15.Most sanctions were issued because:

(a)Provisions regarding gender non-discrimination in internal regulations were not introduced;

(b)The employees were not informed permanently on their rights regarding equal opportunities;

(c)Legal provisions regarding the protection of maternity at the working place were not applied;

(d)Disciplinary sanctions within internal regulations for employees that violate the personal dignity of others were not introduced.

16.In March 2015, by law, the day of 8 May was declared “Equal opportunities between women and men Day”. According to the law, the local authorities and the Romanian Television and Radio Broadcasting have the right to organize public events and actions, respectively have the right to include in the national programmes, dedicated programmes on this Day. Also, both at central and local level conferences, round-tables, public debates, etc. on the values of gender equality and the benefits arising from their compliance were organized.

17.In June 2015, the law amending and supplementing the law on preventing and combating family violence was adopted. As a state authority, NAEOWM is responsible for the development, coordination and implementation of the Government strategy on domestic violence. The Agency may also fund or, where appropriate, co-fund from the state budget, from reimbursable and non-reimbursable external funds and/or from other resources, national programmes aimed at preventing and combating domestic violence and protecting and supporting family projects, in order to increase their quality of life.

18.According to the obligations stemmed from the implementation of the Government strategy on equal treatment between women and men and preventing and combating domestic violence, NAEOWM implemented two projects: “National awareness and public information campaign on domestic violence”, funded through the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014. The overall objective of the project is to prevent domestic violence, sexual discrimination within the family and combating gender stereotypes. The other project is “START — a quality life in safety!”, co-financed through the European Social Fund programming period 2007-2013, who’s objective was to raise awareness among all relevant stakeholders on the values and principles of equality between women and men and the need to fight against domestic violence and human trafficking, by developing national mechanisms and appropriate, systemic and integrated measures on the prevention, control, monitoring and intervention in the field of domestic violence and human trafficking.

19.Romania is actively involved in the “HeForShe” campaign launched by UN‑Women. The President of Romania is one of the 10x10x10 Impact Champions. The planned activities include the establishment of a new integrated system to track, report and prevent all forms of gender violence, training of specialists in a new profession — gender equality expert — and developing and implementing programmes to engage girls and boys (100,000 youth) in political, social and economic life.

20.By joint decision No. 1419/328/2014 of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Protection and Elderly Person and the National Institute of Statistics the “expert in equal opportunities” occupation was introduced in the Classification of Occupations of Romania. This specific measure has a positive impact on the activities developed in the field of gender equality, by the public sector and the civil society, recognizing its professional character and supporting the educational training.

21.The discrimination phenomenon has been constantly addressed by the Romanian authorities, first of all by enacting legislation to fight such attitude. In view of the above-mentioned, the following observations should be made:

22.The existence of a clear and comprehensive legal framework is one of the premises of a proper fight against any discrimination phenomenon. Access to justice is a right guaranteed to all citizens regardless of any distinction or category. Thus, the Romanian Constitution stipulates in art. 21 that “any person can resort to justice to defend his/her rights, freedoms and legitimate interests”.

23.In the field of serving the criminal sentences, Law No. 253/2013 on serving the sentences, the educational measures and other non-custodial measures ordered by the judicial bodies during the criminal trial mentions in art. 10 — Prohibition of discrimination that “during serving the sentences, the educational measures and the other non-custodial measures provided for at art. 1 ordered by the judicial bodies during the criminal trial it shall be prohibited any form of discrimination on grounds […] gender […]”. Besides this, Law No. 252/2013 on the organization and functioning of the probation system expressly stipulates carrying out the activity without any discrimination on grounds gender or on any other similar circumstances.

24.The normative act for fighting discrimination in the contraventional field is the Government Ordinance No. 137/2000 on preventing and sanctioning all forms of discrimination. An important amendment brought to the above mentioned normative act is the modification of the provisions on the burden of proof. Through the above-mentioned amendment, a relative presumption is set up in favour of the person who presents fact on the basis of which one can assume that a discrimination act has been committed. Thus, within the procedure in front of the court or in front of the National Council for Combating Discrimination (NCCD), “the interested person shall present facts on the basis of which one can presume the existence of a direct or indirect discrimination, and the person whom the complaint was filed against has to prove that no breaking of the equality of treatment principle has taken place. In front of the court any means of evidence may be invoked, in compliance with the constitutional regime of the fundamental rights, including audio or video records or statistical data”.

25.As far as combating discrimination in civil and civil procedural matters, the following observations should be made:

(a)Law No. 287/2009 on the Civil Code stipulates at art. 30 — Equality in front of the civil law:

“[…] gender […] as well as any other similar circumstance shall not have any influence whatsoever on the civil capacity”.

(b)Law No. 134/2010 on the Civil Procedure Code expressly stipulates at art. 8 — Equality:

“During the civil trial, the parties shall be guaranteed the exercising of their procedural rights, equally and without any discriminations”.

26.It has to be underlined that art. 8 is part of chapter II on the fundamental principles of the civil trial just for the reason that discrimination is a breach of fundamental rights and consequently, a hindrance in exercising their rights by the person’s victims of discrimination.

27.As far as sanctioning through criminal law is concerned, those who are guilty of having committed deeds that were motivated by one/more discrimination or hate criteria towards a certain category of persons, the following legal provisions are relevant:

Criminal Code

Art. 77 — Aggravating circumstances

“The following circumstances shall be aggravating circumstances:

h)Committing the criminal offence on grounds of […] gender […] or on any other similar circumstances, considered by the perpetrator as causes of one’s inferiority as compared to other persons.”

Art. 282 — Torture

“(1)The act of a public servant holding an office that involves the exercise of state authority or of other person acting upon the instigation of or with the specific or tacit consent thereof to cause an individual pain or intense suffering, either physically or mentally:

d)For a reason based on any form of discrimination, shall be punishable by no less than 2 and no more than 7 years of imprisonment and a ban on the exercise of certain rights.”

Art. 297 — Abuse in office

“(2)The same punishment (2 and no more than 7 years of imprisonment) applies to the action of a public servant who, while exercising its professional responsibilities, limits the exercise of a right of a person or creates for the latter a situation of inferiority on grounds of […] gender […].”

Art. 369 — Incitement to hatred or discrimination

“Inciting the public, using any means, to hatred or discrimination against a category of individuals shall be punishable by no less than 6 months and no more than 3 years of imprisonment or by a fine.”

As far as filing any complaints for breaching one’s rights is concerned, both the civil and criminal framework allow for such a demarche. Hence, in civil matters, the civil procedure code clearly provides this possibility. The criminal procedure code also creates the general framework for lodging criminal complaints by anyone who was the subject of a criminal offence. As far as the criminal offence of domestic violence is concerned, the provisions of the criminal code stipulate the following:

Art. 199 — Domestic violence

(1)If the acts set by Art. 188, Art. 189 and Art. 193-195 are committed against a family member, the special maximum term of the penalty set by law shall be increased by one-fourth.

(2)In case of offenses set by Art. 193 and Art. 196 perpetrated against a family member, a criminal action may be initiated also ex officio. Reconciliation shall eliminate criminal liability.”

Besides the already mentioned provisions, the Romanian legislative framework enables any person whose rights/legitimate interests were hindered by public authorities to file a complaint on the matter. To this end, the provisions of article 1 of Law No. 554/2004 on administrative disputed claims are applicable:

“(1)Any person which considers that one of his/her rights or one of his/her legitimate interests are affected by a public authority, by an administrative act or by the failure to settle a petition within the legal time limit, may address to the competent administrative disputed claims court, for the annulment of the act, the acknowledgement of the claimed right or of the legitimate interest and the legal redress of the damage caused. The legitimate interest may be both private and public.

(2)The party affected in one of his/her rights or one of his/her legitimate interests by an individual administrative act, addressed to another subject of law, may also resort to the administrative disputed claims court”.

28.Nevertheless, an important issue is worth mentioning: for the persons whose financial means may impede their access to court procedures, the Romanian legal framework provides for the necessary support under the legal aid concept. The civil legal aid is, as a matter of principle, optional. The party may ask to be provided with civil legal aid, or not. The legal aid contract is concluded between the party and his/her chosen lawyer according to the provisions of the Law No. 51/1995 on the organization and exercise of the lawyer profession.

29.Starting with 2008, Romania established a public legal aid system in order to ensure a real access to justice by providing for a good lawyer qualified defines. Such system meets the requirements stipulated in the Council Directive 2002/8/EC of 27 January 2003 to improve access to justice in cross-border disputes by establishing minimum common rules relating to legal aid for such disputes. The Government Emergency Ordinance No. 51/2008 on public legal aid in civil matters provides for the provisions of the aforementioned system.

30.The types of the legal aid are the following:

(a)Lawyer counselling;

(b)Payment of fees for experts, translators or interpreters used during the trial, with the authorization of the court or of the jurisdictional authority, if such payment is incumbent to the applicant;

(c)Payment of fees for bailiffs;

(d)Exemptions, reductions, rescheduling or delays with respect to judicial taxes provided by law, including with respect to those during the coercive enforcement stage.

31.As far as the statistical information is considered, the following should be mentioned:

(a)Cases on gender discrimination: the data basis of the Ministry of Justice does not provide for a separate identification of the aggravating circumstance applicable for gender discrimination;

(b)Protection orders: until 2013, the MoJ data basis did not allow for a separate identification of protection order cases, being the latter included in “Other family matters disputes”.

32.As far as the period 2013-30 September 2016, the figures are as follows:

Year	No. of protection orders	No. of protection orders admitted	No. of protection orders partially admitted
2013	2 538	450	227
2014	3 704	739	470
2015	4 528	801	541
2016 (1 January-30 September)	5 165	1 111	861

33.Cases of human trafficking: the MoJ data basis of human trafficking cases starting with 2007. There is no possibility of statistic identification of trafficking offences committed for a certain purpose.

34.The data provided below is the only existing data in the statistical information module of the ECRIS application.

Year	No. of cases	No. of persons convicted
2007	356	188
2008	365	187
2009	334	183
2010	370	203
2011	465	276
2012	422	427
2013	161	104
2014	156	115
2015	135	94
2016 (1 January-30 September)	97	93

35.The Ministry of Justice is the Programme Operator (PO) for the programme RO20 “Domestic violence and gender-based violence”, financed through the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 (NFM), whose implementation period ends on 30 April 2017 and has as objective to reduce the gender based violence in Romania and support the victims of trafficking. As PO, the MoJ ensures the operational and financial management of this program. A number of 15 projects were financed through this program, among which 13 had been selected through a call of projects launched in 2014 and 2 predefined projects implemented by the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police and the National Agency against Trafficking of Persons in partnership with Council of Europe and the Norwegian Police Directorate. Its aim is the exchange of good practices between the partner institutions involved in fighting domestic violence and trafficking in persons. The 13 selected projects are structured on 3 financing priority areas, as follows:

(a)Priority 1. Supporting the network of units in the framework of the Law on domestic violence, which has 8 projects. The promoters of the above-mentioned projects the following institutions are: the General Department for Social Assistance and Child Protection in Sibiu, Iași, Brăila, Buzău, Olt, Vaslui, the Public Social Assistance Service in Baia Mare and the Elderly Support Foundation. The aim is to set up several centres for domestic violence victims, widening the range of the services offered to the aforementioned victims, ensuring the domestic violence victims to efficient and coherent support services, promoting the services provided to domestic violence victims etc.;

(b)Priority 2. Awareness and sensitizing activities that comprises 3 projects having as promoters the following institutions: the National Agency for Equality between Men and Women (NAEMW), Club Ecotur Dora D’Istria Association and The European Association for the Defense of Human Rights (AEDH). The aims of the projects are the organization and carrying out information campaigns, sensitizing and awareness activities with respect to domestic violence and gender-based violence, two of such activities focusing on Roma population;

(c)Priority 3. Training activities for the professionals activating in the field of domestic violence that comprises 2 projects having as promoters the following institutions: Transilvania University in Brașov and Save the Children Organization. The two projects were finalized on 30 September 2016 and were addressed to specialists involved in fighting domestic violence (social workers, psychologists, police officers, gendarmerie staff, forensic specialist, law graduates, probation officers, nurses/doctors, teachers, school counsellors). More than 500 practitioners received professional training.

