Moldova

Fifty-eight victims of sexual violence benefited from a comprehensive package of quality services made available through the Regional Integrated Service for Victims of Sexual Violence in Ungheni. Being the first of its kind in Moldova, the Regional Service stands out as one of the key milestones towards fulfilling the commitments under the Istanbul Convention, as highlighted in the first GREVIO baseline evaluation report for the Republic of Moldova.This service provided a holistic support system, including medical care, psychological counseling, and legal assistance. Notably, it facilitated hearings with audio-video recording and the development of psychological assessment reports. According to the Regional Service report in 80 percent of cases, victims received immediate emergency assistance within the first four days following the sexual assault, which is critical for their well-being and further legal processing of the cases. During its first year of operation, the Regional Service extended assistance to victims from six districts with over 80 percent coming from rural areas, highlighting the importance of providing regionally accessible specialized services. Furthermore, the Regional Service is recognized as a promising model for replication in other regions of the country, paving the way for broader national coverage and ensuring that more victims have access to quality essential services. This result significantly contributes to Objective 2.1. of the National Programme on prevention and combating violence against women and domestic violence 2023-2027, the CEDAW concluding observations on the 6th periodic report and overall, to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By providing comprehensive services to victims, particularly those from rural areas, it directly supports SDG 5 and related targets 5.1. to end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere and 5.2. to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. Additionally, the provision of medical and psychological care aligns with SDG 3, which focuses on health and well-being, while strengthening institutions and promotes justice, contributing to SDG 16. The establishment and operation of the Regional Service were made possible through support from UN Women in partnership with the International Center La Strada, under the coordination of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MLSP) and local stakeholders. To ensure its efficient functioning and enhance accountability of all institutions involved in the pilot phase, representatives from the Rayon council, mayoralties, state institutions, and civil society organizations contributed to stakeholder dialogue to address challenges and ways forward in improving and expanding the services. UN Women, with financial support from the EU, played a pivotal role by coordinating efforts and providing technical and expert support, creating a supportive environment for victims of sexual violence.

159 women, predominantly women refugees from Ukraine (147), are economically resilient and able to secure proper income in the Republic of Moldova following their enrolment and completion of tailored livelihood and economic resilience programs, offered through UN Women Moldova. Out of them, 80 refugee women benefitted from job placement programs and got employed, while another 79 women opened new business after completing entrepreneurship programs and receiving small grants for entrepreneurial ventures. Additional 4,724 refugee and economically inactive local women improved their economic and psychological well-being by engaging in comprehensive programs focusing on economic resilience and supporting better integration in a society affected by triple crisis (economic, energy and refugee) caused by the war of Russia against Ukraine. Out of them: 1,633 women and girls, including 864 refugees, enhanced their job seeking prospects, by integration into the labor market through the Cash for Work program, enrolling and completing employment related programs containing job matching services, childcare vouchers, mentoring, legal framework and orientation, financial management. 69 women and girls, acquired new skills in Social Media Marketing and Software Testing, have benefitted from co-working spaces and child friendly spaces through Women in Online Programme. Over 3,064 women enhanced their skills in entrepreneurship management, by completing business pre-accelerators and accelerators programmes, inclusive of modules on business plan development, self-esteem and leadership, communication skills, financial managementlegal support, IT skills, etc. To achieve this, UN Women Moldova delivered comprehensive humanitarian programs focusing on economic resilience, integration and leadership of refugee women and local vulnerable women, by piloting a combined approach of programme enrolment with childcare solutions. It also enabled both refugee and Moldovan women to overcome specific structural barriers such as lack of childcare services affecting women’s access to job, prevalent gender norms and stereotypes on roles of women and men in the family, but also on the recurrent perception among humanitarian workers to perceive women in need of protection instead of empowerment. UN Women’s approach of capacitating and bringing more local and grassroots actors, particularly WLOs, into the refugee response has been crucial for contributing to social cohesion and a localized refugee response. While prioritizing programmes on strengthening resilience, the CO contributed also to overall protection of refugee and local vulnerable population, where around 42,327 individuals (28,195 women and girls, 14,132 men and boys, 28 women with disabilities) benefitted from tailored support. It also contributed to the implementation of UNSDCF and Regional Refugee Response targets for Moldova, as well as to the progress of national SDG indicators 5, 8 10 and 16.