Description
SCOPE. The project proposes a comparative analysis of how France and Romania regulate and legally address domestic violence, set against a European context shaped by the European efforts to combat domestic violence, in particular the Istanbul Convention (CoE) and the EU Directive 2024/1385 of May 2024, requiring Member States to introduce specific offences and also to enact preventive, protective, repressive and procedural measures by 14th of May 2027.
AIM. The project aims to compare the French and Romanian legal systems in how they criminalize and handle domestic violence, assess their compliance with the new European standards, and identify areas needing reform.
OBJECT AND STRUCTURE. The research is built upon two axis: i) substantive dimension: examining how domestic violence is criminalised across its physical, psychological, sexual and economic forms, along with criminal and civil responses such as protection orders, sanctions and counselling measures; and ii) procedural dimension: looking at how perpetrators are prosecuted and judged, how victims are protected and supported, how re-victimisation is prevented, and how good practices
SUBSTANTIVE DIMENSION. The first research axis examines the substantive criminal law treatment of domestic violence. It analyses how domestic violence in its various forms (physical, psychological, sexual, economic) is criminalized in both countries, whether through specific offences or aggravating circumstances, for the purpose of identifying gaps in the criminalization models – e.g. behaviours covered by the Directive, not yet criminalized expressis verbis. It also examines certain issues such as consent in sexual offences, coercive control and forced suicide, and evaluates the range of penal and civil responses available, including penalties, protection orders and withdrawal of parental authority.
PROCEDURAL DIMENSION. The second axis focuses on the procedural treatment of domestic violence. It compares judicial procedures related to the prosecution of offenders and to dedicated courts, paying particular attention to the scope of victim support mechanism throught the proceedings – e.g. reporting and complaint filing, evidence gathering, individual assessment, gender sensitive procedures and also means of compensation and also the involvement of victim support associations.
It also addresses risks of secondary victimization and the treatment of offenders, through risk assessment and reintegration programmes, which remain underdeveloped. The research further stresses public awareness and interdisciplinary professional training for police, lawyers, judges, doctors and association staff. Methodologically, the project combines documentary and legislative analysis, qualitative study of case law and interviews with key practitioners, and comparative synthesis leading to concrete harmonization proposals. The first year is devoted to the substantive axis, the second to the procedural axis, with seminars and conferences in both Romania and France, followed by joint publications.
METHODOLOGY. The project combines analytical, empirical and normative approaches. For this purpose, a documentary and legislative analysis will map convergences and divergences in how the two systems define and criminalise domestic violence; a qualitative study will draw on court decisions, institutional reports and targeted interviews with key actors such as magistrates, police, lawyers and NGOs; and the findings will feed into a comparative synthesis with concrete proposals for harmonisation.
Expected results include a comparative mapping of criminalisation and legal responses, the identification of legislative and institutional gaps in both systems, harmonisation proposals aligned with Directive (EU) 2024/1385, a bilingual scientific report with publications in specialised journals and a Franco-Romanian colloquium on the criminal treatment of domestic violence.
TRANSFER OF GOOD PRACTICES. The project fits into the broader process of European legal integration, linking the implementation of the 2024 Directive with the Istanbul Convention, and seeks to contribute to a European research network on gender-based violence with the purpose of combining prevention, repression and education into a unified approach and to strengthen victim protection – whilst promoting an ensamble of transferable good practices across Member States of the EU.