36.The General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police and the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons (NATP) are the beneficiary of the predefined projects (“Common action against domestic violence” and “Example of best practices in the field of assistance services for victims of trafficking in persons” — Pilot project, respectively). The predefined project having the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police as promoter — Common action against domestic violence — has as objective the professional training of 375 Romanian specialists — police officers, judges and prosecutors, including by drafting a good practices guide. The project called “Example of best practices in the field of assistance services for victims of trafficking in persons” was implemented by the NATP in partnership with the Council of Europe. An assessment report was drafted on the national system for assistance of victims of trafficking in persons. Moreover, 135 specialists with competence in the field of assisting the victims of trafficking were trained and an awareness raising campaign was run with respect to the risks associated to the trafficking in persons.

37.As far as the number of the women occupying management positions within the judicial system, the following can be mentioned: out of 1,224 management positions, a number of 692 are women.

38.The actual National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men (NAEOWM), subordinated to the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice was established by the Law No. 229/2015, regarding the amending of Law No. 202/2002.

39.The main responsibilities of the NAEOWM are:

(a)To coordinate the implementation of the Government policies and strategies in the field of equal opportunities for women and men;

(b)To propose to the Ministry law projects, national plans of action for equal opportunities for women and men and ensures their implementation;

(c)To collect statistical data, develop reports, surveys, analyses and prognosis regarding the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and treatment for women and men, in all the fields of activity;

(d)To elaborate, substantiate, propose and develop programmes and projects, legally approved, in the field of equal opportunities and treatment for women and men;

(e)To represent the Romanian Government in the European and international bodies in the field and collaborates with similar structures from other countries;

(f)To cooperate with local and central authorities, with education and research institutions, with NGOs, with social partners, including with the non‑governmental organizations involved in the field, to elaborate and implement public policies, in order to accomplish the principle of equal opportunities and treatment for women and men;

(g)To seek, along with the responsible institutions and public authorities, the implementation and compliance of the provisions of the international treaties and conventions to which Romania is a part of, in the field of human rights and equal opportunities;

(h)To ensure the compliance and exercise the control over the implementation of the provisions of the Law No. 202/2002.

40.According to Law No. 202/2002 on equal opportunities and treatment for women and men, republished, the National Commission in the field of Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (CONES) operates in the coordination of the National Agency for Equal Opportunities between women and men. CONES is composed by the representatives of the ministries and other specialized bodies of the central public administration subordinated to the Government or to the autonomous administrative authorities, of the trade unions and of the employers’ associations representative on national level, and also of the representatives of the NGOs, with recognized activity in the field. Based on the provisions of the same normative act, starting with 2005, in all territorial administrative units of Romania subordinated to the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice are operating the County Commissions in the field of equal opportunities between women and men (COJES). The Commissions are local structures, with informative and consultative nature, with the main task to promote and implement on local level the values and principles of non-discrimination on gender ground, equal opportunities and treatment for women and men. The County Commissions are designed to promote and disseminate on local level all the activities and objectives of the National Strategy, to conduct local activities in order to inform, raise awareness and to assess the stage of the implementation and enforcement of legislation on equal opportunities between women and men in different areas of activity.

41.The National Strategy for Equal Opportunities for women and men for the period 2006-2009 was approved by the Government Decision No. 319/2006. This strategic document aimed to establish a series of specific measures designed to eliminate any form of direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of gender and to allow the exercise of citizen’s freedom and its fundamental rights, whether man or woman.

42.The National Strategy for Equal Opportunities for women and men for the period 2010-2012 was adopted by the Government Decision No. 237/2010. As the previous strategic document, the Strategy aimed to respond through effective measures and actions to the problematic situations that have been identified in certain specific areas of intervention such as the education, labour market, social life, gender roles and stereotypes, participation in the decision-making.

43.The National Strategy in the field of equal opportunities between women and men for the period 2014-2017 and the General Plan of Action for its implementation was adopted by Government Decision No. 1050/2014. This strategic document aims to continue the policies in the field of equality between women and men developed so far and to promote on national level the values and principles of non‑discrimination based on gender, through concrete measures and actions on different specific areas of intervention. The main objectives of the Strategy are:

(a)Promoting a gender perspective in the educational process, combating gender stereotypes in the educational system;

(b)Promoting a gender perspective in the employment policies, raising awareness among the labour inspectors regarding the legal provisions in the field of equal opportunities for women and men, raising awareness regarding the wage gap between women and men;

(c)Encouraging labour market inclusion of women vulnerable to discrimination;

(d)Raising awareness regarding the importance of the conciliation between working life and family life and regarding the gender balance in the family, by informing and raising awareness among men on the importance of their active involvement in the family care;

(e)Combating the acts of harassment and sexual harassment at the workplace, combating gender violence;

(f)Monitoring the balanced participation of women and men in decision-making, conducting surveys/analyses regarding the balanced participation of women and men in the economic, political, social and cultural decision-making process.

44.The Romanian Institute for Human Rights (RIHR) is the first national human rights institution established in Romania after 1989, with more than 25 years of activity in this field. According to its establishment Law No. 9/1999, the RIHR is an independent body with legal personality.

45.As stated in Article 2 of the above mentioned Law, the aim of the Institute is to ensure that public bodies, NGOs and citizens acquire a better knowledge of the human rights issues. At the same time, according to its mandate, the Institute also has the role to inform the public opinion abroad and the international organizations about the practical ways in which human rights are ensured, guaranteed and respected in Romania. In fulfilling its mandate the Institute addresses all human rights and fundamental freedoms such as civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. In this sense, the Institute performs, in accordance with the law, activities of information, research, documentation, training and education in the field of human rights. Among the attributions of the Institute, there is also the specialized assistance offered in the field of legislation to the permanent Commissions of the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies in their activity of issuing and debating draft laws and legislative initiatives. The RIHR formulates points of views on national legislation and especially on the respect for human rights also upon request by other fora. RIHR was placed by the ICC in C category according to Paris Principles. Following this decision RIHR undertook a series of measures meant to improve its activity and continues to do so being in the process of submitting the file for a new evaluation in accordance with Paris Principles. The activity of the Institute is currently led by a Steering Committee and is coordinated by a General Council with wide representation consisting of public personalities, parliamentarians from all the political groups, representatives of academia and of NGOs, which stands for the Institute’s real pluralism and independent liability. At the beginning of 2016, the Institute benefited of an adequate budget sufficient to guarantee its independence. The Romanian Institute for Human Rights is a member of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), under the auspices of which it is involved in a series of working groups and projects also envisaging aspects of equal treatment and combating discrimination. The Institute supported the National Strategy 2007-2013 on combating discrimination at national level elaborated by the National Commission for Combating discrimination and participated in the consultation and recommendations process for its formulation with respect to better policies for women’s rights and gender equality. At the request of the Parliament’s special Commissions, the RIHR expressed points of view on several bills — the bill on promotion of human dignity and tolerance for group differences making reference to international and regional documents on human rights, dignity, non-discrimination, freedom of expression. In all the conferences and training programmes, organized by the RIHR in partnership with academia and civil society, a special session and a working group has been devoted to the issue of non-discrimination and the rights of women. RIHR organizes annually wide awareness raising campaigns and debates in schools and universities in the framework of “The European Action Week against Racism” to convey a message of solidarity against racism and xenophobia. The Institute hosts annually a round table with the theme “United for Diversity” in collaboration with the Romanian Association for the United Nations ANUROM, and the UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Democracy, Peace and Tolerance, coordinated by the Institute and the North University of Bai Mare. RIHR in the context of the monitoring process of the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, draw the attention of all public institutions that in this respect the women with disabilities are a special vulnerable category to which special attention should be paid. RIHR organized awareness raising campaigns on several United Nations Days to inform the public about the establishment of the new United Nations Structure UN-Women and all new developments in the international mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights and especially of women’s rights.

46.Some of the activities organized in 2016 by the Institute are:

(a)The Conference “Equal opportunities and equal treatment between women and men — a fundamental principle of human rights”, organized on the National Day of Equal Opportunities by the Romanian Institute for Human Rights in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Democracy, Peace and Tolerance — Baia Mare North University , Association of Family Rights — Family Forum (6 May 2016);

(b)The Conference “5 years since the adoption of Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence” organized by the Romanian Institute for Human Rights in collaboration with the Association for the United Nations in Romania and the Association Club of Cheia (11 May 2016);

(c)The Symposium “Zero tolerance to violence against women and domestic violence” organized by the Romanian Institute for Human Rights in partnership with the Romanian Association for Women’s Rights, the Romanian Association for personal freedom and human dignity and the Association for the Promotion of Rights of the Family — Family Forum marking the anniversary of two years since the entry into force of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (1 August 2016). The main international bodies and specialized United Nations agencies with which RIHR have had a constant cooperation ever since its establishment: United Nations, UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO, ICC, UN-Women, UNHCHR, WFUNA.

47.The special temporary measures aimed to accelerate the achievement of substantive equality between women and men can be interpreted as positive measures, as stated in Government Ordinance No. 137/2000 regarding the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination and Law 202/2002 on equal opportunities and treatment between women and men. These types of measures are part of the Romanian legislation, especially in the case of ethnic groups which are most vulnerable to discrimination. In order to contribute to the integration and education of persons belonging to minorities, a very effective positive action into force is the measure that provides special positions for Roma students within universities which are free of charge. Women (and men) with disabilities benefit of the provisions of Law 448/2006 regarding the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities. According to Government Emergency Ordinance No. 111/2010 on leave and monthly allowance for raising children, the disabled person who has a child benefits of a monthly financial support until the child is 7 years old. Government Ordinance No. 96/2003 on the protection of maternity in the workplace includes measures such as:

(a)Defining terms and expressions: pregnant employee, employee who recently gave birth, employee who breastfeeds, prenatal consultation permit, maternal risk leave;

(b)Issuing a prenatal consultation permit to an employee during the working programme;

(c)According to the right to a maternal risk leave and monthly allowance to pregnant employees or mothers for who the working place cannot be changed;

(d)According a 42 days compulsory postnatal leave;

(e)Orthostatic position working places;

(f)Breastfeeding breaks;

(g)Confidentiality regarding pregnancy;

(h)Reducing the work programme by a fourth;

(i)Forbidding the dischargement of pregnant or recent mothers.

48.As for a balanced participation of women and men in political life, there are 2 initiatives discussed in the Parliament proposing a minimum quota of 30 per cent for each gender on any party lists for both local and general elections. So far, the Senate has adopted these completions but there is still the Chamber of Deputies to discuss and vote these positive temporary measures.

