SPECIAL ISSUES |
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IHF-HR: "A
Form of Slavery: Trafficking in Women in OSCE Member States" |
ROMANIA |
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INTERNATIONAL HELSINKI FEDERATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ''A FORM OF SLAVERY: TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN IN OSCE MEMBER STATES'' COUNTRY REPORTS: ROMANIA July 2000
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Romania ratified the Convention for the
Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the
Prostitution of Others by Decree 482 on December 10th 1954
published by Official Bulletin number 46 on December 1954. Articles 1 and
2 of this convention define those activities considered as trafficking in
human beings by the member states and provide the relevant sanctions. The Convention on Refugees came into effect
on April 22nd 1954 and was ratified by Romania on July 4th
1991. Article 12 of the Convention, entitled “Personal Status”, shows
that the personal status of the refugee “will be governed by the laws of
the country where he has domicile or, if he has none, by the law of the
country when he resides”. Articles 26 and 27 establish the obligation of
the member states to grant the refugees the choice of residence, the right
of free circulation and to provide them with identity documents (in the
event that they have none). The refugees are also protected against
arbitrary exploitation. In conformity with article 32, a refugee that
resides legally on the territory of a state cannot be deported or expelled
except for security reasons or public order. If the expulsion is
necessary, the refugee cannot be sent to states in which his life or
liberty are endangered. (article 33). The Protocol of Trilateral Cooperation on
Combating Crime was approved by the Government. (Rule on April 8th
1999, published in “Monitorul Oficial” no. 180 from April 29th
1999). All states that have signed this Protocol decided to cooperate (in
conformity with the law) to prevent, combat, find and investigate
criminality, especially in the domains of traffic in women, sexual
exploitation of minors and women, illegal crossing of the border, and
migration (article 1). The cooperation consists mainly on information
exchange, knowledge and experience, and the coordination of Police efforts
and actions. The
Agreement of Cooperation for Preventing and Combating Inter–State Crime
was ratified by Romania on Dec. 31st 1999 by Law 209 published
in “Monitorul Oficial” no. 654 on Dec. 31st 1999. This
agreement was concluded as a part of the “Initiative of Cooperation in
the South – East of Europe” and established the basis of the Regional
Center SECI, an organ that struggles against inter – state infractions.
In addition to the charter of organization, the function of the SECI
Center and the fields in which member states should give mutual support in
order to prevent, discover, investigate, and punish all inter–states
infractions, the agreement contains the form in which this support will be
provided and the means of granting it. According to Romanian law, traffic in women
is not considered an offence and can only be punished if it is related to
pimping (article 329). Prostitution, whether voluntary or forced, is
qualified as an offence (art. 328) and the only reference to organized
crime is made in article 323, which has provisions on “association for
committing of an offence”. The Penal law applies to crimes committed on
Romanian territory (article 3), regardless of the citizenship of the
offender. “A
deed (act) that presents a social peril, committed with guilt and
stipulated by the penal law” is considered an offence under Romanian
legislation. According to article 18, a deed that presents a social peril
is “any action or lack of action through which damage is caused to one
of the values mentioned in article 1 (which refers to the Romanian state,
its sovereignty, independence, unity and indivisibility, the persons,
rights and liberties, propriety and order). Article 328 of the Romanian Criminal Code
deals with procuring (obtaining the primary means of subsistence by having
sexual intercourse with different persons). The offence is presented in
chapter IV entitled “Other offences that may cause damage to certain
social relations”. Anyone
can be considered an offender –the law makes no distinction between men
and women. Although in theory prostitution may be committed by anyone, in
practice women are generally prostitutes. If one or many persons practice
prostitution at the same place and at the same time, they will be punished
as “perpetrators” because each of them has independently broken the
law as a prostitute. Prostitution is not considered an offence if,
for example, a person has a legal job or source of income and only engages
in prostitution to get some extra money. Such cases cannot be charged as
violations of article 328. In
conformity with Romanian law, the practice of sexual relations for
pecuniary reasons, even sporadic, is not considered an offence. However,
if these kinds of relations are practiced repeatedly and habitually in
order to obtain profits for a period of time, they are considered offences
and punished as such. One cannot find the minimum number of
incidents of sexual intercourse or the period of time that is necessary to
contribute and consummate this offence either in the juridical literature
or in judicial practice. According to Romanian law, a person can be
accused of prostitution if she has many partners and if she is paid to
have sexual intercourse with them. But if there is just one partner, the
prostitute cannot be convicted even if she takes money for her sexual
favors because the Romanian Criminal Code does not incriminate this deed. Romanian
law does not stipulate aggravated circumstances even if the offence is
committed by a person under age or if this person is forced to commit the
offence through threats or violence. The defence of the person in these
situations is dealt with by the law incriminating the action of pimping in
article 328 of the Criminal Code. Trafficking
entails the action of producing and delivering persons to be received by
another person. In this trade, the person that practices prostitution is
like merchandise. In
this case, there are sanctions for both the provider and the receiver.
