Population of women: 1,978,500 / 3,793,600 (UNSTATS)
Life expectancy of women (at birth): 72 yrs
School life expectancy for women: 12 yrs

Adult illiteracy for women: 1%
Unemployment of women: 6%
Adult economic activity rate: 60%
Source: U.N. Statistics Division, Social Indicators, updated December 2007

Map source: Human Rights Watch

last updated December 2008

Gender Equality

In 2005, the Government of the Republic of Moldova, with the assistance of United Nations agencies in Moldova, produced the First National Report: Millennium Development Goals in the Republic of Moldova.  The report stipulates that the Millenium Development Goal (MDG) regarding the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women should be achieved by broadening women’s participation in social and political life. The government seeks to accomplish this through various measures, including: increasing the number of seats held by women in Parliament; increasing the number of female leaders in the top management levels of public administration, economic or social organizations; and reducing the disparity between women and men’s wages.  Each of these targets are indicators for monitoring progress.

In February 2006, the Moldova Parliament adopted the Law on Ensuring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (Law No. 5-XVI from 09.02.2006). The law stipulates the basic notions of gender equality and presents the institutional framework in which the law is to operate. The law does not, however, address enforcement mechanisms and specific programs for ensuring equal opportunities between women and men. Also, the law does not provide clear procedures for submitting and examining gender-based discrimination complaints or for sanctioning reported cases of discrimination, and it does not establish specific budgets for implementation of the law. Finally, the law does not include any reference to violence against women.

To further the implementation of Law No. 5-XVI, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has established a program to enhance governmental capacities to realize Moldova’s commitment to gender equality.  The program is focused on enhancing a) political will for women’s rights and gender equality; b) national capacities and mechanisms for implementation of international commitments to women’s rights and gender equality; c) monitoring and accountability of progress towards gender responsive policies and programs; and d) coordination of all women’s rights and gender equality efforts.

Domestic Violence

In 2005, Winrock International conducted, together with the Institute of Marketing and Sociological Analyses (IMAS), a study entitled “Women At-Risk in the Republic of Moldova: National Representative Survey.” The study found that 41% of the respondents have been victims of domestic violence throughout their life. Regarding the incidence of physical violence, the study revealed that 18% of the adult female population in Moldova (aged 16-35 years old) reported being subjected to physical domestic violence, while 8% of women have suffered physical violence “many times, regularly.” The Moldovan 2005 Demography and Health Study found that spouses were responsible for 69% of all violence committed against women.  The Gender Barometer 2006 study, developed by the Partnership for Development Centre, reports that there have been registered cases of physical aggression both from men against women, but also from women against men. The study finds that physical abuse from men is largely more common with 49.7% of respondents indicating they knew of beatings of wives/women partners by their husbands/partners, while cases of physical abuse perpetrated by wives/women partners were mentioned by 18% of respondents.

The 2006 CEDAW Assessment Tool Report for Moldova, published by the American Bar Association (ABA/CEELI), finds that despite important gains, women in Moldova continue to confront widespread discrimination and other violations of their rights compared to international standards. The ABA/CEELI report finds that domestic violence is widespread and not adequately addressed by healthcare officials or police, with law enforcement authorities frequently failing to respond to or process complaints concerning domestic violence. The report finds that women in Moldova continue to experience varying amounts of discrimination in a variety of settings, including employment, finance, social security, politics, the justice system, education, healthcare, and within the family. The high levels of domestic abuse are not recognized as a serious social concern, according to the report, which the ABA/CEELI believes contributes to gender discrimination in other settings. The report concludes that the lack of enforcement of judicial decisions remains a major obstacle to the protection of women’s rights in Moldova. The government has taken legislative measures, however, to address these issues

In August 2006, the Government adopted the National Plan, “Promoting Equality of Human Genders in Society for the Period 2006-2009” (Romanian). The Plan, in part, addresses the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence. According to the plan, this objective will be realized through: the improvement of the legislative and regulatory frameworks; the development of institutional capacities to combat domestic violence; the development of services for assisting domestic violence victims and reforming abusers, and; the prevention and combating of domestic violence. The financial sources for these activities are unclear, and the plan only refers to the “[s]tate budget, in the limit of budgetary allocations foreseen for these purposes in the concerned year, donations and grants.” Implementation terms are also expressed in a general manner, i.e. “2007-2009 or permanently.”

This situation is confirmed by the conclusions of a shadow report to CEDAW, which included input from 300 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the field.  The shadow report asserts that the actions of the government regarding the protection of women’s rights and the eradication of violence and discrimination against women are mostly declarative in nature, are inconsequential, and that the provisions of CEDAW are only partially enforced.

On 1 March 2007, the Moldovan Parliament adopted a new domestic violence law. The Moldovan Draft Law on Prevention and Combating Domestic Violence marks an important step in Moldova’s effort to address domestic violence. It provides for an order for protection, greater inclusion of NGOs in preventing and combating domestic violence, and recognizes the security of victims as a basic principle. Several groups, including The Advocates for Human Rights, provided comments and suggestions on the draft law. The law entered into effect 18 September 2008.  The new Law on Domestic Violence defines, for the first time, what constitutes domestic violence.  The Law’s framework states plainly that violence against women is a criminal offense and defines appropriate punishments for perpetrators.