49.A study carried out by The Romanian Institute for Education and UNICEF Romania in 2004 named “Perspectives on the gender dimension in education” in its concluding comments stated that a good proportion of the teaching staff who participated in this study are not sufficiently aware of the relevance of the gender dimension during the educational process and, implicitly, for the discipline they deliver. Without operating a distinction between sex and the social construction of gender, between inborn and acquired, between differentiating and discriminating (legal, cultural, economic, etc.), the teaching staff are seldom prepared to understand the influencing factors to the interiorizing process of gender by the students. The level of knowledge of the gender perspectives is relatively low, the main reasons indicated being the difficult access to information, the lack of resources (didactic, time, and financial) and the lack of training opportunities. Approximately half of the teachers consider gender education as an integral part of the educational process, but less than a third of them declared that they include a gender dimension in their current teaching activity and offered details regarding the strategies they use in this regard. There are a significant number of teachers that manifest attitudes of mistrust or indifference toward this perspective considering it inopportune. The main arguments start from the assumption that gender education affects equal opportunities between students and from the idea, by all means justified, that using this approach, lacking some methodological and adequate instruments, can have negative influences on the process of gender construction for students. According to the opinion of the teachers, the present educational system does not sufficiently capitalize the gender dimension. In spite of this, many teachers have showed a favourable attitude towards familiarizing with the specific gender approach regarding equity, role balance, and gender partnership. This fact is valid even in the case of the teachers which have initially expressed some reserves in addressing the gender dimension in the discipline that they teach. This situation is heartening, taking into account the important number of teachers that don’t use, in any circumstance, the gender perspective in the teaching activity. The observations done in class show that the majority of teachers rarely approach gender themes and never exploit the situations with an educational potential from this perspective. Therefore, gender stereotypes are not understood and are not critically questioned by the teachers so that they usually act based on preconceived ideas or biases. This way, the gender attributes associated with girls and boys can become labels with negative consequences not only on their gender identity development but also on their self-image in general.

50.From the perspective of the gender identity construction process, the majority of recommendations that the teachers admit using are related to discipline, manners, language and posture. In girls’ cases, the recommendations are principally related to their exterior appearance and some gender traditionally feminine roles; in the boys’ cases, the recommendations are related to attitudes and behaviour. The students’ opinions confirm and nuance these conclusions. They state that the teachers frequently recommend to girls and boys how to behave but they associate different traits according to gender.

51.The teachers’ recommendations reconstruct, in good measure, two traditional ways of educating, specific to the ethics of rights and to that of caring. Education in both value categories — auto affirmation and active responsibility towards others — is still seldom sustained by the teachers.

52.The characteristics that students associate to a specific gender reproduce, in many cases, traditional models regarding womanliness and masculinity but they don’t hesitate, when describing themselves, to mention attributes associated traditionally with the other gender.

53.The differences between the traditional gender representations seem to be stronger in the case of students living in urban areas or are high school students, while students from rural areas (especially boys) and the ones in secondary school seem to be influenced by them in a higher degree. This trend is easier observed in identifying the gender characteristics in general and less evident in the auto evaluation process.

54.At the same time, this analysis showed that the students sometimes distance themselves from the gender characteristics promoted by the teachers in school. Both girls and boys define themselves with characteristics that teachers do not recommend or present as unacceptable in general or related to a specific gender. The analysis of curricula (the school manuals) and the opinions of the educational actors regarding their use, from the perspective of promoting gender messages, have led to conclusions that confirm the results of other studies in this field. Therefore, the school manuals promote, through images and text, especially masculine characters. The characteristics and activities associated with both genders are, in many situations, traditional models. Pertaining to the activities that are done, the masculine characters are most present in public life and the feminine ones are more active in the private one. Just a small amount of images present real life situations, an extremely low number of them depicting school life, professional life, family life or friend interaction. The world of school manuals is scarce in communication and gender partnership situations. Most of the time, the interactions depict cooperation between same sex characters and seldom between different sexes. The conflicts, the competition or subordination are specific especially to masculine characters.

55.As for the learning tasks, one can comment on the predominant trend of individual learning; the sporadic requests of group solving of elaborate applications on the basis of learned texts highlights the low potential of manuals towards developing the gender dimension in learning, understood as a social process. Also, the high frequency of cognitive — operational learning tasks and the ones that are based on reproducing suggest a trend for simulating conformity and a lower interest for the development of a quizzical spirit of the student in the learning process. The majority of learning tasks are strictly cognitive and abstract and do not, in any way, relate to real life experiences. The education for private life is dramatically reduced.

56.The analysis on the teachers’ and students’ opinions regarding the gender perspective contained in the school curricula (programmes, manuals) show that the teachers consider that the capitalization of a gender perspective in education represents an objective of a low number of subjects (especially those that belong to the curricular areas known as “Men and society”, “Language and communication”, “Counselling and orientation”). The potential role of all school disciplines in achieving a gender education is low sustained. This assessment has shown that if the gender message is not an explicit one, then the teaching activity does not capitalize the contents using this perspective.

57.The teaching staff don’t find in the manuals sufficient support to capitalize the subjects from a gender perspective. Therefore, the opinions of some teachers that some manuals promote traditional gender roles and relations and accentuate gender stereotypes through texts and images support the conclusions of the analysis of school manuals. Referring to the subjects of programmes and manuals having a gender perspective, the teachers and students consider that school contributes especially to the preparation for a profession and insufficiently capitalizes some aspects related to gender relations and partnership.

58.The analysis of different aspects related to the implemented curricula — organizing the learning space, teaching — learning strategies that are being used, evaluation of the school results aspects — has led to the conclusion that gender is an insufficiently capitalized aspect in the teaching activity. The spaces within the schools don’t induce gender discrimination but the way in which these spaces are used doesn’t make proof of promoting some values which can contribute to the awareness and valuing of a gender dimension and offer insufficient contexts for practicing social roles and gender roles in particular. The lack of adequate spaces for expression, knowledge and education of individual interests and aptitudes (circles, clubs, etc.) as well as the inexistence of some spaces to freely exercise democratic behaviours (for example a classroom for the students’ council) creates premises for perpetuating the trend of ignoring the differences, including the gender ones. Most schools have a visual environment which is bare, impersonal and outdated. This environment is a neutral one from a gender perspective; most probable as a visual one it does not advantage the students who are more sensitive to aesthetic aspects. The means and ways of presentation of visual materials are gaunter than the one used outside of school; it follows that the school loses the battle with other transmitting channels of various messages, gender messages included (public meeting places for young people, internet, etc.).

59.The school still keeps a preference for masculine power symbols and social prestige (paintings depicting writers, leaders, historians who are men) and academic (charts, figures, formulas, etc.) which have the potential to promote gender discrimination considering the unbalance between the predominant instrumental characters involved. The positioning of students in the classroom speaks yet of a traditional model of teaching in which the social interactions between students — boys or girls — are not sufficiently stimulated. The socially, professional and intellectual successful models used for lessons are predominantly masculine, the school still implicitly promoting gender stereotypes. Most contents, although they have the potential to capitalize the gender perspective, are seldom approached from this perspective. At the level of evaluation activities, the teachers and students consider that there isn’t a direct relationship between the gender of one person and the quality of ones’ results in school. Nevertheless, it is said that the gender of a person can be an influencing factor on school results. On the other hand, it is thought that during the school evaluation gender advantageous or disadvantageous situations occur. In many situations, the teachers and students think that girls obtain better school results than boys both for being more conscientious and learning more as well as being advantaged when marked compared to the other gender. So, we can comment on a certain gender effect in the evaluation of school results. The investigations revelled that some gender influences intervene also in the relationship between teachers and students. These influences — in general, non-intentional and unaware — are a consequence of the gender stereotypes of the teachers which are transferred sometimes to the students.

60.According to Art. 4 of Government Emergency Ordinance No. 11/2014, the Department for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men (DEOWM) was established as a specialized body of central public administration, with legal personality, subordinated to the Ministry of Labour, Family, and Social Protection. Pursuant to Art. 1 of Order No. 6/2015 amending and supplementing Law No. 217/2003 on preventing and combating domestic violence, it was brought under regulation that DEOWM exercises the functions of strategy, regulatory, representation and state authority in the field of domestic violence, with responsibilities in development, coordination and implementation of government strategies and policies in the domestic violence field. As to public policies in preventing and combating domestic violence, National Agency for Equal Opportunities Between Women and Men — NAEOWM (former DEOWM), implements the national strategy for preventing and combating domestic violence for the period 2013-2017 and the Operational Plan for its implementation, approved by Government Decision No. 1156/2012. By Law No. 351/2015 amending Law No. 217/2003 a trial, prompt requests for issuing a protection order was regulated. According to Article 27 “Request for issuing the protection order is examined urgently and in any case, responses may not exceed a period of 72 hours of application”.

61.Starting with 2012, when the protective order was first regulated in Romania, the statistics of all the files pending in courts, concerning claims for issuing protection orders, are as follows:

(a)Year 2012: 472 files pending, 297 solved;

(b)Year 2013: 2,213 new files pending, 1,781 solved;

(c)Year 2014: 2,963 new files pending, 3,022 solved;

(d)Year 2015: 3,947 new files pending, 4,024 solved;

(e)Year 2016 (January-September): 3,989 new files pending, 4,226 solved.

62.The number of applications for the issuing of protection orders has grown yearly showing that domestic violence victims were granted access to information, legal advice and legal assistance, the protective order becoming a better known and used defence tool.

63.On 27 June 2014 in Strasbourg, Romania signed the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, which was adopted in Istanbul on 11 May 2011, also called the Istanbul Convention. During the preparation procedure to ratify and implement the Convention, NAEOWM signed an agreement with UNICEF — Romania, in June 2014, for technical assistance and support. Thus, a working group was created consisting of governmental representatives and experts, bringing together specialists from key ministries and institutions in the domestic violence field. Debates and consultations were organized for a complex and extensive assessment of the institutional and legislative framework and also for drawing up proposals for changes and/or additions to national legislation that incriminates acts of violence against women. In March 2016, Romania has ratified the Istanbul Convention by Law No. 30/2016, and the instrument of ratification was deposited with the Council of Europe in May 2016. The Convention entered into force in Romania starting 1 September 2016.

64.Within the period October 2015-March 2016, at the request of the non‑governmental organizations, NAEOWM took part at the meetings of the working group created under the patronage of the Superior Council of Magistracy. The Working group included representatives of the ministries with responsibilities in the area of combating domestic violence, representatives from academia and members of the network of non-governmental organizations named “We break the silence about sexual violence”. The working group aimed to draft relevant legislation, necessary for implementing the Convention. In order to accelerate the process of drafting the legislation, in April 2016 NAEOWM actively collaborated (in different meetings with specific issues) with NGOs specialists. Specifically, a legislative package was developed to implement the Istanbul Convention which included the following amendments:

(a)Draft law amending and supplementing Law No. 286/2009 on the Criminal Code;

(b)Draft law amending and supplementing Law No. 135/2010 on the Code of Criminal Procedure;

(c)Draft law on amending and supplementing Law No. 202/2002 on equal opportunities and treatment between women and men;

(d)Draft law on amending and supplementing Law No. 217/2003 on preventing and combating family violence;

(e)Draft of a Joint Order on founding and operating of integrated emergency services for victims of sexual violence (Ministry of Health and Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Protection and Elderly).

65.During 2016, a draft government decision on programmes of national interest (PNI) had been prepared in the field of equal opportunities between women and men and combating domestic violence for the period 2017-2019, with the following subprogrammes:

(a)PNI I. Founding or supporting emergency centres for counselling and sheltering victims of domestic violence and organizing mainstream intervention teams;

(b)PNI II. Founding and supporting assistance services for domestic violence offenders — Founding support centres for the offenders;

(c)PNI III. Increasing women’s participation in decision-making and promoting women in decision-making positions — Networks of resources for promoting equal opportunities between women and men.

