Law on inclusion of cyber violence in category of domestic violence, promulgated

On Friday, President Klaus Iohannis promulgated the law by which cyber violence is included in the category of domestic violence.

The normative act aims at amending and supplementing Law no. 217/2003 for the prevention and combating of domestic violence.

According to the normative act, "within the meaning of this law, domestic violence means any inaction or intentional action of physical, sexual, psychological, economic, social, spiritual or cyber violence, which occurs in the family or domestic environment or between spouses or ex-spouses, and also between current or former partners, regardless of whether the aggressor lives or has lived with the victim".

Cyber violence involves "online harassment, online hate speech, online stalking, online threats, non-consensual publication of information and intimate graphic content, illegal access to interception of communications and private data, and any other form of abusive use of Information and Communication Technology via computers, smartphones or other similar devices that use telecommunications or can connect to the Internet and can transmit and use social or e-mail platforms in order to shame, humble, scare, threatens or silence the victim".

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Communications develop and disseminate documentary materials on the prevention, causes and consequences of domestic violence.