Today, the Council of Europe Expert Group on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) published its first baseline evaluation report on Romania.
The report contains a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of the provisions of the Istanbul Convention. It acknowledges the steps taken by the country to comply with the treaty but identifies areas were progress is still needed.
Romania has made significant efforts towards building a legislative, policy and institutional framework to prevent and combat violence against women since it ratified the Istanbul Convention in 2016, in particular in respect of domestic violence, including several amendments to the domestic violence and equality laws and a National Strategy for the promotion of Equal Opportunities and Treatment of Women and Men and Preventing and Combating Violence covering the period 2018-2021. The Domestic Violence Law contains a wide definition of domestic violence – including cyber violence since 2020 - and sets up a robust protection mechanism for victims.
GREVIO considers that more efforts are needed to collect data about violence against women, to systematically train professionals dealing with victims and to improve the response of law enforcement agencies and the judiciary to all forms of violence against women. Gender-sensitive training of judges, prosecutors and law enforcement to ensure that all instances of non-consensual sexual acts are investigated, prosecuted and sanctioned as rape or sexual violence should be a priority.