Legislation

Currently, there are no governmental bodies or coordinating institutions in Moldova specifically responsible for implementing measures to combat violence against women. Governmental bodies, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Youth, and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, have a secondary mandate in this area derived from the Penal, Family and Civil Codes, as well as various governmental plans and strategies.  Information regarding specific budget allocations to these governmental bodies is unavailable.

Trafficking in Women

In October 2005, the Moldova Parliament ratified Law No. 241-XVI on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (click here to see all normative acts on trafficking). The law a) regulates legal relationships concerning the prevention and combating of human trafficking, b) provides a framework for protection of and assistance to victims and c) provides for cooperation of public authorities with NGOs and cooperation with other states and international organizations competent in the field. The law introduces basic principles for combating trafficking, elaborates on a National Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Human Beings (approved for a two-year term), establishes a National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings as the national coordinator of all actors involved in prevention and combating of human trafficking, establishes the Territorial Commissions to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, appoints law enforcement bodies in the field, and stipulates the functions and attributes of all public administration authorities in the field. Regarding protection of and assistance to victims of trafficking, the law identifies the entities that may establish centers for protection, but does not require the creation of such centers, and provides that trafficking victims shall benefit from a minimum package of social and medical assistance. With regard to funds for enforcement of all enumerated measures, the law stipulates, “[u]pon the proposal of authorities responsible for implementing this Law, the budget law shall annually provide necessary funds.”

The adoption of Law No. 241-XVI was followed by several normative acts: the National Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Human Beings (approved by Government Decision No. 903 of 25 August 2005); the Decision of National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings on the creation of a unified system for monitoring implementation of the National Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Human Beings as of 10 February 2006; the Decision of the Government of the Republic of Moldova constituting the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings; and the Decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Moldova on the application of legislative provisions in cases of trafficking in adults and children (click here for all legal texts).

Moldova also worked with the European Union to prevent human trafficking.  The EU and Moldova launched the EU-Moldova Action Plan in February 2005.The plan represents a “roadmap” to successful future relations between Moldova and the European Union and lays out the strategic objectives of cooperation between Moldova and the EU.  The Plan addresses the implementation of approximately 300 actions over three years.

In December 2005, the Criminal Code was amended by Article 362, “Organization of Illegal Migration.” This provision stipulates that “organization, for financial gain, of the illegal entry and/or residence on a state’s territory of a person that is not its citizen or resident” is a criminal offence.  It is punishable by a fine or by imprisonment of three to five years, with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions, exercise certain activities for one to three years, or by the closure of the organization concerned. 

In January 2006, the government created a National Law Enforcement Center within the framework of the South European Cooperation Initiative (SECI) and the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM (created by Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova). According to these plans, each GUAM country assumes responsibility to coordinate joint measures to combat a particular crime, the obligation assumed by Moldova being to coordinate the fight against human trafficking and illegal migration. The newly established National Law Enforcement Center SECI/GUAM in Moldova closely cooperates with: the SECI Regional Centre for Combating Trans-border Crime from Bucharest; the National Law Enforcement Centers of the GUAM member states; similar institutions in the field, at the national and international level; NGOs operating at the national and international level, including, International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Center for Combating Trafficking in Persons Moldova (CCTIP), and “La Strada” International Centre.

On 19 May 2006, Moldova ratified the “Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings,” a comprehensive treaty mainly focused on the protection of victims of trafficking and the safeguarding of their rights. The treaty aims to prevent trafficking and prosecute traffickers. The convention applies to all forms of trafficking, whether national or transnational, whether or not related to organized crime, and provides for the creation of an independent monitoring mechanism to guarantee States’ compliance with its provisions.

Winrock International and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) created an Anti-Trafficking and Gender Network website in order to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings; to prevent and combat domestic violence; to prevent gender equality and women’s rights; to enhance identification, protection and assistance to victims and vulnerable persons; to support the observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms; and to support the observance of the rule of law.  The website was launched in November 2006 and is updated on a regular and continuous basis.

At present, Moldova has a basic legal framework to regulate human trafficking.  These recent legal advancements include amendments to the Criminal Code, adoption of a special law on human trafficking, ratification of international conventions and treaties in the field, and enhanced cooperation in the framework of relevant international organizations (OSCE, UN, SECI) on the problem of human trafficking and illegal migration.  Criminal prosecutions and convictions have increased considerably since 2002, in part because the Office of the General Prosecutor created a special anti-trafficking unit in 2000.  Moldova’s Anti-Trafficking Network reports that there were 91 cases filed and 22 convictions in 2002, and in 2006, there were 468 cases filed and 173 convictions.  516 cases were filed in 2007, but conviction numbers are not yet available.

