The victims of family violence will get free legal counseling in 2009 at the NGO “The Shelter Casa Marioarei”. The announcement was Monday made by Stephen Larrabee, the country manager of the American Bar Association, the Rule of Law Initiative (ABA/ROLI) in Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. The association backs the project to contribute to eradicating the phenomenon of family violence. “I know this phenomenon is a big problem in Moldova. In US the phenomenon was there 40-50 ago, but because the laws were improved and the population was informed, they succeeded in overcoming it. I hope the phenomenon will not be so widely spread in Moldova in 5-10 years,” Stephen Larrabee said. The layer Nadejda Macari, who counsels the victims within this project, says, in 2008, 346 people have benefited from free consulting. Nadejda Macari adds frequently the aggressor does not get behind the bars, it happens only in cases of severe injuries. As a rule the aggressors pay fines. She stands against such a punishment, which “damages the family's budget and is not educating.” She says most of the aggressors are men. One of the main causes of violence is the alcohol abuse. The victims are scared in most of the cases and do not lodge complaints with the police. “Because of the traditional society's stereotypes, the women are fearful to speak about the problems in their families openly,” Nadejda Macari says. According to the executive manager of Casa Marioarei, Ecaterina Vieru, the NGO provides the victims with psychological, social, medical assistance and shelter. The victims are accommodated in those 12 rooms of the shelter but can be assisted at home, too. The project 'Free Legal Assistance to Family Violence Victims' was launched in August 2007 through USAID with an annual budget of some $13,000.