The Moldovan authorities committed themselves to lodge victims of domestic violence and to provide psychological assistance and legal advice to them based on the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention. The document was signed by Moldova in Strasbourg on February 6 and is to be ratified by Parliament, IPN reports.

The International Center “La Strada” welcomed the authorities’ gesture and expressed its confidence that the document will be ratified. Daniela Misail-Nichitin, director of the Center’s Women’s Program, said that symbolically, the signing of the Convention means that the state recognizes the problem of violence against women and domestic violence and aligns itself with the international standards in the field. When the Convention is ratified, the authorities will have to provide services to protect the victims and their children and to create a mechanism for paying compensations.

The goal of the Convention is to ensure zero tolerance of domestic violence. In the long run, the treaty aims to change the mentality of people so as to create a violence-free society.

Daniela Misail-Nichitin said that after the ratification, the implementation of the Convention will be periodically monitored by a group of independent experts. A relevant report is published once in four years.

The Istanbul Convention is a high-level document on the prevention, investigation and punishment of acts of violence against women and domestic violence. Moldova is the 44th state that signed the treaty.