2023 in Numbers
UN WOMEN MOLDOVA
Dominika Stojanoska
UN Women Moldova Country Representative
UN Women Moldova Country Representative
2023 marks the first year of implementation of the 2023-2027 UN Women Moldova Strategic Note (SN). UN Women Moldova as part of the UN Country Team and through its SN is contributing to the implementation of the United Nations Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) agreed and signed with the Government of Moldova for the period of 2023 –2027.
2023 has been at the same time a very challenging year marked by the protracted crisis caused by the war of Russia against Ukraine, but also a rewarding and encouraging year marked by the initiation of the negotiations accession to the European Union and important steps undertaken to advance gender equality. The 2023 local elections marked the highest representation of women in local councils and some progress in the share of women mayors; The Government approved key policies and programmes tailored to eliminate gender based discrimination and violence, strengthen public finance management system, including for gender equality, increase women’s participation in peacebuilding, security and defence, as well as accelerate the overall progress towards gender equality, as key to achievement of the 2030 Agenda.
UN Women Moldova leveraging on its triple mandate (normative, coordination and operational) and being a trusted partner to the Government, the Parliament, the civil society sector and women’s movement, as well as to the private sector, has proudly contributed to the achievement of these important results.
On behalf of Moldova highly committed and vibrant team, I invite you to read our 2023 report in numbers!
2023 has been at the same time a very challenging year marked by the protracted crisis caused by the war of Russia against Ukraine, but also a rewarding and encouraging year marked by the initiation of the negotiations accession to the European Union and important steps undertaken to advance gender equality. The 2023 local elections marked the highest representation of women in local councils and some progress in the share of women mayors; The Government approved key policies and programmes tailored to eliminate gender based discrimination and violence, strengthen public finance management system, including for gender equality, increase women’s participation in peacebuilding, security and defence, as well as accelerate the overall progress towards gender equality, as key to achievement of the 2030 Agenda.
UN Women Moldova leveraging on its triple mandate (normative, coordination and operational) and being a trusted partner to the Government, the Parliament, the civil society sector and women’s movement, as well as to the private sector, has proudly contributed to the achievement of these important results.
On behalf of Moldova highly committed and vibrant team, I invite you to read our 2023 report in numbers!
INTRODUCTION
UN Women in Moldova proudly delivered on its composite mandate in 2023.
Under its normative mandate*, the Country Office provided technical assistance to the Parliament and the Government in amending the legislation and establishing the first National Agency for prevention and combatting violence against women, for improving the national legislation on pay transparency with the aim to close the gender wage gap, as well as supported the development of the secondary legislation on alternative childcare services, as a mean to increase women’s participation in the labour market.
Under its coordination mandate, UN Women worked closely with UN sister agencies to ensure enhanced accountability of development and humanitarian programming from gender perspective. Based on the evidence gathered, UN Country Team increased its performance by 10% with respect to the previous year, reaching 86,6% of meeting fully the gender scorecard indicators (13 out of 15). The UNCT, under UN Women leadership, ensured as well full compliance with 44% of the criteria measuring the Gender accountability of the humanitarian action in Moldova.
Under its operational mandate, UN Women contributed to the achievements of important results under the four key areas: Ending Violence Against Women, Women’s Leadership and Governance, Women’s Economic Empowerment and Humanitarian & Peace nexus.
Under its normative mandate*, the Country Office provided technical assistance to the Parliament and the Government in amending the legislation and establishing the first National Agency for prevention and combatting violence against women, for improving the national legislation on pay transparency with the aim to close the gender wage gap, as well as supported the development of the secondary legislation on alternative childcare services, as a mean to increase women’s participation in the labour market.
Under its coordination mandate, UN Women worked closely with UN sister agencies to ensure enhanced accountability of development and humanitarian programming from gender perspective. Based on the evidence gathered, UN Country Team increased its performance by 10% with respect to the previous year, reaching 86,6% of meeting fully the gender scorecard indicators (13 out of 15). The UNCT, under UN Women leadership, ensured as well full compliance with 44% of the criteria measuring the Gender accountability of the humanitarian action in Moldova.
Under its operational mandate, UN Women contributed to the achievements of important results under the four key areas: Ending Violence Against Women, Women’s Leadership and Governance, Women’s Economic Empowerment and Humanitarian & Peace nexus.
*The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) has a unique composite mandate that includes intergovernmental normative, operational, and UN system–wide and inter-agency coordination roles.
ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In 2023, the Parliament approved, and the Government established:
- The first National Agency for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women and Domestic ViolenceUN Women had the unique opportunity to provide expert assistance and technical support with the legislation amendments and the development of the Regulation for its operations.
The Agency’s mandate is to coordinate the implementation of the national legislation, aligned with the provisions of the Council of Europe (CoE) Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (ratified in 2021). The effort was coordinated with CSOs in the field and other relevant actors in the area and benefitted from the financial support of the Government of Sweden and the European Union. - The National Program on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence for the years 2023-2027In partnership with the non-governmental organization "Women's Law Center" and the National Coalition "Life without Violence", UN Women, in line with its triple mandate, provided expert support jointly with UNFPA and coordinated the efforts with other UN Agencies. UN Women benefitted from the financial support from the Government of Sweden to provide and coordinate timely assistance to the Government.
Participants at a UN Women workshop on Safe Consultations with Survivors of Violence
The first ever Regional Integrated Service for victims of sexual violence was opened in Moldova and is operating since November 2023, after 5 months of piloting phase. The Service is providing specialist services of:
Immediate medical care
Trauma Support
Forensic examination
Psychological assistance
Legal assistance, including options for video statements, to be used in court and avoid re-victimization.
- Women victims of sexual violence03
- Women victims of domestic violence03
accessed assistance at the Regional Integrated Service between November –December 2023.
The process of establishment was led by UN Women and International Centre La Strada in close cooperation with Local and Central Public Authorities and financial support from the European Union.
155 women survivors of violence against women and girls (VAWG), Moldovan and refugee women, received specialized psychological, legal and social assistance and referral.
697 duty bearers and service providers
from different regions increased their capacity on delivering gender responsive services in prevention and multi-sectoral response, leading to:
Over More than 9,388 women and girls
including refugees and persons from most underrepresented groups increased their knowledge on how to access essential VAWG services, with particular focus on prevention and humanitarian support.
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence was launched by an immersive digital art exhibition called "Emerging from the shadows: The Sun shouldn’t hurt”, illustrated the stories of four Moldovan and Ukrainian women affected by violence.
Within the campaign, 9 events were organized and co-organized by UN Women, involving central and local authorities, civil society organizations, private sector entities, women from Roma community, and women with disabilities.
Video: Youth stand up against violence
UN Women achieved these results in close partnership and cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, NGO Women Law Center, AO “Raza Increderii", AO “Motivatie”, AO “Unitate pentru echitate si Sanatate”, International Center “La strada”, National Coalition Life without Violence, and AO “Asociatia Antreprenorilor cu Dizabilitati din Republica Moldova – Abilitati Europene fara Limite”.
Women In Leadership And Governance
With expert support from UN Women, the Government adopted key policy frameworks:
National Programme for Accelerating Progress on Gender Equality
National Programme for Women in Business
Public Finance Management (PFM) Strategy for 2023-2030, introducing, for the first time, a systemic approach towards the integration of gender equality principles in the budget cycle
Sustainable Development Goals
The Government of Moldova enhanced its ability to monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) through a data availability assessment of 337 nationalized SDG indicators. The assessment, the Roadmap to address the SDG data gaps, and the Instructions for data providers were developed by the National Bureau of Statistics with UN Women and UNICEF support.
Thanks to the Women's Parliamentary Caucus, the Moldovan Parliament strengthened its gender responsive lawmaking and oversight. The caucus is supported by UN Women, together with UNICEF, UNFPA and UNDP.
- awomen graduated from the UN Women Political Leadership Academy, 2023 edition. Out of them;301
- 1entered the 2023 local elections race and;146
- awere elected as mayors and councilors, including 2 women with disabilities.81
- aelected women received post-electoral support and enhanced their capacities on gender responsive local governance.47
In the context of Local General Elections in November 2023, UN Women developed a campaign to address the phenomenon of violence against women in politics and to encourage women to participate in elections.
Video: Violence against women in politics
UN Women developed a set of informative cards that explain key concepts about the phenomenon of violence against women in politics. The set also includes actions that the authorities, the media, political parties, but also each of us can do to prevent violence against women in politics and a legal supplement on protection mechanisms for women facing violence in politics and during elections in the Republic of Moldova.
195 cases of sexist remarks, out of which 146 were perpetrated by men, and 21 instances of sexist behaviors targeting mayoral women candidates running in 2023 local elections were recorded during the 122 monitored televised electoral debates in eight of the country’s largest municipalities done by the Gender Equality Platform, with UN Women support.