66.Also, during 2016, a draft order for approving the minimum quality standards to accredit social services for preventing domestic violence has been prepared. This order aims to improve the activity of service providers (set of 6 minimum quality standards related to the existing social services, simplified and updated). The draft order regulates minimum quality standards for accreditation of social services: emergency accommodation centres (shelters), recovery centres for domestic violence victims, safe houses for victims, counselling centres for preventing and combating domestic violence, rehabilitation centres for the offenders, public awareness and information centres.

67.On the 5 October 2016 the Romanian Government approved the Memorandum on the establishment of the Interministerial Committee for Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence. The establishment of this Committee, with an advisory role in preventing and combating domestic violence, was necessary to ensure a stronger cohesion between all relevant stakeholders regarding the underpinning and applying of complex measures under the provisions of the Istanbul Convention. The Interministerial Committee has the following main competences: ensuring cooperation between institutions and organizations for implementing national public policy and government plans to prevent and combat domestic violence; supporting the implementation and monitoring of the Istanbul Convention; supporting proposals for improving the legal framework on the prevention and combating of domestic violence. The first meeting of the Committee was held on 29 November 2016.

68.Regarding the need for strong legislative and institutional measures aiming on one hand, to limit the phenomenon by applying punitive measures against perpetrators and, on the other hand, to support victims by providing a range of services appropriate support, NAEOWM implemented, between October 2014 and December 2015 the project “START — A quality life in safety!”, funded by HROP 2007-2013, totalling 170,207,156 lei (38 million euros). The project aimed to implement at a holistic and integrated development of mechanisms, policies, procedures and tools applied nationwide, generating long-term benefits for people in situations of gender inequality, domestic violence or human trafficking risk. The overall objective was to develop an integrated system to address national measures to prevent and combat domestic violence and trafficking. The intervention area of the project had national coverage having a target group of 11,150 people, out of which: 1,000 women, 5,050 people from vulnerable groups, as follows: 4,000 domestic violence victims, 1,000 children at risk, 50 human trafficking victims, 4,000 experts in public institutions with responsibilities in preventing and combating domestic violence and human trafficking and/or also experts for interacting with victims, 550 managers and 550 people from the local and central authorities. The relevant results achieved within the project were:

(a)Providing support to 5,050 victims who received complex services in terms of psychological, social, medical and vocational assessment; contiguously, they have benefited from the development of individual plans of intervention and from training services, psychological counselling, legal counselling and career guidance;

(b)Training and job qualification, for a total of 4,000 women victims of domestic violence and individual subsidization of 6,000 lei /victim;

(c)Raising awareness seminars attended by 5,000 women;

(d)Training 4,000 people to become equal opportunities technician (with very important role in the communities — small towns, and villages);

(e)An integrated system had been created for recording, reporting and managing of domestic violence situations by creating a specialized system that facilitates recording and precise data centralization (SIRMES) — with a focal point for all the specific information managed in all institutions responsible in the field; developing a unified set of monitoring tools, including a single file per case;

(f)An emergency accommodation centre for victims of domestic violence (shelter) had been founded;

(g)A free and anonymous hotline for victims of domestic violence — call centre on a 24/7 basis has been established — No. 0 800 500 333;

(h)42 inter-institutional and multidisciplinary intervention teams in each county around the country and in Bucharest have been created and became functional;

(i)3 intervention guidebooks for professionals has been elaborated;

(j)300 inter-institutional partnerships were signed;

(k)Campaigns to raise awareness on domestic violence, gender inequality and human trafficking were conducted.

69.In the period 2015-2017, NAEOWM implements the EAA grant project called “National campaign of raising awareness on domestic violence”. This project has a budget of 211,446 euros and is funded by RO 20 “Domestic violence and gender-based violence” funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014. The main objectives of the project follows the national strategy for preventing and combating domestic violence during 2013-2017, adopted by No. 1.156/2012 and the national strategy for equal opportunities between women and men during 2014-2017, adopted by Governmental Decision No. 1.050/2014. The overall objective of the project is to prevent the phenomenon of domestic violence and promoting equal opportunity and treatment between men and women and combating gender stereotypes and gender discrimination. For these purposes a national raising awareness campaign was organized in 2016. Eight national public debates were held attended by representatives from institutions and organizations responsible with the prevention and combating domestic violence. NAEOWM operates the free helpline for domestic violence victims with a unique number 0800 500 333. Thus, domestic violence victims and potential witnesses or other persons who have knowledge of such violence and who need support, information and advice, can call for free, both in Romania and abroad, this number available 24/7. Since the establishment of helpline (December 2015) and until December 2016 there were 2,380 calls. In case of urgent domestic violence situations, the call centre operators have guided the victims to national emergency helpline 112. For all the other reported situations, operators registered the data regarding potential victims (with their prior consent) — identification, type of aggression, the offender, and provided the caller with information about actions to be taken according to each situation. The operators also referred the cases to the competent local structures in order to achieve an appropriate intervention.

70.In annex No. 15 there is a situation on the geographical distribution of shelters and other counselling centres.

71.Among the most relevant instruments used and the obtained results in the reporting period in the field of trafficking in human beings, we mention:

(a)Operating the data base regarding victims of trafficking in human beings belonging to the National Agency against Trafficking in Human Beings (NATHB), a significant resource for the analysis of this phenomenon at national level and mentioning an appropriate funding for the implementation of public policies in this field;

(b)Operating the green line number 0800800678 belonging to NATHB which provides information regarding the risks associated with trafficking in human beings and receives complaints regarding potential traffic situations;

(c)Developing the national mechanism for identifying and referring of victims of trafficking in human beings with the participation of all institutions responsible in this field;

(d)Numerous prevention campaigns and informational activities, conducted both at national and local/regional level, developed according to the progression of the phenomenon and the trends manifested in certain periods of time (forms of exploitation, vulnerable population, destination countries, etc.);

(e)Developing and implementing the programme for coordinating the participation of victims that are witnesses/injured part in a criminal case through which their proper information is ensured regarding all aspects linked to a participation in a criminal lawsuit and the development of the case, emotional support, transportation and physical protection;

(f)The increase of the number of unappeasable convictions in cases of trafficking in human beings with an annual average of 250 convicted persons (2006-2015);

(g)The constant participation in working sessions and exchange of good practices organized both in Romania and in other countries; ensuring the proper representation in the meetings organized both at European and international level (EU, Council of Europe, OSCE, UNODC, etc.);

(h)The constant preoccupation towards identifying adequate financial resources to promote the projects and partnerships established at national and international level in order to improve the prevention measures, to increase the capacity to identify the victims, to improve the support for victims, to create some cooperation networks, to research the motives;

(i)The statistical data regarding the assistance provided to victims of trafficking in human beings that benefited in the period 2010-2016 of specific services from NATHB or other local authorities is presented in annex No. 16;

(j)The statistical data on the number of victims of domestic violence is presented in annex No. 17.

72.NATHB has implemented over 20 projects aimed at raising awareness and providing information regarding the perils and vulnerabilities that women and men face related to trafficking in human beings. Among them we can mention: Development of a Transnational Referral Mechanism for Victims of Trafficking Between Countries of Origin and Destination, Programme to Support the Development of Transnational Referral Mechanisms for Trafficked Persons in South-Eastern Europe, Raising awareness and Empowerment against Child Trafficking, Joint efforts of Police and Health Authorities in the EU-Member States and Third Countries to Combat and Prevent Trafficking in Human Beings and Protect and Assist Victims of Trafficking, Operational Networking and Cooperation and Joint Multidisciplinary Training Process for Judicial, Law Enforcement, NGOs and IO Specialists in Fighting Trafficking in Human Beings, Victims of Child Trafficking: Our Responsibility, Not For Sale — Say Stop to Human Trafficking, Trafficking As a Criminal Enterprise-TRACE, etc.

73.Romania benefits of a legislative and institutional framework which ensures the development and implementation of measures in all specific intervention areas concerning trafficking in human beings: prevention, combating, protection and assistance, partnerships.

74.Regulatory documents that are benchmarks in the trafficking in human beings field are set out below.

75.The main international judicial instruments ratified by Romania:

(a)United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted in 2000, ratified by Law No. 565/2002. Romania signed in December 2000 the Convention and its’ two additional protocols;

(b)Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, adopted in 2005, signed by Romania the same year, ratified by Law No. 300/2006;

(c)Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing and combating human trafficking and protecting its victims, replacing Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA.

76.The main national regulatory documents in the trafficking in human beings field:

(a)Law No. 678/2001 on the prevention and combating of trafficking in human beings, along with its’ following amendments and completions;

(b)Romanian Penal Code (Law No. 286/2009);

(c)Government Decision No. 299/2003 for approving the Regulation to apply the provisions of Law No. 678/2001 on the prevention and combating of trafficking in human beings;

(d)Joint Order of Interior and Administrative Reform Minister, Labour, Family and Equal Opportunities Minister, Education, Research and Young Persons Minister, National Authority for Children’s Rights President, General Attorney of the Office attached to High Court of Cassation and Justice and Justice Minister No. 335/2007/2881/2007/1990/2007/1072/2007/266/A6880/409/C/2353/C/2008 for approving the National Identification and guidance mechanism of trafficking in human beings victims;

(e)The National Strategy against trafficking in human beings 2012-2016 and the National Action Plans for implementation for the periods 2012-2014 and 2015-2016;

(f)The National Strategy against trafficking in human beings 2005-2010, approved by Government Decision No. 1654/2006 and the National Action Plans for implementation for the periods 2006-2007 and 2008-2010.

77.Relevant regulatory documents regarding trafficking in children and child’s rights and to fight against any form of exploitation of children:

(a)Law No. 272/2004 regarding the protection and promotion of children’s rights, along with its’ following amendments and completions;

(b)Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, signed in 2000, ratified by Law No. 470/2001;

(c)Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, adopted in 2007 and signed by Romania the same year, ratified by Law No. 252/2010;

(d)Government Decision No. 1443/2004 regarding the repatriation methodology of unattended Romanian children and ensuring the special protection measures in their favour;

(e)Government Decision No. 49/2011 for the approval of the Framework Methodology regarding the prevention and intervention in a multidisciplinary team and in a network in situations of violence against children and family violence and of the Multidisciplinary and Interinstitutional Intervention Methodology regarding children who are exploited and at risk of being exploited through work, children victims of trafficking in human beings as well as Romanian migrant children victims of other forms of violence in other countries.

78.In spite of the still low number of women present in both chambers of the Romanian Parliament, the situation has slightly improved. The local elections from 2012 have shown that only 3.64 per cent women were elected as mayors. The local elections held in 2016 have shown a slight increase (approximately 1 per cent) to 4.55 per cent women mayors. In the case of local councils, in 2016, 4,960 women were elected, the percentage at national level being 12.33 per cent. The county councils, respectively the general council of Bucharest, are best represented by women — 14.9 per cent but, compared to the elections in 2012, there is a considerable decrease by 7.72 per cent. As for the Parliamentary elections, held in 2016, 260 men and 69 women representing 79.03 per cent men and 20.97 per cent women have been elected. For the Senate there are 116 men (85.29 per cent) and 20 women (14.71 per cent). If in the case of the Chamber of Deputies women’s representation has increased from 13.7 per cent in 2012 to 20.97 per cent in 2016, in the Senate women’s percentage has almost doubled compared to 7.7 per cent in 2012. As for the presence of women in decision-making positions within the Government, the information is presented in annex No. 18.