Unfortunately, victims can be punished according to the Romanian Criminal
Code. The fact that a person was trafficked may be regarded only as a
mitigating circumstance, but does not eliminate the possibility of a
conviction. Another
fault in Romanian law is the fact that there is no punishment for
trafficking for purposes other than prostitution. The text of the law uses
the expression “trafficking for prostitution” and clearly indicates
the necessity of prostitution in order to consider trafficking an offence.
Other
offences stipulated by the Criminal Code which can be associated with
trafficking in women and forced prostitution include:
A
victim of trafficking must follow the following steps in order to file a
complaint against the traffickers. The complaint must be filed with the
organs in charge of penal proceedings. This complaint must contain the
name, Christian name, quality and domicile of the plaintiff, the
description of the offence that was committed, the indicator of the
perpetrator of the offence (if it is known) and the means of probation
(article 221). The complaint may be made in person or by special
procuration. Spouses, parents or legal guardians may also make the
complaint. The
organs in charge of the penal proceedings are the prosecutors and the
police officers. In the case of the offence stipulated in article 329 of
the Penal Code, the institution of penal proceedings is done by the police
and is supervised by the prosecutor (article 207 and 208). Once the police
receive the complaint, they start to gather the evidence necessary to
demonstrate the existence of the offence, the identification of the
perpetrators and the assessment of their responsibility. This is all
necessary in order to establish whether the case is actionable (article
200). The organ that institutes penal proceedings must gather all evidence, both unfavorable and favorable,
regardless of an admission of guilt (or she, or they) the parties must
have their rights at trial explained (article 202). If,
in the course of the investigation, the perpetrator is found and there is
suspicion that he/she may abscond, the following measures of prevention
can be taken: detention, prevention from leaving the residence,
apprehension (article 136). The file of the case, the report of the
offence committed by the accused, evidence and the indictment and, if it
is the case, judicial expenses are handed to the prosecutor after the
penal proceedings are completed (articles 259 – 260). If
the prosecutor decides that all the dispositions were observed, the
proceedings were completed and that there is enough evidence of the
offence, then a charge is drawn up (article 262). During
proceedings, the accused (or the indicted) has the right to an attorney
and he must be informed of this right. Legal assistance is mandatory when
the indicted person is under age, in the custody of a mental institution
or has been arrested (prisoner). The
decision of the Tribunal may be appealed under the same conditions and
terms presented in articles 335.1-335.3. In
terms of NGO activity, ARTEMIS from Cluj deals with women victims of
violence and a center that offers assistance for the victims of sexual
abuse (whether women or girls) is in operation. The center offers
psychological assistance and counseling for abused women and their
confidants (mothers, daughters, friends, colleagues) – in person or over
the phone. Victims are also given information and legal assistance and
there are various groups of mutual support. ARTEMIS
has also founded a shelter for girls between the ages of 14 and 18 that
were, or are, victims of sexual abuse. This programme is financed by the
UE (the PHARE - LIEN Programme) for a period of 2 years. Six women work at
the shelter, including psychologists, social assistants, and a jurist (all
women). The center ensures accommodation and food for a period no longer
than 6 months, but a person can enter the shelter many times if necessary.
During this period of time, girls are given assistance in finding a job or
other alternatives that could help them to lead a normal life after
leaving the shelter. From
the 17 cases presented by the IOM, 4 girls have been sent to the ARTEMIS
shelter. The
SANSE EGALE PENTRU FEMEI SEF Foundation from Iasi is currently developing
a project entitled “COMBAT”, which focuses on the problem of
trafficking in women and whose aim is the reintegration of Romania into
the International Programme of Prevention and Struggle Against Trafficking
in Women in Central and Eastern Europe. This project is partially financed
by the Open Society Foundation and runs from August 1st 1999-
August 2000. TACT
– Trafficking Awareness Campaign Training – was another project
started in January 1999 whose overall aim was to increase the quality of
the public policy debate on issues related to trafficking in women at the
national level, including education to empower NGOs, governments, and
community members to participate actively in this process. This was the
first project to make known the problem of trafficking in women in
Romania. The
project had three primary objectives:
The
targets included the media, sociologists, psychologists, NGOs, and
policemen.
The
targets group included the media, NGOs, policemen and people from the
Health Care Department.
The
target groups included elected officials, NGOs, sociologists,
psychologists, and policemen. Taking
into consideration the experience and information gathered in the TACT
project, the SEF Foundation decided to start another programme on
trafficking in women with the following objective: ·
To offer assistance to victims of trafficking in women and
consultations for women interested in working abroad;
The
SEF Foundation has begun a large campaign of popular information, printing
various folders that contain important information on the rights of
Romanian citizens abroad, and the obligation of Romanian Embassies all
over the world to protect Romanian citizens in need. Practical advice is
also given to women on how to avoid the perils of trafficking, how to
verify false job offers abroad and the most common methods of recruitment.
The SEF will also organize a series of lectures and semionars in schools,
highschools and faculties about the phenomenon of trafficking in women. Unfortunately,
so far, demands for other local and national NGOs to join in this project
or to present their programmes and efforts on this matter have been in
vain. It is believed that the close cooperation of all NGOs with
activities related to the problem of trafficking in women could greatly
reduce th number of victims. There
are no specific initiatives, whether governmental or non-governmental, to
return trafficked women to their countries and there are no support
services available to women victims of trafficking. |
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