Romania Ordered to Pay Damages to Battered Wife

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ruled that Romania was not committed to countering domestic violence, after judging in favour of a Romanian woman who had sued her own state for acquitting her former husband.

Angelica Camelia Bălșan, born in 1957, was repeatedly assaulted by her spouse during 2007 and 2008. Bălșan called the police several times after she was assaulted, petitioned the head of the police seeking protection and submitted formal criminal complaints.

However, despite medical reports, at the investigation level and before the national courts, she was accused of provoking the violence and the violence was not deemed serious enough to come under the scope of criminal law.

Courts acquitted her husband of three assaults in 2007 and, concerning five other incidents in 2008, prosecutors decided not to press charges. Her husband was given only a fine.

"Such an approach deprived the national legal framework of its purpose and was inconsistent with international standards on violence against women. Indeed, the authorities' passivity in the current case reflected a discriminatory attitude towards Ms Bălșan as a woman and has shown a lack of commitment to address domestic violence in general in Romania," the Strasbourg ruling read.

The European court decided in favour of Balsan and told Romania to pay her 9,800 euros.

In a Eurobarometer poll on violence against women, 39 per cent of Romanians said they thought domestic violence was "very common" in their country, while 45 per cent said it was "fairly common".  

A Romanian survey published by Inscop Reasearch in 2013 said blaming the victim was a common attitude in Romania: abour 31 per cent of respondents had agreed that "women are sometimes beaten due to...

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