The 'Romania without domestic violence' special parliamentary committee and the Senate's Legal Committee on Monday granted a favourable report with amendments to the draft law on preventing and combatting femicide and the violence that precedes it.
'According to official data, 2025 was a black year. We are talking about almost 60 women killed and most of them in a domestic violence context. These crimes against women are not accidental. They are women who endured a chain of violence, who went through control by their partner and, in most cases, through a lack of effective reaction from the state. Through this law, the Romanian state is for the first time assuming an extremely clear, structured approach, including towards the prevention of femicide. The bill starts from a simple but harsh reality. Femicide is predictable and preventable. It is not an accident, it is not just a family tragedy. In the absence of a legal definition, as existed until now, and of centralised data and clear analytical tools, the state has very often reacted too late and I am not pointing the finger at anyone in particular or at certain institutions, but we can all see that intervention has often come after the tragedy,' Chair of the parliamentary committee 'Romania without domestic violence' Alina Gorghiu said on Monday.
According to her, 'the bill corrects these vulnerabilities and shifts responsibility from the victim to the shoulders and responsibility of the state.'
The legislative act provides a legal definition of femicide, in line with European regulations, stipulates the annual collection and publication of data on femicide and the violence that precedes it, real protection for children orphaned by femicide, recognised as direct victims with immediate protection measures, and harsher penalties when violence occurs in the presence of minors.
Other provisions aim to strengthen the criminal response by severely sanctioning gender-motivated acts and the violence preceding murder, as well as education for prevention through the introduction in schools of topics on gender equality, non-violent relationships and combatting violence.
The draft law on preventing and combating femicide and the violence that precedes it, initiated by a group of more than 250 MPs from across the political spectrum, will enter debate in the Senate plenary at the beginning of February. The Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body in this case.
'I believe that every woman in Romania, after the law is promulgated in the Official Journal, will feel a greater sense of security,' Gorghiu added.
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