The Cabinet approved a bill to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence known as the Istanbul Convention, IPN reports.

The Convention was adopted by the Council of Europe on May 11, 2011. The Republic of Moldova signed it on February 6, 2017, but its ratification was put off for several times.

According to Minister of Labor and Social Protection Marcel Spatari, the national legislation that regulates the prevention and combating of domestic violence in 2016 and 2020 was partially brought into compliance with the provisions of the Convention, amendments being made to over 20 legal acts. In 2018, the Government approved the first policy document in the field – the national strategy for preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence for 2018-20123 and the action plan for 2018-2020 that is based on the pillars of the Convention, such as the prevention, protection, prosecution and coordinated policies.

Currently, the bill does not need financial resources for being implemented, but will need later, in the process of adjusting the sector legislation.

Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița said the cases of domestic violence and violence against women have increased in number. That’s why the state should step up the pace of its actions in the field.