“The domestic violence is tolerated in Moldova and is fueled by stereotypes and the victims' shame,”Olga Ojog, lawyer for the Public Association “Refugiu Casa Marioarei” (Casa M), said during the presentation of the final results of the legal assistance project for victims of domestic violence. According to the statistical data collected during the project, the domestic violence appears during the first five years of marriage. The specialists who worked for the project said the level of family violence in Moldova is high, but at the legal level this phenomenon only starts to be examined, Info-Prim Neo reports. The legal assistance project for victims of domestic violence had been implemented during two years. According to lawyer Olga Ojog, 721 victims of domestic violence from all over Moldova were provided legal assistance as part of the project. 350 of them were from rural areas, while 371 from urban areas. During this period, the specialists of Casa M represented clients in 231 hearings. Most of the victims were aged between 18 and 35. A number of 541 cases of domestic violence have been recorded during two years, but only 180 victims filed complaints. “Even if these women submit complaints, they withdraw them in the end as they are ashamed or afraid or because they have to pay the fine instead of the aggressor,” Olga Ojog said. “The domestic aggressors should do community service,” the lawyer suggested. The law on domestic violence was adopted in September 2008. It aims to protect the victims from the aggressors. “After the adoption of the law, only one ordinance has been issued to protect a person in Anenii Noi. In the other cases, the judges do not issue ordinances, arguing the law is still new,” said Nadejda Macari, lawyer for the American Bar Association. The protection ordinance is issued for maximum three months, but can be extended if the aggressor breaks at least one of the imposed restrictions. The ordinance can be also valid for a day or several days, Nadejda Macari said. Within the framework of the project, Casa M instructed women and children, who are possible victims of domestic violence, about their rights and how to exercise them during six seminars held in Chisinau and seven seminars held in other regions of the country.