A series of events and communication products were created to encourage Roma women and girls to act as agents of change. UN Women also organized an event on the Holocaust of Roma women as well as a roundtable addressing the barriers of Roma people involvement in public life.
UN Women achieved these results in close cooperation with Council of Europe Moldova, Congress of Local, Administration from Moldova (CALM), Central Electoral Commission, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Central and Local Public Administration, Center for Partnership Development (CPD), Institutum Virtutes Civilis (IVC), Gender Equality Platform, AO Gender Centru, AO Afina, and Women Platform "Romni".
WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
More women entrepreneurs will have access to resources due to the new Women's Entrepreneurship Support Program, approved by the Government of Moldova. UN Women supported the Ministry of Economy and Organization for Entrepreneurship Development to carry out an evaluation of the previous program and develop the new one.
Government Decision no. 572 of 02-08-2023
Approving the Regulations on the organization and functioning of the alternative childcare services.
Due to improved legislation on child care services, flexible working hours, paternity leave, and tailored programmes, such as for women employment and entrepreneurship, women’s labor force participation rate increased with 3.8 % in the second quarter of 2023, from 38.0% to 41.8%, compared to the same periods of the previous year.
Over 400 women and men at the National Inspectorate of Police and the private company Conteyor in Causeni now have childcare services within their workplaces. Women have improved access to decent work in Moldova due to increased investment in alternative childcare and joint collaboration of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the National Fund for Regional and Local Development.
6,178 persons (4.810 women, 850 girls, 472 boys, and 46 men), out of which 37% were Ukrainian refugees, enhanced their business skills by receiving training and mentoring on business management.
36 local and refugee women
initiated new businesses
182 women
expanded existing businesses
experiencing a collective turnover increase of
1 Million MDL
Business support programs, national and international fairs, and financial assistance contributed to their success.
More than 30 entrepreneurs were provided with co-working spaces and continuous access to mentoring and support as a result of the establishment of the Business Incubator by Chisinau municipality.
Through the Cash for Work program
- women refugees integrated into the labor market42
- women refugees advanced in their careers35
Video: Ana Casatkina, Ukrainian refugee and local producer
69 women, including Ukrainian refugee women, have better opportunities to access the labor market, with new acquired skills in Social Media Marketing and Software Testing after graduating from Women in Online Work Programme.
3 000 pupils, including 25 child refugees have advanced IT knowledge, following the creation of two modern digital labs in Causeni and Balti established by UN Women, to ensure inclusive and supportive education for girls pursuing STEM and IT careers.
1,361 women and girls, where of 73% were refugees, received employment-related support such as job matching programs, job counseling, mentorship, employment-related legal advice. 80 refugee women who benefited from job placement programs were employed.
The International Women’s Day Campaign 2023 was launched with the event “Empowering women in a digital world”. Within the campaign, 4 human stories with women in the IT sector were published and shared widely together with motivational cards encouraging women to pursue careers in IT. A podcast discussing the role of girls and women in digitalization and their contribution to the development of technologies and innovation was also produced. |
UN Women achieved these results in close partnership and cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Economy and Digitalization, the Ministry of Education and Research, Chisinau Mayoralty, Association of Companies in IT Sector (ATIC), Cambridge Econometrics Ltd., Investitii.md, The OK Foundation, Proactive Consulting S.R.L.. ICS "PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory” SRL (PwC), Association for Business Formation and Development, HIAS Moldova, National Coalition "Life without Violence", Centrul de Informare și Resurse BroBono, Municipal Business Incubator, The Public Association CASMED, AO "Fiecare Contribuie pentru Schimbare”, AO "Raza Increderii", AO Motivație", AO “Nika Generation”.
Women, Peace and Security
The second generation National Programme and Action Plan (NAP) for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security was endorsed by the Government in 2023 with specific objectives to increase women’s meaningful participation in the security and defense sectors, and conflict negotiations.
UN Women provided extensive expert assistance in the consultative drafting and costing of the five-year NAP and supported the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the coordination and implementation of the plan, affirmed through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2023.
The 14 Women’s Advisory Board (WAB) members jointly produced, with UN Women expert assistance, position papers on civil documentation, women’s access to entrepreneurship programmes and elimination of violence against women, which are expected to be presented to negotiating parties in 2024.
Video: Women's role in peace and security
6 women-led CSOs from both banks of the river Nistru active in community development and social cohesion improved their management capacities and adopted gender responsive internal policies, thanks to the institutional support for system strengthening.
