Romania without Violence

The Romanian Parliament sets up special commission to draft tougher legislation in the area of domestic violence.

Roxana Vasile, 24.09.2025, 14:11

Recently, the Romanian Parliament has for the first time established a special commission entitled “Romania without violence”, amid a large number of cases of violence in general and domestic violence, in particular. The initiative was supported by all parliamentary groups. In fact, the commission includes 25 representatives of all the parties represented in Parliament. For one year, with the possibility of extension, they will analyse the legislation in the field, approve the initiatives under debate and propose improvements to the laws in force, including the establishment of tougher penalties. Representatives of public authorities, the judicial system, academia, non-governmental and international organisations with experience in preventing and combating domestic violence, as well as victims of domestic violence, will be invited to express their views on the subject. But let’s let the initiator of the project, Social Democratic MP Silvia Mihalcea, explain what the commission will do:

“This special commission will be the laboratory through which the Parliament will analyse and improve existing legislation, will collaborate with non-governmental organizations, state institutions and experts and will bring good European practice to public debate. Concrete solutions for the protection of victims will be proposed. The project on the criminalisation of femicide will also be debated here, an extremely important step for recognising and penalising this serious form of violence.”

The urgency of establishing this commission – said MP Alina Gorghiu, who will chair it – is confirmed by the over 70 thousand reported cases of violence in the first eight months of this year, the over 30 cases of femicide since the beginning of 2025 and an increase of over 110% in the number of cases of non-compliance with protection orders in the last four years. Eurostat data show that over 25% of women in Romania, more than double the average in the European Union, which is almost 11%, have been subjected to physical violence by their partners, and almost 49% of Romanian women who have ever had a partner have suffered at least once in their lives some type of violence – verbal, psychological, physical, sexual, economic, social, emotional or online. Alina Gorghiu: ʺFrom now on, I can assure you that we will no longer hide violence under the rug, that Parliament, through this committee, will be the voice of victims, it will be the voice of civil society, it will be the voice of women and children abused by their families, their partners, their spouses, their loved ones, by the people they care about the most.”

The “Romania without violence” caravan is also dedicated to combating domestic violence and supporting victims. Its first event brought together, on September 11, in Snagov, near Bucharest, politicians, representatives of civil society and victims. On this occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Cătălin Predoiu, said that the fight to eradicate domestic violence must be a national priority, highlighting several of the directions in which action has been taken to prepare police officers for such cases. However, he stressed that:

“I don’t think the technical issue is the problem. This is the job of the institutions, the Parliament, the governments and so on. I think what we should aim for us, here, together, the people interested in this phenomenon, this social plague, a plague on the soul, if you will, of the nation, namely the violence against mothers, women, children, the elderly – is to remain united, to continue the dialogue and cooperation between public state institutions and private companies, governmental associations, influencers, psychologists, specialists, mothers and wives, women and as many men as possible in order to raise this issue in a structured way, in a persevering way and to put together all the resources we have, each in our own way, recognising that it is a national problem. And to aim for something that I don’t think is unattainable – to eliminate this problem at least in the coming years.”

The “Romania without Violence” caravan will stop in all counties around Romania and in the capital Bucharest, because domestic violence is not just a family issue, but one of public safety and respect for human dignity, therefore a problem of the state, which must ensure the protection of victims at European standards. The establishment of the special parliamentary commission “Romania without Violence” means a common commitment that the country must become a safer place for women, children and families, said Social Democratic MP Silvia Mihalcea.

According to the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, the number of criminal acts registered in the field of domestic violence at national level decreased by 19% in the first seven months of 2025, compared to the same period of the previous year. ‘Hitting or other form of violence’ is the most common crime, accounting for over a quarter of the total. But, although on the decrease, the number of cases of domestic violence that represent criminal offences remains high. To these add countless cases that are considered crimes – pushing, insults, verbal violence… which shows that there is a lot of work to be done in Romania.