Romanians disapprove to a greater extent of aggression against women compared to 20 years ago, but there is still a high degree of acceptance of certain forms of violence against them, shows the data of a barometer that the Filia Center will launch on Friday, according to a press release from the organization sent to Agerpres.

One out of four respondents considers it acceptable for a man not to let his partner use her money as she wishes. At the same time, one in four accepts without problems the idea that a woman cannot go out in the city unaccompanied by her partner.

Almost a quarter (23%) of those surveyed consider it acceptable for a woman to be forbidden by her partner to have a group of friends. 19% of the respondents consider the fact that a woman is raped after agreeing to go to a man’s house as not at all or slightly serious, and 12% if a woman dressed provocatively is raped.

Regarding the reasons why women who are victims of violence do not turn to the authorities, 96% of those surveyed consider that they fear for their lives and/or their children’s lives. 86% of respondents indicate that the reason for not reporting is that women victims of violence do not believe that the authorities can protect them. 85% of Romanians are of the opinion that the victims do not turn to the authorities because they are ashamed and have nowhere to live.

The barometer of gender violence was created within the project „Knowledge is Power! – Research and advocacy for improvement of gender violence policy”, financed by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The study represents the first barometer regarding gender violence in Romania in the last 20 years and captures the attitudes and perceptions of Romanians regarding violence against women, the degree of tolerance of violence in society, the level of trust in the responsible authorities, as well as the existing obstacles for victims of gender violence.

„Gender-based violence cannot be accepted. It is often the result of persistent inequalities in representation and rights, abuse of power and unjust practices. It continues to remain one of the most notable human rights violations in all societies, regardless of social, economic or national boundaries. And it often remains shrouded in a culture of silence. In order to break this silence and to allow an objective assessment and to open a discussion on this subject, the data is of vital importance,” said the German Ambassador to Bucharest, Peer Gebauer.

Agerpres