The campaign aims to prevent and combat gender-based violence by raising awareness of violence as a human rights violation, its consequences and costs, and the mechanisms for combating it at the community and national levels.
In 2020, the international campaign slogan is: Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!
At the national level, the campaign will take place for the 18th consecutive year, kicking off with multiple online events organized by public institutions, civil society, and development partners, followed by activities at both central and local levels, including awareness campaigns, public lectures, discussions, training seminars, and the launch and dissemination of thematic video spots.
It should be noted that the COVID-19 pandemic and related quarantine periods led to a global increase of approximately 30% in domestic violence cases. Given the new political, economic, and social contexts arising from the pandemic, international organizations are calling on states to ensure continuity in service provision and to offer support and protection to women at risk of violence, with the involvement of all relevant actors.
Violence against women and in the family is a widespread phenomenon in the Republic of Moldova. According to the national estimates from the study "Violence Against Women in the Family," conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics, more than 63% of women aged 15-65 have experienced at least one form of violence in their lifetime. In 2019, 2,597 cases of domestic violence were reported, and in the first three months of 2020: 678 cases.
"The phenomenon of domestic violence is far too painful, affecting society as a whole and each citizen individually—if not directly, then indirectly through the moral and socio-economic costs. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Social Protection, together with development partners and civil society, has undertaken consolidated actions to combat this phenomenon in the Republic of Moldova. However, each member of society plays an important role in preventing violence against women and girls. We encourage women and the entire society to report cases of violence to the hotline 0-8008-8008, available 24/7, as well as to the competent authorities," stated Viorica Dumbrăveanu.
In recent times, several actions have been taken to combat this phenomenon in the Republic of Moldova:
- Approval of the bill to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, adopted on May 11, 2011;
- Development and approval of the new operational framework for social and medical professionals regarding the intervention of territorial social assistance structures in cases of domestic violence;
- Strengthening and streamlining the mechanism for reporting domestic violence cases by professionals and referring victims to specialized services; explicitly including emergency protective measures that can be applied by the police in circumstances warranting an emergency restraining order against the aggressor; increased accessibility to state-guaranteed legal assistance services for victims of domestic and sexual violence, starting from the complaint filing stage; the mandatory participation of the aggressor in behavior reduction programs in all cases of conviction for domestic violence;
- Harmonizing the legislation of the Republic of Moldova with the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence and the Lanzarote Convention;
- Between May and July 2020, UN Women Moldova, in collaboration with the International Center "La Strada" Moldova, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Social Protection, and with financial support from Sweden, conducted a rapid assessment to understand the impact of the crisis on women affected by domestic violence, analyze systemic response challenges to domestic violence cases, and identify possible systemic changes needed to address crisis situations;
- Ensuring the maintenance of the free telephone assistance service for victims of domestic and gender-based violence from state budget resources—08 00 88 008.
The key objectives of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Social Protection remain the reconfiguration of the social protection system to provide assistance and rehabilitation for victims of crime by developing a new strategic document—the National Referral Mechanism for Victims of Crime; the development of a new Action Plan to ensure the implementation of the National Strategy for Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence 2018-2023; and the approval of the Instruction on the mechanism of intersectoral cooperation in cases of domestic violence to ensure an effective, prompt, and comprehensive response to domestic violence cases through a multidisciplinary platform involving all government actors with domain expertise.
LIST OF ACTIVITIES TO BE HELD DURING THE CAMPAIGN: 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
