Teachers, representatives of local public authorities, parents of pupils of “Emil Necula” High School and other villagers from Mereni participated in the general meeting of parents on “Violence - Dangerous Social Phenomenon”, which was conducted as part of “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” Campaign. This meeting was attended by a mobile team, consisting of Ombudsperson's Office employees and representatives of the Ombudsperson’s partners: Promo-LEX Association, “Memoria” Rehabilitation Center of Torture Victims and Centre for Assistance and Protection for Victims and Potential Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings.
Natalia Visanu, head of theService of Training Programs and Public Relations of the Ombudsperson's Office informed at the opening event about the social dangers of violence and underlined the need to root out this phenomenon. In addition, the attendees were informed about the campaign for combating domestic violence, which is organized by the Ombudsperson's Office.
Lidia Cetu, headmaster of the high school, spoke about the need to discuss with parents issues related to violence, given the general worsening of violence in the society.
Liuba Todica, representative of the Centre for Assistance and Protection for Victims and Potential Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings informed the audience about the assistance and help provided to victims of violence, causes of the respective phenomenon, cyclic nature of violence and consequences. The attendees were also informed about the types of violence and how the aggressor manifests himself/herself during acts of violence.
Cezara Dilevschi and Violeta Rebeja, psychologists from RCTV ”Memoria” spoke about the impact of domestic violence on family members: on the woman, children, as well as on the community. They also informed about the places where victims can receive rehabilitation and accommodation: maternal centres, shelters and other support programs, about the services provided by “Memoria” Center.
Lilia Poting, lawyer of Promo-LEX informed the audience about the legal mechanisms of protection for victims of domestic violence: where they can find support, how to defend their rights, restraining order, punishment measures for domestic violence offences.
During the meeting they also discussed about various real cases of domestic violence, they provided examples of consequences of violence, which raised the awareness among the participants and created a message of awareness and solidarity in combating domestic violence.
Aurelia Rosca, Deputy Mayor of Mereni village spoke about the social causes of the violence, about the situation of the social-vulnerable families and the need for social support from authorities, multidisciplinary committee and villagers.
Natalia Visanu, head of theService of Training Programs and Public Relations of the Ombudsperson's Office handed over to Aurelia Rosca, the Deputy Mayor of Mereni village, an information board with information about duties and competences of Ombudsperson's Office, problems that people may address to the Ombudsperson, contact data of OP and of its representative offices. The participants were encouraged to ask for the support of Ombudsperson’s Institution on issues related to the violation of human rights.
Both representative of local public authorities and villagers were encouraged by the mobile team members to ask for support from Ombudsperson's Office, CAP, Promo-LEX, “Memoria” RCTV in cases of domestic violence in order to benefit from the assistance of a lawyer or psychologist.
Some of the participants benefited from the presence of the social worker from CAP, psychologists from “Memoria” RCTV and lawyer from Promo-LEX Association and discussed with them about real cases, as well as, about possibility to contact these organizations for support, counseling and remediation of domestic violence cases.