79.As stated in “Perspectives on gender in education” in 2004, the analysis of the participation in education on the basis of statistical indicators on its access, the internal efficiency of the education system and even its results (except data on the overall population, including adults) reflects the fact that in Romania there are no major disparities based on gender, much less a disadvantage of school-age female population at any of the levels of education.

80.During the 2014-2015 school year, the gross enrolment rate indicator has continued to increase in all levels of education, as it did in the recent years, thus reaching a value of 75 per cent. The indicator is higher for the female school population (77.0 per cent) than the male one (72.1 per cent), as shown in the “2015 report on education in Romania”. According to the same report, the average duration of attending the educational system has decreased in recent years: a child attends an average of 15.8 years in the formal education system, from kindergarten to higher education. An analysis of the indicator’s value indicates gender differences in favour of girls (16.5 years) as opposed to boys (15.4 years).

81.A change in the structure of the education system, since the 2012-2013 school year, caused effects on the rate of enrolment in primary and secondary education system. In the past three school years, the indicator was of 90-91 per cent. The share of participation in primary and secondary education system is slightly higher among boys than girls; primary education — 88.1 per cent girls and 89.3 per cent boys; secondary education — 90.6 per cent girls and 92.2 per cent boys). In the 2014-2015 school year, a share of 90 per cent of the population between 15-18 years old was included in the upper secondary education (high school and vocational education units). The situation here is gender balanced, with no significant differences between the school enrolment of the female population (90.3 per cent) and the male population (89.6 per cent). At the high school level, the school enrolment rate has increased significantly in the last decade, reaching a value of 84.1 per cent in 2014-2015, with 87.2 per cent of the female population and 81.1 per cent male population. At the level of vocational education, the school enrolment rates have decreased sharply during 2009-2011, as a consequence of SAMs (= Schools of arts and crafts) entering into liquidation. Starting with the 2012-2013 school year, the values of the indicator increased, reaching nearly 7.8 per cent in the 2014-2015 school year, the year of the re-establishment of vocational education units. Given the gender distribution indicator, a higher school enrolment of the male population (11.2 per cent) in the vocational education units than the female population (4.2 per cent) can be observed. Overall, a higher school enrolment of girls in secondary education, respectively of boys in vocational education can be observed. The enrolment rates on the entry age in primary education are higher for girls than boys and the specific rate of enrolment with respect to the high school female population is larger than the male population at all the specific ages (16, 17, 18 years old). During the 2014-2015 school year, 94.4 per cent of the students enrolled a year before in the eighth grade, continued their studies in high school or in vocational education. With the re-establishment of the vocational education system in the 2014-2015 school year, we notice a significant gender difference: the transition to high school is significantly higher in girls (84.9 per cent girls and 74.4 per cent boys), whereas to vocational education, higher among boys (8.5 per cent girls and 20.9 per cent boys). When it comes to universities, the gross school enrolment rate in higher education was of 31.1 per cent in the 2014-2015 academic year. The difference between men and women in terms of gross enrolment rate in higher education is significant and indicates a gap of more than 6 percentage points in favour of the female population (34.0 per cent girls and 28.4 per cent boys), as stated in the Report on the status of higher education in Romania in 2015.

82.According to the same report, the graduation rate for this academic year was 35.5 per cent. In other words, the indicator recorded this year shows that, in relation to the total population of 21 years old, just over a third managed to obtain an undergraduate qualification. The situation here is better for girls with 39.2 per cent than for boys with 31.5 per cent. As a result, more women than men graduate from the higher education system.

83.In the Social and Economic Conditions of Student Life in Europe: Euro Student V 2012-2015 — Synopsis of Indicators it is shown that in Romania, as in most European countries, the higher education system includes more girls than boys. Data shows that the resuming of studies for people over 30 years old is more present in the male population.

84.Across primary and secondary education, the dropout rate in the 2013-2014 school year was 1.5 per cent. An assessment of dropout situation by gender shows that, both in primary and secondary school, for boys the number is bigger (primary education — 1.1 per cent girls and 1.3 per cent boys; secondary education — 1.7 per cent girls and 1.9 per cent boys).

85.The reestablishment of vocational education registered a decrease of the dropout rate at this level of study. The dropout rate was of 4.3 per cent during the 2013-2014 school year, bigger for girls (7.1 per cent girls and 3.6 per cent boys). The analysis of students’ career choices, according to the research “Perspectives on gender in education” — ISE, UNICEF, 2004, has revealed significant differences between girls and boys and certain “professional stereotypes”. Therefore, when it comes to certain professional fields, the female population focuses mostly on economic, educational/academic and medical and pharmaceutical areas, as the male population on technical, agroforestry and military ones.

86.Moreover, the recommendations given by some teachers (irrespective of gender) to girls and boys about careers are quite different — a fact that they do not recognize or do not realize enough — thus reinforcing the stereotype. In order to fight such stereotypes, at the level of educational strategies, awareness activities and career guidance, it is compulsory to take concrete steps and measure aimed at reducing disparities and mitigating gender stereotypes among teachers, students and parents, with respect to professional orientation.

87.According to the provisions of art. 3 of Law No. 202/2006 on the organization and functioning of the National Agency for Employment (NAE), republished, as amended and supplemented, NAE applies policies and strategies regarding employment and professional training for job seeker, developed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice, honouring, among others, the principle of non‑discriminatory access to services rendered in the field of employment and professional training and ensuring equal opportunities within the internal labour market. According to the provisions of art. 4 para. (1) of Law No. 76/2002, as amended and supplemented, it is expressly stated that employment policies exclude any kinds of discrimination on political grounds, race, nationality, ethnic origin, language, religion, social status, beliefs, sex and age. The National Strategy for employment 2014-2020 developed by the Ministry of Labour established as a priority goal the increase of women’s participation in the labour market, including support measures to reconcile work and family lives. This course of action provides the support for women to return on the labour market and their professional reintegration, including the promotion of entrepreneurship and programmes like “Second chance” to acquire the skills and qualifications required by the labour market. The Strategy also aims to further actions of stimulating women’s participation in the labour market, such as: the development of infrastructure to ensure childcare facilities and support services for the care of dependent family members, raising awareness activities regarding the flexibility of the working schedule and the wage difference between women and men, combating gender stereotypes.

88.Also, the European Social Found grants developed in Romania by the Management Authority for the Sectorial Operational Programme for Human Resources Development (SOPHRD) subordinated to the Ministry of Labour from 2007 to 2014, represented a great opportunity in terms of financing sources of the partners interested in the implementation of projects in accordance with the Government policy and strategy in the field and in the vulnerable fields of equality between women and men. Moreover, all the operational programmes on the EU structural funds included the principle of equal opportunities between women and men as a horizontal principle to underpin the development, implementation and monitoring of these.

89.An important role in the successful performance of many of the activities which have been undertaken in the National Strategies for gender equality was represented by the partnership between NAEOWM and later DEOWM and social partners (trade unions and employers organizations), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other interested partners in the implementation of projects — as a beneficiary or partner — co-financed from ESF by SOPHRD, and also other grants (the Norwegian grants).

90.The Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Relationship with the Business Sector annually runs the National multiannual programme for developing entrepreneurship among women from the small- and medium-enterprises sector. The main objective of the minimis scheme presented in the national multiannual programme is the stimulation and support for starting and developing private economic structures set up by women through facilitating their access to financing, increasing their potential to access financing in the context of the obstacles in maintaining a balance between family and professional life and of existing preconceptions at local level. The minimis scheme aims at:

(a)Improving the economic performances of the existing enterprises led by women through accessing the existing financing sources from the state budget;

(b)Stimulating the self-employment and increasing the number of women entrepreneurs in the business community;

(c)Developing the entrepreneurial capacity and spirit among women;

(d)Increasing the number of new jobs created within the private economic structures led by women and the benefits brought to the Romanian economy.

91.The state of the implementation of this programme in the period 2009-2016 is the following:

Name of the programme	Year	Budget (euros)	Beneficiaries (including training)	New jobs	Total beneficiaries 2009-2016	Total jobs created/kept
Organizing trainings and seminars
The National multiannual programme for developing entrepreneurship among women from the small and medium enterprises sector	2009	90 000	822
2010	134 000	906
2011	112 000	522
2012	112 000	501
		Grant component
2013	107 000	14	28
2014	112 000	12	24
2015	223 000	17	36
	2016	112 000	10	23	2 804	111

92.Also, beginning with 2016, the National Multiannual Programme for creating and developing small- and medium-enterprises in the rural area, implemented according to the provisions of Law No. 346/2004 regarding the stimulation of creation of small- and medium-enterprises, with its amendments and completions, as well as of Government Decision No. 957/2015 regarding the organization and functioning of the Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Relationship with the Business Sector. The main objective of the programme is the stimulation and support of the set up and development of private economic structures created in the rural areas by increasing the number of jobs and small- and medium-enterprises in the rural areas, facilitating the access of these structures to financing in the context of reducing the economic discrepancies between the urban and rural areas. The budget allocated to this programme for 2016 was 25,900,000 lei (approximately 5,760,000 euro) and, among the 85 companies from the rural area, 31 are set up by women.

93.The Romanian Constitution guarantees the right to health services for all citizens. Law No. 95/2006 regarding the health system reform is the main legislation in the field. This law establishes the organization of medical assistance and medical social insurance system. The medical assistance services for women and children are financed through the medical social insurance fund, for both preventive and curative services, which are included in the minimum and basic package. These services are also financed by the state budget, through the national health programmes adopted annually by law. During 2006-2016 there were many efforts to improve the health of women and children adopted by several normative acts, such as:

(a)The National Programme for women and children’s health — includes measures for family planning and for a risk free maternity. This programme also includes measures for in vitro fertility and embryo transfer;

(b)The National Programme for surveillance and control of infectious diseases includes measures for preventing and controlling sexual transmissible diseases and HIV;

(c)The National Programme for smear test that includes early screening.

94.The list of measures implemented in order to facilitate the access to modern services for family planning and prevention of unwanted pregnancies:

(a)Integrating family planning measures in medical assistance programmes as part of the basic package services, that includes primary medical assistance and starting with 2013 these are part of the ambulatory basic package services;

(b)The sustainability of the free distribution of contraceptives programme for socially disadvantaged people (unemployed, pupils, students, people with social benefits, people that live in rural areas, women that go through abortion on request within the medical facilities, people with no income);

(c)Raising awareness about modern contraceptives, in all areas of public life.

95.One of the first initiatives in the field of family planning was implemented in the 90’s. After concentrated efforts of the Governments and with the support of the international organizations, the family planning policies were integrated in the medical public services. Furthermore, starting with 2003 the first National Strategy for reproductive health and sexuality and the first National Programme for family planning were adopted. According to this national programme a national network of family planning offices was established. This network covered most of the important cities in the country and the quality of the services provided improved over the years. There were funds allocated for purchasing third generations contraceptives, condoms, all delivered free to socially disadvantaged people.

96.The list of preventing risk free maternity, in order to improve the access to quality medical services for pregnant women and mothers:

(a)Ensuring the legal framework for access to preventive medical services for women/pregnant women, by including them in the basic medical package of services;

(b)Integrating in the national subprogramme for women’s health of specific medical services, such as medical services for preventing congenital malformation through early diagnosis and medical services for identifying the Rhesus syndrome.

