Women MPs from the member parties of the governing coalition submitted on Wednesday a bill on the prevention and combat of femicide and related forms of violence, a regulatory act backed by over 250 senators and deputies.

Social Democrat deputy Silvia Mihalcea emphasized that the bill introduces the definition of femicide into the legislation and sets in place a full mechanism for its prevention.

„This legislative initiative enjoys unprecedented support. Let me tell you that over 250 fellow MPs have signed for it, so that this is the bill submitted with the largest number of signatures in the history of the Romanian Parliament after the 1989 Revolution. Romania needs courageous laws and voices that call things by their names, and today we say this clearly – femicide exists and it must be stopped,” Mihalcea explained at the Palace of Parliament.

Senator Simona Spataru of the Save Romania Union also said that femicide is a problem of the Romanian society.

„We have all seen what it means that the number of murdered women is growing from one day to another, and Parliament had the obligation to come up with this solid project, supported by all parties and by a host of lawmakers who have studied the legislative proposals and back them. We are talking about prevention proposals, but especially about much harsher penalties for the murderers of women. (…) The murder of a woman in Romania will be sanctioned with life imprisonment, because you have seen multiple cases in which the aggressors get out of prison after 3-5 years and kill another woman and so on. This cannot continue, and magistrates will be offered continuous professional training for the enforcement of this bill,” Simona Spataru said.

According to Liberal deputy Geanina Pistru-Popa, this initiative is a wake-up call.

„Today, I would like us to talk not just about a legislative initiative, I would like us to take an oath, an oath for the country, for a Romania free of violence. According to UN statistics, 85,000 women die every year in the world, that is 140 women – every day. I think it’s time for this initiative to be a wake-up call. I think it is time for the state to come together with us and that we all say No, we want a Romania without violence,” she said.

UDMR deputy Eva Csep mentioned that the bill was developed together with the civil society, with associations and foundations that deal with victims of domestic violence, and with academics.

„We conceived the text of this bill in such a way that it responds to several needs – education, prevention, state institutions that are prepared to intervene. (…) It is so reassuring to work with such colleagues and with trained professionals. I believe that through this law, we will write history in Romanian legislation, because yes, femicide must be punished with a life sentence,” Eva Csep pointed out. AGERPRES