Sexual Assault

In 2005, the United Nations Department of Public Information reported that 31% of Moldovan females aged 16-19 had experienced sexual violence of some kind.  Moldova criminalizes various forms of sexual assault in Chapter 4 of its Penal Code.  These crimes are punishable by three categories of sentences depending on the severity of the crime: two to seven years’ imprisonment, five to fifteen years’ imprisonment, or ten to twenty-five years or life imprisonment.  In particular, Article 171 criminalizes rape, 172 violent actions with a sexual character, 173 compelling sexual intercourse, 174 sexual intercourse with a minor under age 14 and 175 pervert actions with a minor under age 14.  The United States, Department of State’s Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Moldova 2007 reported that there were 249 reported incidents of sexual assault during January through November 2007, and 147 were prosecuted.  The report did not include data on how many prosecutions resulted in convictions. 

After Moldova filed its second periodic report on CEDAW, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women drafted a list of issues, including the fact that the Penal Code does not expressly include marital rape in the definition of rape.  In response, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova said that the rape definition includes “the notion [of] ‘conjugal rape’” and so criminalizes marital rape by a wife or husband. 

Prostitution itself is not a crime under the Penal Code, but it is subject to a civil fine and administrative detention for up to 30 days.  Pimping is a crime under Article 220 of the Penal Code, and is punishable by prison sentences from two to five or four to seven years, depending on the nature of the crime.  Please also see the Trafficking in Women section (above) for related information.

Sexual Harassment

An employer is only allowed to dismiss an employee for one of the several reasons listed in Article 86 of the 2003 Labour Code (PDF, 134 pages, page 46), thus preventing arbitrary dismissal that could have been the result of sexual harassment or gender discrimination.  Moldova’s National Action Plan for 2004 – 2008 also included the goal of “eliminat[ing] sexism and discrimination [and] stereotyp[ing] images of men and women” in its chapter on ensuring women’s rights.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women’s 2006 Concluding Comments on Moldova commended the government for including notions of sexual harassment in the Law on Ensuring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men.  But the Committee found that the law had not been fully implemented, the government had not funded implementation, and the law lacked enforcement mechanisms.  A 2006 shadow report to CEDAW had the same conclusion.  The report also said that there were no official sources of information on sexual harassment toward women in the work place.  Instead they posted data from unofficial NGO polls (PDF, 117 pages, see page 31) of women in business, conducted by the Institute of Marketing and Sociological Analyses (IMAS) & Winrock International in 2005.  The polling questions ranged from minor to major incidents of harassment.  Among other findings, 48% of the women polled had experienced inappropriate looks by a man in the workplace or school, 22% had experienced inappropriate touching, and 3% had experienced attempted forced sexual relations. 

Compiled from:

Law 5-XVI from 09.02.2006 on Ensuring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, adopted by the Moldovan Parliament, 9 February 2006 (DOC, 9 pages)

Moldovan Draft Law on prevention and combating domestic violence, unofficial translation prepared by the OSCE Mission to Moldova, March 2006 (DOC, 8 pages)

The Moldova Country Report on Human Rights Practices – 2007, U.S. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 11 March 2008

The First National Report: Millennium Development Goals in the Republic of Moldova, produced by Government of the Republic of Moldova with the assistance of the United Nations agencies in Moldova, published in the Official Monitor no. 45-50/25.03.2005 (PDF, 60 pages)

CEDAW Assessment Tool Report for Moldova, August 2006, ABA/CEELI (PDF, 144 pages)

Women At-Risk in the Republic of Moldova: National Representative Survey, Institute of Marketing and Sociological Analyses & Winrock International, Chisinau 2005 (PDF, 117 pages)

National Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, approved through Government Decision No. 903 from 25 August 2005 and entered into force on 9 September 2005 (PDF, 27 pages)

“Domestic Violence: Ending the Silence” and “Growing Concerns,” published by the United Nations Population Fund Moldova (UNPF Moldova)

Trafficking in Human Beings in Moldova: Normative Acts, publication elaborated by the International Center "La Strada" and available in English, Romanian and Russian (PDF, 64 pages)

“Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air,” adopted by General Assembly resolution 55/25, entered into force on 28 January 2004 (PDF file, 14 pages)

Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, Council of Europe, open for signature on 16 May 2005

Profiles & Trends of Human Trafficking in Moldova, Moldova Anti-Trafficking Network (2008).

National Human Rights Action Plan of the Republic of Moldova for 2004-2008, Parliament of the Republic of Moldova (24 October 2003) (PDF, 68 pages).

Concluding Comments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Republic of Moldova, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (25 August 2006).

Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova, adopted by Law 985-XV, Government of the Republic of Moldova (18 April 2002).

Ten Stories, “Behind Closed Doors: Violence Against Women,” United Nations Department of Public Information (2005).

Moldovan NGOs Submit Shadow Report on the Implementation of CEDAW, Stop Violence Against Women, a Project of The Advocates for Human Rights (7 July 2006).

The Alternative Report of Evaluation Regarding the Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, coordinated by Elena Burca and Valentina Budrug-Lungu (2006) (MS Word, 34 pages).

Labour Code of the Republic of Moldova, adopted by Law 154-XV, Government of the Republic of Moldova (28 March 2003) (unofficial translation prepared for the International Labour Office in Budapest) (PDF, 134 pages).