97.The dynamic of beneficiaries of the two interventions:

	2015	2014	2013
Number of pregnant women beneficiaries of double, triple and quadruple test	1 936	2 942	2 963
Number of patients evaluated by Barr test	156	x	x
Number of patients evaluated by cytogenetic exams with post - birth peripheral blood	922	946	1 498
Number of patients evaluated by FISH	138	x	x
Number of patients evaluated by cytogenetics tests	854	x	x
Number of beneficiaries of AND tests	688	x	x
Number of beneficiaries of monocular tests	571	x	x
Number of pregnancies with risk of DMD and DMB genetic disorder	2

(a)Dissemination of information regarding reproductive health through different channels (mass media, informational campaigns developed by local and central authorities and non-governmental organizations);

(b)Implementing and disseminating the Pregnant Notebook programme, that includes the registration of all medical services delivered to pregnant women along the pregnancy;

(c)Elaborating 20 practical guides for medical assistance in the field of OB/GYN;

(d)Three-level ranking the OB/GYN facilities based on competences in order to prevent maternal decease;

(e)Improving the community nurses network and the medical mediators network, especially in the underprivileged areas around the country;

(f)Improving the legal framework for midwife profession;

(g)Ensuring the access to in vitro fertilization procedures for peoples with difficulties in conceiving, as follows:

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Number of couples beneficiaries of FIVET procedures	296	625	226	7	251
Number of pregnancies confirmed and monitored		176	107	59	154

98.The following indicators evaluate the universal access to reproductive health services and the improving of reproductive health:

(a)The prevalence of modern contraceptive methods;

(b)Early neonatal mortality rate (0-6 days) which indicates also the tracking of pregnancy;

(c)The incidence of syphilis;

(d)The incidence of gonorrhoea.

99.Reproductive health:

Indicators	U.M.	1993	1999	2004	2005	2010	2013	2015
The prevalence of modern contraceptive methods	%	57.3	63.8	70.32	69.8	69.5	69.2	Not yet calculated
Early neonatal mortality rate (0-6 days)	%				6	3.7	3.5	3.2
The incidence of syphilis	%				31.52	10.83	5.13	4.78
The incidence of gonorrhoea	%				7.71	2.14	1.19

Source: Unstats, Millennium Indicators; http://data.euro.who.int.

100.The following emblematic graphic will illustrate the evolution of maternal mortality:

Source: Ministry of Public Health.

101.According to the previsions of Government Decision No. 1028/2014 for approving the National Strategy for Health, the Ministry of Heath adopted the following strategical measures to decrease the number of unwanted pregnancies, the incidence of abortions by request, and the number maternal mortality due to abortion:

(a)Increasing the capacity for planning, purchasing and monitoring the delivery of free contraceptives, through:

(i)Improving the Informational system for logistic management of free contraceptive delivery;

(ii)Conducting a national survey regarding reproductive health and family planning;

(iii)Improving the legal framework;

(b)Ensuring the access of eligible persons to contraceptive products and free distribution;

(c)Increasing the geographical coverage of family planning suppliers by:

(i)Training of personal in the field of basic medical family planning, especially in the underprivileged areas of the country;

(ii)Strengthening the capacity of medical centres and family planning centres by improving the skills of the employees;

(d)Raising awareness of the population regarding contraceptive methods, especially among vulnerable groups.

102.During 2016, the Ministry of Health started to develop a National Survey on Reproductive Health, which will measure the progress achieved in this field, over the years.

103.In 2001 the Government adopted the National Programme for preventing, monitoring and control of HIV infection. The main objectives of this programme are:

(a)National wide prevention and monitoring of HIV infection:

(i)Purchasing quick tests and ELISA tests for diagnosing HIV/AIDS;

(ii)Free counselling for testing and voluntary tasting for people with high risk such as: pregnant women, TBC patients, medical personal involved in accidents by exposing to biological products, clinical monitoring of HIV patients;

(iii)Registering HIV/AIDS people from all medical units;

(iv)Supplying all the hospitals and emergency units with proper medication;

(b)Treatment for HIV/AIDS people:

(i)Registering all HIV/AIDS people from all medical units, national wide;

(ii)Supplying all the hospitals and emergency units with proper medication.

104.Number of tests implemented in the period 2005-2015:

Source: Department of Monitoring and Evaluation Matei Bals.

105.Number of beneficiaries of specific treatment:

Source: Department of Monitoring and Evaluation Matei Bals.

106.In 2010, cancer was the number one cause of death, around the world. At European level, cancer was the main reason for aging and on the second place on cause of death. From 504.6 million people from EU 28 there are 2.66 million new cases of cancer and around 1.28 million deceases.

107.In Romania, cancer is the second reason for deceases, after cardiovascular deceases. Almost 81.5 per cent of all cancer cases in Romania are cervical cancer, followed by pulmonary cancer (54.5 per cent) and rectal cancer. From the gender perspective, the statistics show that breast cancer in the number one cause of death among women, followed by rectal cancer and cervical cancer. On the other hand, among men the first cause of cancer is pulmonary, followed by rectal and prostate cancer.

108.At national level, cervical cancer is the most important issue for public health. Therefore, most of the measures taken by the Government are targeted for prevention, early screening and treatment. The subprogramme for early screening of cervical cancer adopted in 2012 includes free Babes-Papanicolau testing for all eligible women, at national level. This measure includes women between 25-64 years old and is a programme implemented in 5 years. Since it started, in September 2010, there were 519,428 of women beneficiaries, which represents 9.2 per cent of the eligible population. The National Strategy for public health for the period 2014-2020 includes an important strategic objective named: reducing the number of transmissible mortal diseases. In order to implement this objective there were adopted the following actions:

(a)Increasing the planning and coordination capacity for testing cervical cancer;

(b)Strengthening the implementation of the programme for cervical cancer screening.

109.An important part of the National Strategy for Public Health is the annual implementation of raising awareness and educational campaigns, targeted on informational materials about different mortal diseases, national programmes for prevention. Some of these campaigns are focused on girls, women, pregnant women and mothers, such as: The European week for cervical cancer prevention; The international month for information regarding breasts cancer; The national month for information regarding the consequences of alcohol consuming; The international week for breasts breastfeeding; The international day of contraception; The international day for fighting against HIV/AIDS.

110.The other informational campaigns are focused on issues like: vaccination, antibiotics resistance; toilet hygiene; obesity; illegal drugs and Tabaco consuming; hepatitis; oral health and autism. All these informational campaigns were implemented with the support of trained medical personal, doctors and nurses and also community nurses and medical mediators for Roma people.

111.According to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration, the general access to running water in rural areas is:

112.Funding from the state budget to local authorities investments was achieved by the year 2012:

(a)Through three different programmes (Government Ordinance No. 40/2006, Government Decision No. 577/1997, Government Ordinance No. 7/2006);

(b)Priority Multi-annual Programmes for the environment and water management — Government Ordinance No. 40/2006, approved with amendments by Law No. 61/2007, as amended for the programme in art. 2;

(c)The rehabilitation, modernization and/or asphalting programme of county and local interest, water supplying, sewerage and wastewater treatment in the villages and in the localities that own tourism resources — Government Decision No. 577/1997;

(d)The development programme of infrastructure and sports facilities in rural areas (Government Ordinance No. 7/2006, approved with amendments by Law No. 71/2007, with amendments);

(e)Through three different institutions: Ministry of Development for Government Decision No. 577, Ministry of Environment for Government Ordinance No. 40, General Secretariat of Government Ordinance No. 7) for the same field (water supply, sewerage, roads) without a unitary evidence (there was no correlation between the objectives, the settlements) different rules for accessing and implementing.

113.In this regard, in 2013 the Government approved the National Programme for Local Development (NPDL), the most important investment instrument in local infrastructure financed by the state budget in Romania. This initiative was set on grouping several investment programmes conducted by MRDPA (Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration) and other central institutions in order to ensure a better resource coordination on public investment planning.

114.The Government has allocated the necessary funding to complete the projects in the portfolio of the NPLD, so practically every territorial-administrative unit who signed a financing contract, has the certainty that financing is assured for its investment objective, and that it has to be finalized within a maximum of 3 years.

115.The purpose of the NPLD remained the same and consists in the assurance of the quality of life necessary for the population, in public services. In order to improve the implementation of the programme and the efficient use of public funds in a coordinated manner with EU funds, MRDPA collaborated with the World Bank in the period 2014-2015 under a joint project, which aimed to harmonize investments from the state budget with the ones funded by the EU. According to the conclusions of the World Bank, the NPDL is a programme whose necessity is obvious, given the fact that the financing necessities in infrastructure in Romania are too large to be covered entirely from EU funds (there is an estimated demand of about 35 billion euros for investments in county roads, local roads, water and sanitation, social infrastructure. About 5 billion could be covered from EU funds). The approved budget allocations for the period 2016-2019, under the multiannual programme NPLD, amounting to 1,190,588,846.71 lei (26,500,000 euro) in order to achieve 1,279 investment objectives of which there are funds approved for priority objectives, amounting to:

(a)115,230,521.00 lei (approximately 26 million euros) to achieve 104 investments objectives of the specific fields of development/extension/rehabilitation/modernization of water supply and water treatment plants and specific fields of development/extension/rehabilitation/modernization of water supply and water treatment plants, and sewerage systems and wastewater treatment plants;

(b)794,907,977.73 lei (approximately 18 million euros) to 894 educational institutions that need development/extension/rehabilitation/modernization/equipping them to obtain permits sanitary operation.

116.Taking into account the above, the number of investment objectives regarding water supply financed during 2013-2019 is 1,053, of which 243 were completed.

117.From 2006 until the present, Romania has witnessed a multiplication of programmes in the housing sector. The MRDPA manages the programme for building social housing implemented according to the Housing Law No. 114/1996 republished with subsequent amendments, and law enforcement Methodological Norms approved by Government Decision No. 1275/2000 as amended and supplemented. According to the law, social housing is the house rented with a subsidy that is awarded to individuals or families whose economic situation does not allow them access to housing owned or rented under housing market conditions. Local councils are responsible with funding and controlling social housing in the territorial-administrative units. According to the normative acts mentioned above, social housing is a matter linked to the public domain of the territorial-administrative units, and they are not to be sold. Those who have access to social housing, to rent, are the families or the individuals with a net monthly income per person, below the net average earning monthly total economy, made in the last 12 months, announced by the National Statistics Institute’s last statistical bulletin, judged by the earlier month when the review was requested and the previous month, in apportioning a home. According to the Housing Law No. 114/1996, family means husband, wife, children and parents of the spouses, who live and household together.

118.Social housing is allocated to the tenants evicted, by the local government authorities that manage them based on criteria set annually by them, thus, the beneficiaries can be, in order of the priority established under the Law No. 114/1996, from the following categories: individuals and families evicted or to be evicted from their homes that have been returned to the former owners, young people below the age of 35 years, young people coming from social protection institutions and have attained the age of 18 years, persons with disabilities of first and second degree, the disabled, pensioners, war veterans and war widows, beneficiaries of the gratitude to heroes, martyrs and fighters who contributed to the victory of the Romanian Revolution of 1989 law, and to persons who have sacrificed their lives, or suffered after the anti-Communist riot in Brasov in November 1987 Law No. 341/2004, as amended and supplemented, and the provisions of Decree-Law No. 118/1990 on granting rights to persons persecuted for political reasons by the dictatorship with effect from 6 March 1945, and those deported abroad or imprisoned, republished, as amended and supplemented, or other individuals or families entitled. Those who are not eligible for social housing, according to Law No. 114/1996, republished, with subsequent amendments and Norms for the application of the law, individuals or families who: own a home, have alienated a home after 1 January 1990, have benefited from state support in credits and execution to achieve a home, have, as a tenant, another dwelling from the state housing fund. In the period 2006-2016 310 houses in rural areas were completed under this programme and the total amounts settled by MRDPA were 37,288,534 lei (approximately 8 million euros). At the same time, the National Housing Agency, an institution under the authority of Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration manages a Youth housing programme (including housing for physicians). In the period 2006-2016 have been completed under this programme 1,714 dwellings in rural areas.

