`Free from Violence’ Regional Forum was held in Cahul

The Deputy President of the Parliament, Liliana Palihovici, advised the participants to the event to condemn any form of abuse in society: "I advise women to talk about violence. Ten years ago the violence was discussed in an abstract manner, now we have laws and instruments to provide comprehensive services for victims of violence. We have rehabilitated victims and positive champions speak up and break the cycle of abuse. Only through non-violent education we can ensure a tolerant society".

"In the Republic of Moldova, each second woman was subject to several forms of physical violence and just one in three reports the case. Fear of social stigma, economic insecurity, lack of confidence in the system and often the lack of knowledge about the legal framework in force stop Moldovan women to report cases of violence to the competent authorities”, stated Stefan Liller, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative for Moldova.

Over 200 partners from the governmental sector - Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Health, development partners, male and female representatives of local public authorities and civil society attended the event.

The public discussions encouraged the participants to strengthen their joint efforts to prevent and fight violence. During the debates, an emphasis was put on mechanisms available at local level and their effectiveness to ensure the implementation of the anti-violence legal framework, adopted in July this year.

“We, as public servants, no matter where we are, have to come with a very clear attitude - violence is not someone’s problem, it is everybody’s problem! Unfortunately, we find violence exactly where is place for harmony: in family, at school ... and then we, as citizens of this country, must speak up. I join this campaign and I promise I'll participate in combating violence. I say clearly "No violence!", Violence against children, against women, girls ...”, said Ion Groza, President of Cahul district. 

The total costs of state services provided for each case of violence against women and girls account to MDL 64,288, while the lack of these services for one woman should be paid by our society in an amount of MDL 689,264, according to `Estimating the cost of domestic violence against women from the Republic of Moldova’ Report.

The regional forum was carried out in the context of the `16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence’ National Campaign and was organized by the Common Platform for Dialogue of Women MPs, in partnership with Cahul District Council. The event took place with the support of `Strengthening Parliamentary Governance in Moldova’ Project, implemented by UNDP, and UN Programme `Women in Politics’, implemented by UNDP and UN Women, in partnership with East Europe Foundation and `Partnership for Development’ Center with the financial support of the Swedish Government.

`16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence’ Campaign started 25 years ago and aims at raising awareness among the society towards violence against women and girls as a serious violation of human rights and mobilizing it to prevent this phenomenon.