Reducing gender-based violence (RO0096)

1. What problem does the commitment aim to address?

Gender-based violence at work and in public spaces can have a negative effect on women and men affected by this type of violence, but more broadly also on their families, community, business and society as a whole. These effects are both social and economic. Preventing this type of violence is also closely linked to early life education to combat gender stereotypes, so education plays an important role in perpetuating behaviours in the sphere of gender- based violence. Also in order to raise awareness, but also to facilitate better monitoring of the implementation of the provisions of Government Decision 970/2023, this proposal aims to: Establish a digital monitoring platform, specific policy implementation tools.

2. What are the causes of the problem?

The main causes identified are: - the lack of a common understanding and uniform application among employers of the means to prevent and combat gender-based harassment and psychological harassment in the workplace, - the lack of a mechanism to ensure the monitoring of the application of Government Decision No 970/2023 approving the Methodology for preventing and combating harassment based on sex, as well as psychological harassment at the workplace, managed at the level of ANES, - the need for a uniform framework for the proper recording, reporting and monitoring of harassment based on sex, as well as psychological harassment in the workplace, - the lack of a unitary regulation, so that all jobs (public and private) have both specific measures to solve these cases and specific mechanisms to prevent these facts.

Commitment Description

1. What has been done so far to solve the problem?

In 2020, Law No 167/2020 amended and supplemented two legislative acts: Government Ordinance no. 137/2000 on the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination and Law no. 202/2002 on equal opportunities and treatment between women and men, aiming, according to the by the legislator, to better protect the individual against psychological violence (called, within the meaning of this law, psychological harassment). Within the National Campaign for Awareness of Moral Harassment at Work, the Practical Guide on Moral Harassment at Work was developed and published by experts from the two partner entities, namely the National Agency for Gender Equality and the Romanian Institute for Human Rights. The guide is addressed both to individuals – victims of mobbing in the workplace, but also to organisations where mobbing has occurred. The purpose of the Guide is to make known the steps that must be followed, according to the law, for each person to enjoy a healthy working environment, a balanced professional and personal life. In order to achieve this goal, from a structural point of view, the Guide was conceived as follows: - The first part, explanatory-descriptive, places in context the phenomenon of moral harassment in the workplace, addressing mainly the victim, in order to ensure his/her psychological support, thus facilitating his/her concrete actions to counteract the moral harassment to which he/she is subjected. At the same time, the content of the first part sets out the directions to be followed by the employer/organisation within which the harassment is committed. - The second, applicative part outlines the information contained in Law 167/2020, in order to clarify the possible avenues of action to be followed by victims and organisations. In this context, in view of the need to ensure equal opportunities and treatment of women and men in the world of work, to specifically recognise everyone’s right to a world of work free from violence and harassment, and to encourage and maintain a work culture based on mutual respect and dignity, the National Agency for Gender Equality (ANES) has developed H.G. 970/2023 for the approval of the Methodology on preventing and combating gender-based harassment and moral harassment at work. This normative act has been carried out in full accordance with the specific problems faced by employees, situations that require an integrated intervention, bringing innovations in the way in which the principle of gender equality is transposed into public policies. 2024 was also marked by the ratification in March of the International Labour Organization’s Convention No. 190/2019 on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work (Law No. 69/2024). In January 2025, Government Decision No 27 amended and supplemented the Methodology on preventing and combating sexual harassment and psychological harassment in the workplace, approved by Government Decision No 970/2023. The normative act was developed in order to ensure its applicability and the national education system, in teacher-student/student relations, so as to discourage the phenomenon of sexual harassment. The need to improve the regulations specific to higher education and pre-university education, both at the level of definition and at the level of prevention and clarification of the manner of intervention, the legal framework was sufficient to ensure the protection of the values related to the mental and physical integrity of the person. Thus, at the level of the education system, preventive, counseling and sanctioning measures will be applied, the conditions for reporting sexual harassment will be modified, so that in the educational environment a culture of teacher-student/student interaction, based on mutual respect and dignity, will be encouraged and maintained.

2. What solution are you proposing?

In order to prevent and combat gender-based violence and harassment at work and in public spaces, it is necessary to ensure a unified national framework for proper registration, reporting and monitoring, so that all workplaces (public and private) have both specific measures to deal with these cases and specific prevention mechanisms. On that matter, with this commitment we propose the creation of a digital platform aimed at monitoring the application of GD 970/2023 for the approval of the Methodology on preventing and combating harassment based on sex, as well as moral harassment in the workplace, managed at the level of ANES.