119.Gender equality is among the principles at the basis of the Governmental Strategy on Roma inclusion and is reflected throughout the proposed actions, especially in the field of education, where the studies show significant gender gaps, in the disadvantage of women and girls:

(a)The Governmental Strategy’s elaboration and implementation is based on the 10 common principles on the integration of Roma, agreed at European level, according to the Council Conclusions on Inclusion of the Roma, from the 8 June 2009. Among these principles lies the Awareness of the gender dimension;

(b)One of the complementary principles at the basis of the Strategy is the principle of non-discrimination and human dignity, as provided by Romanian legislation in the field that includes non-discrimination on gender basis;

(c)An important line of action as provided by the Strategy is the awareness raising and training for personnel in all areas of impact for the Strategy on preventing and fighting discrimination and promoting diversity, on gender basis included;

(d)The Strategy has iterative mentions of the situation of Roma women and regarding relevant measures, as for instance in the chapter concerning health, on the health of the mother and child, on family planning, on preventing early marriages, on the fighting against domestic violence and traffic in human beings.

120.The Strategy itself includes, in a distinct chapter, monitoring and assessment activities. These activities are coordinated by a tailored Interministerial Committee, assisted by a technical office. All governmental institutions and agencies working on Roma, or having related activities (non-discrimination and gender equality included) are part of the Interministerial Committee and contribute to the monitoring and evaluation process. Important tasks are ascribed to the National Contact Point on Roma inclusion, which chairs and coordinates the Interministerial Committee. It has therefore transversal competences and ensures an integrated approach during the implementation process. The evaluation of the implementation stage of each Action Plan in accordance with the established indicators is performed twice a year and, where needed, remedial measures are put in place. A yearly report on the implementation stage of the Strategy is to be presented to the Government and subsequently forwarded to the European Commission via the National Contact Point for Roma. Depending on the evaluation results, the Interministerial Committee makes recommendations for sectorial activity improvements, amendments and/or additions to the Strategy.

121.In terms of allocated resources, the short-term Action Plans for implementing the Strategy are based on the sectoral plans and indicate the funding sources required for achieving each objective. The resources estimated for the implementation of the Strategy for the period 2015-2016 were included in the Strategy (http://ec.europa.eu/justice/discrimination/files/roma_romania_strategy2_en.pdf). Based on the 2016 evaluation of the Strategy Monitoring and Assessment Interministerial Committee, a new proposal concerning funding sources for the period 2017-2020 is going to be submitted for adoption to the government.

122.The “Second chance programme” is targeting young people and adults coming from a variety of social environments and having different ages, who have not followed or not finalized primary and secondary education.

123.The programme with its modular design offers opportunities for these people to continue and finalize the compulsory education without interrupting their professional or family activities, allowing a greater flexibility.

124.The programme is structured into two levels: the second chance in primary education and the second chance in the lower secondary education, the later having also a vocational training component.

125.In the last two years, the number of persons who finalized Second chance programmes is presented below:

School year	No. of persons who finalized	Second chance programmes
	Primary	Lower secondary
2013-2014	1 939	2 916
2014-2015	3 112	5 907

126.Other results of the programme: methodologies for organizing the programme at national level; curricula for all the levels; guidelines for the teachers; specific training programmes for multi-professional groups and mentors.

127.In the case of Roma children, a World Bank study (Diagnostics and Policy Advice for Supporting Roma Inclusion in Romania, 2014) identified a gender gap in participation to compulsory education in favour of boys: 76 per cent of enrolled girls and vs. 81 per cent of boys in the age group 7-15. The enrolment gap widens dramatically in this upper secondary educational cycle (age 16-19), where the enrolment rate of non-Roma is almost 4 times higher than among Roma (only 18 per cent of Roma women attended upper secondary education compared to 86 per cent of non-Roma women and only 29 per cent of Roma men attended upper secondary education compared to 81 per cent of non-Roma men).

128.The study revealed lower participation in basic education of Roma children even though the general participation to compulsory schooling, based on population, is satisfactory (although in the highest two school years a lowering of the investigated indicators was observed). Thus, in 1998, in the 7-16 age group, only 61.4 per cent of Romas were enrolled in the educational system. In the case of this ethnic group the gender gap is even wider: from the total of Roma children and young people aged 7-16 years old who are enrolled in the educational system, 53.1 per cent are boys and 46.9 per cent are girls. The differences are similar when analysing the resident area.

129.It is ascertained that, although the legal framework provides for access to education, interdiction of child labour and social protection for children, in reality there are still problems regarding the participation in education, especially for children who come from disadvantaged areas and of Roma ethnicity. These are a consequence of the accentuated state of poverty of a certain part of the population, both from the rural area as well as from the urban ones, of unemployment, of the loss in value of education from the perception of a segment of the population, etc., phenomena that put their mark on the level of participation in education for girls and boys. As to the Roma population, the roles and obligations imposed by the community, as well as the fact that many Roma children are not registered at birth constitute a barrier in their access to different public services, including education.

130.The three existing programmes on social protection will be replaced by a single and larger program, better targeted towards the poorest people, which would provide incentives for in-work poor to combine earnings with social assistance receipts. A new Law regarding the minimum inclusion income (MII) has been adopted by the Parliament. The MII provided to families and persons in difficulty, to prevent and combat the poverty and the risk of social exclusion. The minimum inclusion income will represent a financial support granted from the state budget in order to cover the minimum living needs of families and persons in difficulty, to prevent child poverty and stimulate their participation in the educational system. The purpose of the programme is to guarantee a minimum level of income to every person in Romania. This new programme is based on the consolidation of 3 existing types of social assistance benefits, distinctly regulated the guaranteed minimum income, the family support allowance and the house heating benefits.

131.Romanian legislation provides for positive measures, especially in the case of ethnic groups which are most vulnerable to discrimination, in order to ensure their access to education at all levels. We experienced good practices by allocating a number of free places for Roma students within universities. In the admission process for the Ministry of Internal Affairs educational institutions (the police agent’s schools and the Police Academy “Al. I. Cuza”) men and women compete equally for the same number of places, the only difference being the scale for the physical evaluation which is lower for women. Also a distinct number of places for the Roma persons, women or men.

132.According to statistical figures provided by the National Authority for Protection of Persons with Disabilities: in 2012 there were 679,765 persons with disabilities, out of which 236,500 persons 65 aged and over; in 2015 there were registered 766,153 disabled, out of which 288,332 persons 65 aged and over, while at August 2016 there were reported 775,309 persons with disabilities, out of which 296,889 persons 65 aged and over. At the same time, the number of disabled persons cared in residential facilities is very low — 2.4 per cent from the total number of persons with disabilities — but the majority of the institutionalized disabled have a high degree of handicap and the total number of persons in this situation is around 279,415. The majority of the children and adults with disabilities (88.89 per cent) are in the care of their families and/or are living an independent life. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 2006, signed by Romania in 2007 and ratified by Law No. 221/2010, recognizes that disabled women and girls are frequently exposed to a higher risk, both within the family as well as outside of it, to violence, harm or abuse, neglect or lack of care, mauling or exportation. In the same line, the National Strategy “A society without barriers for persons with disabilities” 2016-2020 and the Operational Plan to implement it, approved by Governments’ Decision No. 655/2016, pays special attention to the category of women and girls with disabilities by including references in the document as follows:

(a)Chapter III — Equality, within general objective (GO) — Eliminating discrimination on disabilities, strategic objective (SO) 2 — Ensuring the exercise of civil and political rights by all persons with disabilities, including those who need more support, Measure 2.1 states — Identifying the barriers with which persons with disabilities confront, especially children, girls, women and elderly persons, in exercising their civil and political rights;

(b)Chapter VI — Social protection, within GO — Promoting and protecting the rights of persons with disability to an adequate standard of living to continuously improve their life quality, contains SO 2 — Ensuring access to social protection, especially for children, girls, women and elderly persons with disabilities;

(c)Chapter VII — Health, within GO — Ensuring equal access to persons with disabilities to quality health services and facilities which pay attention to specific gender problems at a reasonable cost and as close as possible to the communities they live in;

(d)The implementation of the measures that derive from the general and specific objectives stated in the National Strategy target a better quality of life for persons with disabilities;

(e)Data related to persons with disabilities can be found in annex No. 19.

133.The national system of social assistance is based on a solid regulatory framework structured in the past 15 years, covering major primary and secondary legislation, and, currently, the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice (MLSJ) focuses on developing tertiary legislation in the field. Social services are regulated by a special law, namely Law No. 197/2012 regarding the provision of quality in social services, as amended and supplemented. The act regulates the process of evaluation, certification, monitoring and control for quality assurance in social services. By law, social services include activities designed to meet social and special, individual, family or group needs to overcome difficult situations, preventing and combating social exclusion risk, promoting social inclusion and increasing the quality of life. Social services are of general interest, proactive and require an integrated approach to individual needs in relation to socioeconomic status, health, education and social environment of a person’s life and can be classified into social services for children and/or family, disabled people, elderly, victims of domestic violence, homeless people, people with various addictions, i.e. alcohol, drugs, other toxic substances, Internet, gambling, etc., trafficking victims, inmates, persons sanctioned with educational measures or non-custodial sentence under supervision probation services, for persons with mental illness, people living in isolated communities, unemployed for long time and social support services for family beneficiaries.

134.Effective access to counselling and social assistance to individuals or families to prevent or combat situations of difficulty is regulated by Law on Social Assistance (Law No. 292/2011) which provides the right to social assistance benefits and social services, for those persons found in need. Thus, families and single persons with no income or low income can benefit from a wide range of social services tailored to individual needs, such as counselling and information, employability services/social reintegration services on the labour market, rehabilitation services etc. Also in the initial evaluation process, the first step required in the provision of social services, is related to receiving free information on the social risks and social protection rights that may be granted. According to the current Law on social assistance, responsibility for the provision of social services lies within local authorities. However, social services providers can be public (social assistance public services at local or county level) or private (non-governmental organizations and, from 2015, economic agents). According to the law, every social services provider must be accredited, and every social service must be licensed. Social services set up by social service providers, public or private, are organized in compliance with social services classification (approved in 2015), and the minimum quality standards (updated in 2014), and of general normalization of minimum staff basis for determining cost standards governed by special legislation. A total number of 2,904 accredited social services providers are recorded in the National register for social services, at the beginning of November, 2016.

135.The Social Assistance Law No. 292/2011 has improved the regulations in social services field and contains also a special chapter addressed to elderly persons. This law establishes the protective measures that can be taken (e.g., temporary or permanent care at home, in residential centres, or in day centres) as well as other required services (e.g. legal and administrative counselling, household adaptations to meet the needs of older persons, etc.). For the first time in Romanian legal framework, the concept of long-term care was defined. Depending on their personal social-economic, physiological and health situation, elderly persons have the right to social services in order to prevent, to limit and to remove the temporary or permanent consequences of any situation that could affect their life or could generate social exclusion risk. Dependent older persons are entitled to receive personal care services provided in accordance with the degree of dependence and depending on family status and income available. Assessment of functional autonomy of dependent persons is made based on standard criteria, established by Government Decision No. 886/2000. Local public authorities, through their specialized public social assistance services, are required to identify and assess elderly needs, to provide care services in residential institutions, to assure financing and co-financing of social services.