- young people from both banks of the river Nistru developed42
- innovative digital peacebuilding solutions to bolster cross-river social dialogue08
- of the solutions were selected for support in implementation03
UN Women achieved these results in close partnership and cooperation with The Ministry of Internal Affairs, The Ministry of Defence, The National Administration of Penitentiaries, The Center for Support and Development of Civic Initiatives “Resonance”, I4P Initiative 4 Peace, the Association of Independent Press (API), AO "National Assistance and information centre for NGOs in Moldova CONTACT".
Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus
Valuable insights on women’s leadership in the localization of humanitarian response, peace processes and crisis response in the region were generated during a 2-days international conference joined by 136 persons (120 women, 16 men) from 10 countries on 12-13 October.
The refugee response actors in Moldova delivered assistance that better targets the distinct needs of women, girls, men and boys in all their diversity and formulate a gender-sensitive Refugee Response Plan (RRP) for 2024. This was achieved as result of gender mainstreaming efforts ensured by the Gender Task Force, led by UN Women and the Platform for Gender Equality, under the Refugee Coordination Forum and in close collaboration of UN Women with UNHCR.
1,007 people, among them 166 refugees, were capacitated with knowledge of Gender in Humanitarian Action (including GBV and PSEA) and providing specialized assistance to women and children refugees, due to projects supported by UN Women.
The first Gender Accountability Framework (GAF) for Moldova was carried out in 2023 by UN Women together with UNHCR. It included a total of 23 criteria, out of which the Moldovan response was found to have fully met 44% and partially met 47% of the GAF criteria, a substantial result demonstrating a strong commitment to addressing gender issues throughout the response.
27,236
people from local population
2,255
refugees
have access to improved gender responsive public infrastructure, as a result of local initiatives supported by UN Women with financial support from the Government of Sweden and Swiss Development Cooperation.
47 women members of the 3 Women’s Discussion Platforms on the left bank of the river Nistru implemented 6 community initiatives advancing social cohesion, including with refugees, as a result of leadership coaching and organizational development support. Two of the Platforms started registration procedures as women’s rights organizations in 2023.
In 2023, UN Women's advocacy and technical support led to
- 22 local women's organizationsreceiving funding from Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund
- 16 local women's organizationsreceiving funding from US Department of State, Sweden, Swiss Development Cooperation and the Government of Japan
109 grassroots CSOsreceiving sub-grants, further contributing to localisation of the response
3 multi-purpose centers in the north, center and south of Moldova were established to provide integrated essential services for survivors of violence against women and girls from underrepresented groups.
The "Women's Resource Center" was established by National Coalition "Life without Violence", with support of UN Women. The center will provide an enabling environment for refugee women and those from host community, including survivors of violence, as well as organizations and activists in the field to build a safe space for meetings, activities and the development of projects that aims to improve the lives of women and girls.
42,327 individuals, including 17,206 Ukrainian refugees, accessed information, goods, and resources. Out of them, 40 843 were women and girls, and 18 690 were men and boys.
In addressing the immediate needs of winterization and the increased vulnerability faced by a specific group of beneficiaries, 305 refugee women, including 200 Roma women, and their children, currently residing in Moldova's regional accommodation centers received vouchers for the procurement of winter shoes, and winter clothes, as well hygiene items to safeguard their health and well-being.
UN Women together with UNFPA, UNHCR and UNICEF carried out the “Break the Silence! We stand by you" campaign in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. The campaign carried out awareness raising activities for refugee and local women on the services available for survivors of violence.
Video: Oxana's story
UN Women achieved these results in close partnership and cooperation with Association of Companies in IT Sector (ATIC), The Association for Human Rights Lex XXI (ADO LEX XXI), Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture "Memoria", NGO Youth and Women's Resource Center DACIA, National Coalition "Life without Violence", AO "Ophelia", AO “Women for Women”, Roma Women's Platform “ROMNI”, AO “Motivatie”, the Platform for Gender Equality, Women Politaical Club 50/50, Union for Equity and Health, AO “Katalyst”, AO “Gender–Centru”, AO “Institutum Virtutes Civilis”, AO “Women’s Law Centre”, AO "HELP”, AO “National Youth Council of Moldova (CNTM)”, AO “Generatia-NIKA”, “The Moldova Project Association”, AO “Copil Comunitate Familie (CCF) Moldova”, Agency for Innovation and Development (AID), Association of Entrepreneurs with Disabilities from Moldova, "European Abilities without Limits" (AELF), Association for Children and Youth “FACLIA”, AO “Institute for Democracy and Development (I4DD)”, AO ”Budești – Casa Părinteacă”, AO “Women's Democracy Network”.
