domestic violence victims. We hoped we were entering normality, but we were wrong. Since the start of the war against Ukraine, it has absorbed large foreign funds received by NGOs fighting for the rights of women and victims of violence," said Giulia from ANAIS, an association established in late 2011 to promote, respect and defend the rights of women and children. In her words, there is not a single national campaign for the prevention of domestic violence and there is no such campaign in schools.

/DD/