Discrimination in Romania
Romania is last in the EU and 72nd in the world in terms of gender equality according to a World Economic Forum report
Daniel Onea, 14.10.2015, 13:45
Romania ranks last at EU level and 72nd
globally in terms of equality between women and men, according to data made
public by the World Economic Forum. While many women receive discriminate
treatment at their workplace or while job-hunting, few report the
discrimination and abuse they are confronted with. Discrimination is also a
reality for the elderly and the disabled. In today’s edition we will learn more
about the Anti-Discrimination Coalition, a free online judicial assistance
programme for people facing discrimination in Romania.
One of the most serious forms of
discrimination in Romania regards the treatment of women. In the absence of a
working social protection system, they make up the most vulnerable category.
Women are often forced to stay at home and look after the elder or younger
members of their family. This situation hinders their social and professional
life, limits their liberties and opportunities and leads to depression,
loneliness and low self-esteem.
Discrimination is a complex issue, affecting
several categories of people, and the European legislation deals extensively
with this phenomenon. Dana Ududeac, a legal expert specialising in
anti-discrimination, says anti-discrimination legislation was translated into
national law in Romania in 2000 under a Government ordinance. She told us that
most people seeking help from the Anti-Discrimination Coalition often found it
hard to define discrimination from a legal point of view:
Discrimination has four key elements. It
implies different treatment of people in similar or comparable circumstances
based on a preferred set of criteria, such as ethnicity, religion, political
views, etc, and which results in violating those people’s rights. To start
with, discrimination is assessed using various perceptions and attitudes, as
well as via a phenomenon we call ‘social distance’. One such question we would
ask someone to assess discrimination is ‘Would you sit at the same table with a
Roma person?’ Because they do not understand the phenomenon of discrimination,
many Romanians believe they do not discriminate against people. At the same
time, however, we notice that they put a great deal of ‘distance’ between
themselves and other categories of people. In Romania, social categories that
are mostly discriminated against include the disabled, HIV- or AIDS-infected
people, lesbian and gay people and intravenous drug users.
The Anti-Discrimination Coalition, with ten
affiliated organisations, took part in the drafting of the 2015-2015 strategy
to combat discrimination. The strategy also benefits from the contribution of
the National Council for Combating Discrimination and civil society
organisations. Teodora Rotaru, who is responsible for public relations and
communication with the Anti-Discrimination Coalition, explains:
In the next few months, we plan to come up
with a report entitled ‘Access to Justice’. In this report, we will assess the
efficiency of the current methods to fight and prevent discrimination and
whether people find it easy to solve their problems in court or through the
National Council for Combating Discrimination. The next step after drawing up
the report is to approach the relevant authorities with a view to improving the
legal framework and in particular the anti-discrimination practices of the
institutions in charge. Anti-discrimination should be a goal for every minister
and every body and institution that interacts with society, from the Ombudsman
to the local employment inspectorates and the people providing training to
professional groups such as lawyers and teachers, so that everyone should
understand that each of us has the fundamental responsibility to ensure
equality for all.
The Anti-Discrimination Coalition also has a
website, antidiscriminare.ro, where people who believe they are victims of
discrimination or who want to know more about discrimination can post their
messages and receive basic legal advice or information related to their
problem. Dana Ududeac, who is a legal expert on anti-discrimination,
told us about two such cases handled by the Anti-Discrimination Coalition:
One example
involved the Accept Organisation, which defends and promotes the rights of the
LGBT community, and took place at the screening of a gay-related film in 2013
at the Cinema Hall of the Romanian Peasant Museum. A large group of people
voicing far-right views and driven by hatred made threats against the public
and blocked the screening of the film. While looking into the case, we came across
an interesting fact, namely that the more serious forms of discrimination are
considered criminal offences. Another example involves a pregnant woman
infected with HIV. In such cases, the World Health Organisation and the
Romanian Health Ministry recommend delivery by C-section at 38 weeks of
gestation. At the time, there was only one hospital in Bucharest where this
type of surgery could be performed, but the woman was denied admission because
of her HIV infection. She spent eight days in the hospital’s hallway because
the medical staff lacked the facilities to avoid the transmission of the virus,
putting the lives of the mother and the unborn baby at risk. It all ended well
and the woman received the medical services she needed.
Romania has made significant progress as regards
the legislation in the field of racial discrimination and intolerance. The
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance has analysed the progress
made since the publication in 2014 of its recommendations on combating discrimination.
The conclusion is that Romania needs to consolidate the training of judges,
prosecutors and law-enforcement officials on the criminal legal framework aimed
at fighting racism. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance is
the Council of Europe’s independent human
rights monitoring body specialised in combating intolerance and discrimination
and providing recommendations to member states.
