The fight against domestic violence

Domestic violence is back in the spotlight in Romania.

Iulia Hau, 11.11.2026, 14:00

Domestic violence is back in the spotlight after the release of the latest statistics by the Romanian Police. In the first nine months of the year, police intervened in over 116,000 cases of domestic violence, with offenses in this respect rising by 27% compared to the same period last year. Also, 31 cases of femicide have been reported this year. Cristina Praz, an expert in strategic communication and gender equality at the Filia Center, points out that the Ministry of Justice has exceeded its own six-month deadline to begin developing a risk assessment tool for domestic violence cases, a tool that could help prevent femicide:

“This instrument is, in fact, one of the most significant commitments the Romanian state has made when implementing legislation to prevent femicide and it would genuinely help better assess the severity of cases of domestic violence and the likelihood of a woman being killed by a former partner or someone who has abused her in the past, but this instrument is, unfortunately, yet to be created.”

The Filia Center, alongside more than 190 other civil society organisations, has sent an open letter to the Ministry of Justice and the Romanian authorities to underscore, once again, the urgent need to adopt this measure, especially in cases involving extreme violence. Cristina Praz also points to recent discussions regarding sexual harassment, particularly within the university system, an area where she believes public institutions are failing to provide an adequate response:

“At Filia, we have been working on the issue of sexual harassment in academia for many years. We know that this is a topic that is often swept under the rug by educational institutions, as they seek to protect the university’s public image. However, this phenomenon is widespread, it occurs not just in one university, but everywhere and it is high time that measures are taken.”

The organisation tallied the official reports of sexual harassment in academia and found that, over a five-year period, there were approximately 15 such reports. This low figure is attributed to the fact that universities lack sufficiently effective mechanisms and do not encourage female students to report abuse:

“We also looked at how this phenomenon is regulated in internal documents, namely codes of ethics, which are intended to provide protection for female students. We discovered that most universities did not even mention the term ‘sexual harassment’ in their codes of ethics. Many lacked specific procedures for those facing such situations. We also developed an accessible guide that outlines the necessary steps and provides a clear framework for addressing sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination. We have sent this to every university in Romania. Unfortunately, at the moment, only two or three universities have put it to their websites and we received no response from the others.”

Cristina Praz says some progress has been made. In April this year, she says a historic milestone was reached, namely the enforcement of a law on the prevention of femicide. This marks the first time the concept of femicide has been recognised in Romanian legislation, with the Romanian state committing to a series of measures. These include the introduction of education on gender equality and non-violent relationships in schools, the centralisation of data regarding domestic and gender-based violence and harsher penalties for crimes committed against women. On the subject of statistics on domestic violence, police data reveal another key finding: the number of reported incidents is roughly equal among rural and urban areas:

“One of the most common notions we encounter is that domestic violence occurs primarily in rural areas. However, when we examine the annual figures, the number of reports, we consistently see that the number of reports and interventions is roughly the same in the rural and urban environments. This actually highlights the prejudice we have, the assumption that violence exists only within a specific environment or social category. In reality, however, violence can occur, and does occur, everywhere, regardless of whether we are talking about rural or urban areas, or women with lower or higher levels of education, and so on.”

In October 2024, the electronic monitoring system for aggressors in domestic violence cases was expanded nationwide, covering all counties. Cristina Praz notes that, while the introduction of these devices has enhanced women’s safety and deterred aggressors, the way authorities communicated these measures left much to be desired:

“In our experience, we know that victims are still afraid to choose this measure because they do not fully understand what it entails. There has been a great deal of misinformation about the monitoring system, for example, claims that if the device is lost, the victim would have to pay for it, or that the authorities gain access to more personal information than one would want. This is where the state should step in by conducting nationwide information campaigns to clarify what this protective measure truly means and why it is important, an aspect that, thus far, has not been communicated effectively.”

According to data published by the European Institute for Gender Equality, Romania consistently ranks among the lowest in the European Union on the Gender Equality Index. In the most recent edition, the country scored 57 out of 100 points, falling below the European average. In 2024, it ranked last, with 57.5 points, compared to an EU average of 71 points.