Public conscience in Romania

During the communist period equality between men and women was strongly supported, at least at the level of the official ideology. It was one of the important ideas used in the modernization process of Romania during the period after the Second World War. Even though this equality between men and women lead to the phenomena of over-solicitation of women - they became working comrades with men, but were still almost exclusively responsible for the household, education and raising of the children, and for taking care of the family’s elders - the model that it started from was a modern one. The attempt to model society in the sense of overcoming prejudices related to the superiority of a sex was thus contemporary with the evolution of the western world in the 1960s and 1970s.

The desire for a total rupture with the past resulted in a post-revolutionary transition that relinquished this myth, considered to be “communist”. However, this was without any concern for promoting an alternative social model, based on the development and affirmation of persons regardless of their sex.

After 1989 Romanian society was invaded by products and images that transmitted and consolidated preponderantly a certain model of femininity: the woman as a sexual object, a frivolous being, preoccupied only with its aesthetic aspect, the woman as a beautiful, but stupid being. Alternatively, the image of the irresponsible mother that kills, mistreats or abandons her children is cultivated. Violence against women has become the media support of sensational news, as well as the ever increasing phenomena of prostitution and sexual slavery.

Although the female part of the active population is almost half of the total active population, the image of women as professionals cannot be found in the models that dominate public space at present.

Lacking a contemporary model to direct the social behaviors and the relationship between men and women in public or in private, the Romania society seems to be oriented towards traditional-patriarchal models, whose main default is conservationism, which makes them incapable to make social norms for realities very much different than the ones that inspired them in the first place and undesirable as an option for the future.

Although after the liberalization of the post-revolutionary Romanian society would have been expected that the western models would influence the relationship between men and women, this is very far from building a partnership model for family and society, based on respect and appreciation of each persons’ value, in which sex differences will not be viewed and transformed in handicaps that prevent the free affirmation and development of each human being.

Although the Romanian Constitution guarantees equal rights for men and women with regard to the participation in the decision-making process, their presence is very low in fields that affect the society at large.

Equality of chances between men and women in Romania - legislative framework

The Law 202/2004 regarding the equality of chances between men and women is addressing problems such as equal access on the labour market, equal access to education, culture and information and equilibrated participation to the decision-making process. The normative act also established that the state authorities are responsible for the application and the control of the application of this particular Law as well as sanctions for violating its provisions.

Although it had all the premises of being a good law, it has not been implemented. In 2004 it was modified by Law 533 and in 2006 by the Law 216. The amendments referred to a better definition of the word, avoiding thus any ambiguities. The terms sexual harassment, direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and positive actions were redefined in a clearer manner.

Still the Law and its modifications are not applied, the institutions that were supposed to guard over the application of these rights is not functioning and nobody knows about it.

Ana-Maria Mosneagu, Asociatia Pro Democratia