CoE: Romania has taken important steps to prevent, combat gender-based violence, but action still needed

Romania has taken important legislative and policy steps in recent years to prevent and combat gender-based violence, but urgent action is still needed in certain areas to protect women and comply with the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, known as the "Istanbul Convention," according to a news statement released by the Council of Europe (CoE) on Thursday.These are the key conclusions of the first thematic evaluation report on Romania issued by the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), assessing progress in delivering support, protection and justice to victims.GREVIO welcomes the introduction of landmark legislation, notably the Law on Preventing and Combating Femicide and the Forms of Violence Preceding It, which establishes a legal definition of femicide and sets out mechanisms to prevent gender-related killings of women. Another positive development is the adoption of the National Strategy for Promoting Equal Opportunities and Treatment between Women and Men and for Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence (2022-27), which addresses gender stereotypes and foresees wide-ranging measures to promote equality.The report also recognises the contribution of the National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men in policy design and coordination and in awareness raising on gender equality and domestic violence. Romanian authorities have made improvements in the education on equality between women and men in schools, as well as the training of relevant professionals who deal with women victims of domestic violence. The number of shelters for victims of domestic violence has been expanded, the non-consensual dissemination of intimate images criminalised, and the scope of protection orders extended beyond domestic violence to cover threats, stalking and various forms of online violence.Despite this progress, GREVIO identifies critical areas requiring further action. Romania still lacks a harmonised system for collecting comprehensive administrative data across law enforcement, judicial, healthcare and social sectors. Specialist support services for victims and programmes for perpetrators need adequate and sustainable funding and must be expanded.GREVIO also considers that the number and geographical coverage of services for victims are inadequate, and administrative barriers persist for women seeking shelter. The report highlights a pressing need to establish 'one-stop-shop' facilities for women victims of rape providing medical, psychological, forensic and counselling support free of charge and in a victim centred, trauma informed manner.GREVIO expresses serious concerns about the protection of children in family law proceedings. It finds that incidents of domestic violence should be systematically taken into account in custody and visitation decisions, and recommends the removal from the legislation of concepts such as parental alienation or similar concepts, which risk discrediting women's legitimate reports of domestic violence and undermining children's well-founded reluctance to maintain contact with an abusive parent.Regarding criminal justice, GREVIO calls on the authorities to strengthen investigations and prosecutions of cases of violence against women and domestic violence, as well as the enforcement of protection orders, to build trust and ensure that women are effectively protected from further violence.GREVIO is the body of independent experts responsible for monitoring the implementation by the parties of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence also known as the "Istanbul Convention." Open for signature to any country in the world, in addition to the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, the treaty has been ratified so far by 38 countries and by the European Union and signed by six other states.