3. What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment?

Establish mechanisms to reduce gender-based violence and harassment at work and in public spaces. Creation of a digital platform aimed at monitoring the application of GD 970/2023 for the approval of the Methodology on preventing and combating harassment based on sex, as well as psychological harassment at the workplace, managed at the level of ANES. Commitment Analysis Questions Answer (if not applicable, just answer with N/A) 1. How will the commitment promote transparency? The development of an open, uniform national framework, in an online format, to the same extent for employers and employees, for proper registration, reporting and monitoring will lead to transparent communication.

2. How will the commitment help foster accountability?

According to H.G. 970/2023, ANES has the obligation to provide support, guidance and methodological coordination to central and local public administration institutions and authorities, civil and military, as well as to private companies, in applying the provisions of the methodology. ANES publishes annually, in March, a report on the state of implementation of the provisions of Government Decision 970/2023, based on the annual reports of public institutions and authorities. Also, institutions and authorities of central and local public administration, civil and military must draw up an annual report on the implementation of the provisions of the methodology, which will be sent to ANES. In this context, there is an urgent need to digitalise the procedure for monitoring the application of Government Decision 970/2023 at ANES level. By operationalising a unified enforcement framework for the proper recording, reporting and monitoring of harassment based on sex, as well as psychological harassment in the workplace, awareness of employees and employers on how to deal with and prevent these situations will be achieved. Commitment strengthens responsibility by: • Systematic monitoring of compliance with the legal framework through the platform • Traceability of referrals and interventions, which obliges institutions and employers to act promptly and be accountable for inaction. • Publication of regular reports on progress and difficulties in implementing measures

3. How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing and monitoring solutions?

Employees and employers will have a new tool at their disposal so that all workplaces (public and private) can adopt uniformly specific measures to deal with these cases, but also specific prevention mechanisms

The implementation of the solutions will be carried out at the level of employers, in consultation with employee representatives on means to prevent and combat gender- based harassment as well as mobbing in the workplace. The commitment improves citizen participation by: • Public consultation of users and civil society in the process of developing and updating the platform to meet the real needs of victims and witnesses. • Creating a safe and accessible channel for reporting cases of harassment, offering the possibility of direct involvement in identifying problems and assessing the effectiveness of measures. • Actively involve relevant NGOs and communities in monitoring data and proposing solutions, based on information collected and published through the platform.

Milestones | Expected Outputs | Expected Completion Date

1. Develop specific tools to implement policies against gender-based violence and anti-harassment in the world of work. 1.1 Conducting analyses, including on the basis of consultation of relevant stakeholders on the need to develop specific tools 1.2 Development of tools as resulting from previous collaborative processes 1.3 Actions to inform and disseminate the availability of the tools and reports carried out | Carrying out periodic reports on the state of implementation of the Methodology approved by Government Decision No 970/12 October 2023. | 2026

2. Establish mechanisms to reduce gender-based violence and harassment at work and in public spaces. 2.1 Conducting analyses, including on the basis of consultation of relevant stakeholders on the need to digitalise mechanisms to promote legislative regulations and public policies in the field, citizens' rights and obligations in the report of H.G. 970/2023, the services that citizens can access in the field. 2.2 Developing tools for the creation of the digital platform, as resulted from previous collaborative processes. 2. Establish mechanisms to reduce gender-based violence and harassment at work and in public spaces. 2.1 Conducting analyses, including on the basis of consultation of relevant stakeholders on the need to digitalise mechanisms to promote legislative regulations and public policies in the field, citizens' rights and obligations in the report of H.G. 970/2023, the services that citizens can access in the field. 2.2 Developing tools for the creation of the digital platform, as resulted from previous collaborative processes. Creation of a digital platform aimed at monitoring the application of GD 970/2023 for the approval of the Methodology on preventing and combating harassment based on sex, as well as psychological harassment at the workplace, managed at the level of ANES. 2027| Creation of a digital platform aimed at monitoring the application of GD 970/2023 for the approval of the Methodology on preventing and combating harassment based on sex, as well as psychological harassment at the workplace, managed at the level of ANES. | 2027