The members of the Commission on domestic violence leading to death or severe bodily harm met for another working session.
The meeting was chaired by Daniella Misail-Nichitin, State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and attended by Doina Gherman, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Felicia Benchtoldt, State Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Ion Prisacaru, State Secretary of the Ministry of Health, and representatives from various institutions and organizations active in the field of domestic violence.
The main topics of discussion included the urgent need to implement the Commission’s recommendations to prevent and combat femicide, introduce the concept of “femicide” in national legislation, and align with international standards and practices. Additionally, during the meeting presentations were made on the practices of EU countries in this area.
The participants discussed the shortcomings identified following the examination of domestic violence cases under the Commission’s purview and made recommendations for the institutions involved in preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
During the meeting, the Women’s Law Centre (WLC) proposed legislative actions to be incorporated into national law to criminalize femicide in the Republic of Moldova, and prevention measures. In this respect, the Member of the Moldovan Parliament Doina Gherman urged the state authorities to follow the example of five European countries that criminalized femicide.
The Commission’s Analysis and Monitoring Report for 2023 was further presented, and a proposal was made to extend the Commission’s mandate once the legislation is adjusted accordingly. To ensure the effective implementation of the recommendations made in the Annual Report, it was proposed to develop an Annual Action Plan with specific deadlines for implementing these recommendations and outcome indicators, and put in place a mechanism to evaluate and monitor the progress of plan implementation.