136.The elderly, according to personal socioeconomic, medical and physiological situations, benefit of social assistance measures, complementing the coverage of social insurance for old age and health risks. This special interest is justified by the large and growing share of this segment of the population. Furthermore, the proportion of elderly population will grow considerably and, consequently, the demand for health and long-term care services will constantly increase, especially in the context of massive migration for work abroad of the working-age population. According to the 2011 census, 16.1 per cent of the general population in Romania is 65 or older (about 3.24 million persons), a proportion that is projected to grow rapidly in the near future, reaching almost 30 per cent by 2050 (EU population projections). According to the census done in 2011, of all Romanians aged 65 years and over, less than 1 per cent live in institutions while the majority live in their households. More than 26 per cent live alone, 28 per cent live in households with other elderly people (pensioner’s couple) and 45 per cent live in extended families. People aged 65 to 74 years represent 55 per cent of the total number of elderly persons and women represent almost 60 per cent. Many old persons (55 per cent) are living in rural areas. 14 per cent of these elderly reported as being limited in their daily activities due to one or more health impairment related to vision, hearing, walking and climbing stairs, memory and orientation or communication. In Romania, elderly people have a relatively low risk of poverty compared with other age groups, particularly children and young. The risk of poverty among the elderly is linked to low-value pensions (pensions from agriculture, health-related pensions or survivor’s pensions) and to a higher incidence of poor health conditions. However, the subgroup of elderly without family support faces a higher risk of poverty and social inclusion.

137.In 2016, 312 care homes for elderly were registered, with a total number of 15,471 beds, out of which 118 public institutions with 7,693 beds and 194 private with 7,778 beds; waiting list is counting 2,797 admission’ requests, (1,407 for public facilities and 1,390 for the private ones). In 2011, there were 203 hostels (108 public and 95 private) with a total number of 11,584 beds and 2,609 request on wanting lists. Day-care centres counted 84 in 2016 and 81 in 2012. During the last five years, the number of care homes for elderly has been doubled for private sector only, while the number of day-care facilities has not registered a significant increase.

138.The 2016, the survey done by the European Agency for Safety and Work Health “Safer and healthier work at any age: Country Inventory Romania”, questioned about useful things the government could do to help people who care for elderly family members and the responses were: receiving financial remuneration, pension credits, being allowed to work part time, flexible hours or careers’ leave. Present legislation provides only that family members can be employed (with a part time contract) by local authorities as caregivers of their old relatives. Obviously, in short time, new regulations regarding diverse types of support for informal cares has to be adopted.

139.The Plan of actions of National Active Ageing Strategy stipulates specific measures in order to improve legislation on prevention of elder abuse and neglect and to develop curriculum on prevention, detection and resolution of identified elder abuse cases. The Law No. 17/2000 stipulates some rules to protect elderly from a potential financial or material abuse, if they intend to sell their houses under the condition of receiving care from the new owners of the dwellings.

140.During the reporting period, at the level of the General Inspectorate for Immigration there were not received any complaints similar to the ones mentioned within the previous reports (indications of forced labour).

141.The General Inspectorate for Immigration issues the labour permit to obtain a residence work permit, according to the legislation into force. The work permit is issued at the request of the employer if certain general conditions are met and if special conditions due to the workers’ profile are complied with. The general and special conditions don’t depend on the sex of the person in order to acquire the work permit.

142.In order to implement the public policies on immigration, annually, through government decision, a number of work permits that can be issued for foreign persons is established, according to the special legislation regarding the employment and assignment of foreigners on the territory of Romania. The regulatory document mentioned establishes the number of work permits according to specific categories and not by sex.

143.According to legal provisions, the Inspectorate organizes and carries out inspections in the areas and places frequented by foreigners, in public or private institutions, as well as at economic operators, regardless of the proprietor or owner, when there are indications or suspicions as to the existence of foreign persons that don’t comply with legal provisions regarding the foreigners’ regime in Romania, including the ones on employment.

144.Up until this moment, there weren’t received any complaints for a breach of the labour rights of migrant women or the reintegration of Romanian women by the Labour Inspection.

145.In Romania, the social assistance system was reformed in 2011 and at the same time all the programmes which targeted families with children/vulnerable persons were revised. The new Law on social assistance No. 292/2011 establishes the new principles of organizing, functioning and financing of the social assistance system in Romania. The purpose of this reform was to improve the social assistance system and to increase the efficiency of all the measures in this field, by targeting all vulnerable persons. According to this law, the national social assistance system is a set of institutions, measures and actions, through which the state, represented by central and local government authorities and civil society intervene to prevent, limit or remove the effects of temporary or permanent situations that can lead to marginalization and social exclusion of the person, family, groups or communities. The national system of social assistance intervenes subsidiary or, where appropriate, complementary to social security systems and consists of social benefits system and social services system. Social assistance, through specific measures and actions, aims to develop individual, group or collective capacities to provide social needs, increase the quality of life and promote cohesion principles and social inclusion.

146.According to Law of social assistance No. 292/2011, social assistance benefits, depending on their purpose, are classified as follows:

(a)Social benefits for prevention and combating poverty and social exclusion risk;

(b)Social assistance benefits for child and family support;

(c)Social assistance benefits to assist people with special needs;

(d)Social assistance benefits for special situations.

147.The social assistance benefits granted in Romania are financial transfers granted for:

(a)Child state allowance (universal right), regulated by Law No. 61/1993, republished with subsequent amendments. This programme is open to all children aged up to 18 years and young people aged over 18 years until the completion of high school or vocational studies organized under the law. It is granted on a monthly basis, in a fixed amount, no matter the revenues of the family. The amounts of child state allowance increased starting June 2015. Up to 2 years old children receive 200 lei (around 45 euro) monthly as child state allowance and from 2 years up to 18 years as well as young people aged over 18 years until the completion of high school or vocational studies organized under the law the monthly sum is 84 lei (around 19 euro). The children with disabilities with the age between 3 years and 18 years old receive 200 lei (45 euro) monthly.

(b)Child-raising allowance and insertion incentive, regulated by Government Emergency Ordinance No. 111/2010. Law No. 66/2016 modified the GEO No. 111/2010 and starting from July 2016, established new eligibility criteria for parental leave and child raising allowance. The parents must prove 12 months of income subject to taxation according to Fiscal Code, during the last two years prior to the birth of the child, including similar periods, according to the law. Currently there is only one type of parental leave, until the age of 2 of the child or 3 years old, in the case of children with disabilities. The minimum amount of child-raising indemnity has been increased from 1.2 ISR (600 lei), to 85 per cent of the minimum gross wage which is 1,250 lei (1,063 lei). The maximum amount of the child raising indemnity has been established to 85 per cent of the average professional net income earned by the parent, without any limitation. Monthly insertion incentive granted until the age of 3 years old in a monthly amount of 532 lei (50 per cent from the minimum child raising indemnity), if the parent decides to come back to work 60 days before the child fulfils the age of 2 years old.

(c)Benefits and aids for raising the child with disability. GEO No. 111/2010: Granted to persons with children with disabilities, up to the age of 7 years old or granted to the persons with disability who became a parent. According to Law No. 66/2016, the amount of the child raising indemnity, for parents who take care of a child with disability, aged between 3 and 7 years old, who are entitled to parental leave, has been increased from 450 lei to 1,063 lei, starting from July 2016. Also, the amounts of benefits and aids granted to persons/parents who take care of children with disabilities and also those granted to persons with disabilities who take care of children, have been increased by 5 per cent. Amounts between 159 lei (35 euro) and 478 lei (106 euro). The new legal provision has been also setting up a new type of benefit for parents who take care of a child with disability and who are active on the labour market, having a part time contract. The new benefit will be 50 per cent from the minimum child raising indemnity (532 lei) and can be cumulated with the salary.

(d)Child placement allowance. Law No. 272/2004: Granted from the state budget for each child or young person who benefits from the measure of placement to a person, family, guardian, foster parent or to residential care organized by an authorized private body. Starting from 2015, the monthly amount of the allowance increased to 600 lei (136 euro). For children with disabilities this amount is increased by 50 per cent, reaching to 900 lei. This allowance is paid until the age of 18 years old of the child and after 18, if the measure of placement is continued after this age. The majority of persons who benefit this measure are women.

(e)Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI). Law No. 416/2001 grants to families or single persons with low or no income in a state of social need in order to overcome the situation he/she is in. It is established as the difference between the monthly net income of the eligible family, or single person and monthly GMI levels stipulated by law. The right to social aid is established by taking into account the incomes of the family and also the assets of the family. The benefit is ensured by granting a social aid, differentiated according to the family income and the number of family members (the income includes also the state child allowance). The amount of social aid is increased with 15 per cent for eligible persons who are employed.

(f)Family support allowance, regulated by Law No. 277/2010. This allowance is designed to ensure better targeting of benefits and sufficient coverage of social assistance measures to families with children and very low income. Based on means tested (incomes and assists) and granted to families made of husband and wife who take care of their children, those being up to 18 years old, living and contributing to the household together and earning net monthly income per family member up to 530 lei (1.06 SRI) 120 euro. The aim of this programme is to ensure better financial conditions for raising and caring children and also for their education and stimulates in the same time the school attendance of school aged children from entitled families. School aged children have the obligation of attending school. Starting from November 2014, the amount of family support allowance increased. Different amounts are granted for two parent’s family and single parent family.

(g)Aid for house heating, regulated by GEO No. 70/2011 on social protection measures during the cold season, with subsequent amendments. The amount granted depends on the type of heating (centralized system, natural gas, electric energy, wood, coal and oil) and the income of the beneficiaries. These social protection measures are granted to single persons and families whose monthly net medium incomes per family member are up to a certain threshold established by law. The right to house heating aid is established by taking into account the incomes of the family and also the assets of the family. The amounts vary from 16 lei (3.5 euro) to 262 lei (59 euro), and were increased starting from 2013.

(h)Benefits for persons with disabilities. The amounts were increased starting from 2015, as following:

(i)Monthly allowance — art. 58 from Law No. 448/2006: Granted to the adult with severe disability, regardless of their income — 234 lei (53 euro), granted to the adult with pronounced disability, regardless of their income — 193 lei (31 euro);

(ii)Monthly complementary budget — art. 58 from Law No. 448/2006: Granted to the adult with severe disability and to the family or legal representative of the child with severe disability, regardless of their income — 106 lei (24 euro), granted to the adult with pronounced disability and to the family or legal representative of the child with pronounced disability, regardless of their income — 79 lei (18 euro), granted to the adult with medium disability and to the family or legal representative of the child with medium disability, regardless of their income — 39 lei (8 euro);

(i)The educational incentive, which is stipulated by the Law No. 248/2015 on stimulating the participation into preschool education of the children from disadvantaged families, is granted as a social ticket for increasing their access to education.

148.The new programme will establish a single minimum threshold of 260 lei per equivalent adult; this amount will target the poorest 10 per cent of the population. The new programme will establish a single maximum threshold of 600 lei per equivalent adult.

149.There are statistics regarding single parent families and social welfare beneficiaries in annex No. 20.

150.There is no progress to report regarding the modification of art. 20 (1) of the Convention.