The bill that punishes femicide the same as qualified murder, passed by the Senate / “Domestic violence degenerates into murder”
Senators voted, on the first day of the new parliamentary session, the law that defines “femicide” and aims to combat crimes against women. To enter into force, the project must pass the Chamber of Deputies and be promulgated by President Nicușor Dan.
- If the bill is adopted, femicide could be punished in the same way as qualified murder – with 15 to 25 years in prison or life imprisonment.
“60 women were killed in 2025. These are institutional failures”
The senators adopted with 97 votes “for”, one vote “against” and 7 abstentions the bill which introduces the term “femicide” into the legislation for the first time. Now, the project must also be voted by the deputies, and then promulgated by the president Nicușor Dan.
The bill was submitted to Parliament on January 29 and had the largest number of supporters in the post-December history of the Romanian Parliament. It was signed by 273 senators and deputies from all parties.
“We are talking about 5 femicides in January alone. Today, I think our society is very ready to have this debate for women's safety. Women don't die in Romania because we don't have laws, they die because these laws are not applied properly. 60 women were killed in 2025. They are institutional failures”, said Alina Gorghiu (PNL), on Monday, from the Senate podium.
Why do the eight women who initiated the most supported bill in Parliament believe that there is a need to introduce femicide into legislation / What changes are coming and how is it in other countries
“Can a law stop femicide? I don't know. But I hope with all my heart that it will. Because for the first time Romania clearly says: “Killing a woman because she is a woman has a name and has consequences”, said Cynthia Păun (USR) during the plenary debates.
Cristina Dumitrescu, AUR senator, announced that the party will vote for the law that defines femicide “because we are a Christian party, because we value the family, because we don't want domestic violence”.
She said that the project also brings “over-regulation” because qualified murder exists in Romanian legislation. “A crime is still a crime, regardless of whether it is a woman, a man or a child,” added Senator AUR.
Victoria Stoiciu, PSD, launched an appeal to the authorities whom women in borderline situations asked to apply the law: “Domestic violence is not a minor fact, it is not a simple quarrel between spouses. Domestic violence degenerates into crime.”
What do those who challenge the legislative project say
Unaffiliated Senator Gheorghe Vela announced that he would abstain, although he wanted to vote “against”.
“I hate the hypocrisy and hypocrisy that can encompass even the Parliament. In the last session there were two draft laws of the Ionescus that came up with the “Woman First” law, they were rejected by the Senate. We have over-regulation, we have the protection order law. What are we doing? Are we trivializing the Criminal Code?”
He also said that the value of life is one, whether it is a woman or a man.
Cosmina Cerva from the PACE, Ahead Romania group, repeated Gheorghe Vela's idea, that the acts committed against women are already regulated by the Penal Code:
“The Penal Code regulates the aggravation when we talk about acts committed also against women. Why do we want to over-regulate in the conditions where the Penal Code is sufficient? Just to put difficulties and obstacles on those who apply these codes (…) If you think that you are making it easier for the victims in criminal cases, you are wrong, you are only making it harder for something that in practice had a fairly good applicability”.
In her intervention, Victoria Stoiciu explained that “the project is not limited to introducing higher penalties for crimes committed out of a desire for control, but tries to prevent them”.
The first law to define femicide
The bill defines femicide as “the intentional killing of a woman or the death of a woman as a result of practices that cause harm to women, regardless of whether the killing or the harmful practices are committed by a family member or a third party.”
According to the draft, aggravating circumstances for qualified murder are introduced in the Criminal Code. Murders committed against a former spouse, concubine, partner or those motivated by gender, divorce, refusal of marriage or revenge are punished more severely.
The first law defining the term “femicide” and aimed at combating crimes against women, tabled in Parliament / Proposed changes
Other measures included in the bill are:
- Annual collection and publication of data on femicide and the violence that precedes it, including information on the victim-offender relationship;
- Protection for children left behind – orphans of femicide are recognized as direct victims, with immediate protection measures and aggravated penalties when violence occurs in the presence of minors;
- Strengthening the criminal response, by severely sanctioning gender-motivated acts and violence that precedes murder;
- Education for prevention, by introducing gender equality, non-violent relationships and combating violence in schools.
The bill also provides protection obligations for victims of domestic violence or post-death measures, for the victim's children and heirs.
In the situation where there is a protective order or a temporary order that the abuser violates, then the prosecution will begin ex officio without the need for a complaint from the victim or will continue even after the victim withdraws the complaint.