Publications
UN Peacebuilding Fund Project: "Building sustainable and inclusive peace, strengthening trust and social cohesion on both banks of Nistru/Dniester river"
Our Donors and Partners
Core Support
The Government of SwedenThe Government of Sweden is a strategic partner to UN Women, contributing to the overall implementation of UN Women triple mandate and all thematic areas of the Country Office Strategic Note.
The European UnionIn 2023, European Union was providing financial support through "the EVA Project - Strengthened Gender Action Promoting gender equality in Cahul and Ungheni districts", which empowered women, promoted the inclusion of the specific priorities and needs of women and children on the agenda of local public authorities and worked to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and children. The project ended in May 2023 and led to the launch and piloting of the first integrated specialist service for victims of sexual violence.
The European Union also provides financial support through the project "EU 4 Gender Equality: Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence", supporting gender equality, tackling perceptions about the roles of men and women in the family and in the society, and contributing to the elimination gender-based violence. Phase 1 of the project ended in 2023, and phase 2 will be launched in 2024.
In November 2023, the 4-year EU financed EVOLVE4GE Project - Ending Violence, Expanding Livelihood Opportunities for Women and Accelerating Gender Governance in Moldova was launched.
The United Nations Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund
With financial support from the Peacebuilding Fund, UN Women works to facilitate an enabling environment for improved cross-river interconnection between communities and CSOs, social cohesion, reduced social tensions and better mainstreaming of human rights and gender equality in the Transnistrian conflict settlement process.
The UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA)
Through the Joint UNDP-DPPA Programme on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention, UN Women worked on enhancing the role of and contributions of women from both banks of the Nistru river in the Transnistrian settlement process and beyond by activating and operationalizing the Women Advisory Board for Sustainable Peacebuilding.
The United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD)
The United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) is a unique collaborative effort that brings together UN entities, governments, organizations of persons with disabilities and the broader civil society works to translate these possibilities into reality.
Through the UNPRPD-financed project “Addressing stigma, discrimination and violence for empowering women with disabilities” implemented jointly with UNDP, UN Women tackled challenges in overcoming stigma, discrimination, and violence. The outcome of the project is a developed and piloted tool to generate evidence of disability-related stigma and discrimination and its implications.
Through the UNPRPD financed project ”Mainstreaming a disability inclusive humanitarian response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis” implemented jointly with WHO, OHCHR, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women supported strengthening the capacities of relevant actors, including institutional capacities to eliminate multiple forms of discrimination with focus on disability and refugee.
UN AIDS' Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework (UBRAF)
UBRAF is a UNAIDS instrument to maximize the coherence, coordination and impact of the UN’s response to AIDS by combining the efforts of the UN Cosponsors and UNAIDS Secretariat. Through the framework, UN Women has worked with partners to improve knowledge and skills on prevention and support services in terms of gender in the context of HIV/AIDS.
Humanitarian Response
The US Department of StateThe US Department of State provided financial support through the project "Promoting gender-responsive refugee responses at the regional and country level", which worked to address the gender-specific impacts of Ukraine’s humanitarian and refugee crisis while simultaneously ensuring that women and those at risk have strengthened access to protection services and resources.
The Government of JapanThe Government of Japan provided financial support through the project "Strengthening the socioeconomic resilience of women and girls affected by the Ukrainian refugee crisis in Moldova", which focused on strengthening the protection and socioeconomic resilience of women and girls affected by the Ukrainian refugee crisis in Moldova by providing them with economic opportunities and multi-sectoral Gender-Based Violence services.
The Swiss Development CooperationThe Swiss Development Cooperation has provided financial support through the project "Women in support of women: increasing the leadership and resilience of women affected by the crisis through community initiatives". The project's goal was to foster resilience, inclusion and peacebuilding among local communities through the direct contribution and leadership of women.
UN Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund
Through the UN Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund’s (WPHF) Ukraine Regional Response, UN Women is extending support to women’s rights organizations to respond to the war in Ukraine, working to provide critical humanitarian assistance to women refugees, protect women and girls affected by gender-based violence, enhance their economic recovery, enhance their participation in humanitarian planning and response, and build the institutional capacity of local organizations working with displaced women and girls.
The Government of GermanyAs a committed partner and the largest donor to the United Nations Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund, Germany supports local women leaders & grassroots civil society organizations that are building peace at the forefront of the world’s evolving crises.
For more information on our work, please visit: www.moldova.unwomen.org
