On the 5^th of June 2014, during a round table, the Study „Evaluating the implementation of the provisions of Law nr.45-XVI regarding the prevention and combating of domestic violence among Roma minorities from Republic of Moldova” was presented. The Study was developed by Alunica Lepadatu within the Internship Program in the Field of Human Rights – 2014.

The goal of the research emerged from the timeliness of the problem and consisted of evaluating the implementation of the provisions of Law nr.45 regarding the prevention and fight against domestic violence among Roma from Moldova. The research includes recommendations for streamlining the implementation of the law regarding domestic violence in Roma communities.

The Study was conducted based on interviews with Roma victims of domestic violence, police officers, social workers and community mediators; as well as focus group discussions with Roma women and men.

The author considers that it is not possible to compare the ways in which domestic violence manifests itself in Roma and non-Roma families, or the frequency and the dynamics of these cases. The reason for not being able to make the comparison is the fact that the authorities fail to  segregate the data by ethnicity.

According to the findings of the Study, the subject of domestic violence is sensible for Roma women, because it is considered a taboo in Roma families; while poverty is one of the main causes of the phenomenon. Also, Roma women who are domestically abused do not seek help from the police because they lack trust in law enforcement bodies (resulting from previous experience of interacting with police officers) and because they are afraid of being treated with neglect or being deceived by policemen (cases of corruption).

Another problem identified by the Study is the misinformation among the Roma community about the attributions of the district officer, the social worker and the Town Hall in preventing and combating domestic violence.

The author of the Study has offered several recommendations, among which: the need to train police officers, social workers and Town Hall employees in the fields of non-discrimination and prevention and fight against domestic violence; informing and raising awareness of the Roma population from localities with compact Roma populations in the field of preventing and fighting against domestic violence; employing a paralegal in the communities with compact Roma populations or providing legal training to community mediators.

The Study was conducted within the Internship Program in the Field of Human Rights – 2014, implemented with the financial support of the Foundation for an Open Society.

The electronic version of the Study can be accessed here.

For more information, please contact: Lilia Potîng, jurist of Promo-LEX Association, Tel: (22) 450024, e-mail: [email protected]