In depth

UNDP, alongside other United Nations agencies, has partnered with civil society organisations in advocating for the adoption of legal provisions which established a 40% gender quota for political parties’ candidate lists and in the Government Cabinet, prohibition of sexism in media and advertising, and the introduction of 14 days of paternity leave. UNDP will continue to support gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment across key development areas in the country.

UNDP Moldova contributed to critical amendments to the legislation addressing gender-based and domestic violence, adopted in July 2016, that have introduced a 10-day restraining order that isolates the perpetrators from the family home, along with other unprecedented measures to increase the safety of victims. At the same time, UNDP Moldova provided critical support to women in leadership positions at all levels enabling them to become effective drivers of gender equality agenda, created jobs and supported women-led businesses, set-up services in support of the most vulnerable and marginalized women across the country.

Prevention and response to gender-based violence

In response to the spread gender-based violence in the country, UNDP Moldova produced new tools and evidence on the benefits of GBV prevention for achieving the SDGs, by stimulating strong participatory processes and local responses which, in their turn, ensure greater impact and resilience to the GBV triggers. Găgăuzia's regional authorities (with a population of 140,000) were supported to localize the National Strategy on GBV through piloting the creation a local multidisciplinary team in Chirsova village and developing a participatory action plan. 

In 2020, UNDP established a Regional Centre in Găgăuzia region for GBV survivors and impacted community members can access psychological, legal, and social assistance services, including through the creation of a Mobile Team to serve remote localities in the region. The Safe Space aided both Moldovan GBV survivors and refugee women from Ukraine, adapting to their needs. 

This innovative experience, extended to various regions, including to Ungheni, ensuring accommodation and comprehensive services for GBV survivors, including legal, social, and psychological support and vocational counselling. 

UNDP contributes to enhanced community safety including by enhancing the police force's response capabilities to security threats and improved support for violence survivors.

UNDP supports the professionals – psychologists, social workers, teachers, and lawyers – from specialised organisations from all regions of Moldova to offer counseling to a wider category of population. Thus, UNDP has adapted the Common Elements Treatment Approach – a unique treatment approach to multiple mental health challenges, which is now familiar to professionals in Moldova. This counselling programme, developed by specialists from Johns Hopkins University in the USA and piloted in several countries where there is a shortage of mental health services and professionals trained to provide them, enables professionals to assist people struggling with alcoholism, violence, as well as mild forms of anxiety and depression.

Gender equality and inclusive growth

UNDP helps public authorities and private sector in Moldova to promote equal opportunities for women and men with interventions ranging from policymaking to implementation. Social and economic empowerment of women is an area of special interest for UNDP’s work in Moldova. We contribute to SDG 5 by focusing on fostering women’s participation in decision-making and in local governance, social, human rights, and economic activities.

Aiming to achieve sustainable women’s economic empowerment, UNDP will address the factors that can most directly promote it: access to individual, household, and community resources; the breaking of unequal social norms and the building of strong, inclusive and gender sensitive institutions.

UNDP works with the private sector, improving access of women entrepreneurs to capacity development programmes and financing opportunities, as well as fostering cooperation and mutual support among business networks on both banks of Nistru river. 

New technologies are changing the dynamics of work and the skills required presenting both opportunities for creating gender-equal economic opportunities for women, as well as important challenges. A key priority for UNDP is to ensure that women have relevant skills in the context of future of work. The need for skilling and reskilling will be addressed along with other factors constraining women’s equal access to economic opportunities, such as the unbalanced burden of unpaid care, social norms and stereotypes, and workplace inequality.

UNDP will continue to promote the advancement of digital literacy of women and girls, especially for those from disadvantaged groups, as well as for the advancement of women’s and girls’ access to STEEAM (science, technology, engineering, entrepreneurship, arts, and maths).

Gender equality and effective governance, justice & human rights

UNDP helps the national partners to develop gender-sensitive policies and budgets, introduce gender analysis in policymaking, set gender-sensitive targets and indicators, and collect and disseminate sex disaggregated data. The Parliament has been supported in the re-establishment of the Women Caucus and enhancing its role in law making and oversight. The capacity of the Central Electoral Commission to collect, analyze and disseminate sex disaggregated data on candidates, elected officials, electoral administrators and active voters was enhanced through the automated elections system developed with UNDP support. 

Gender equality and climate change, environment & energy

Environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, climate change and climate vulnerability affect men and women disproportionally. Moldova’s rural women are four times more prone to absolute poverty, and their unequal economic and social status makes them more exposed to climate and environmental hazards. The traditional role of women as caregivers, who look after and provides for the family, often makes them more vulnerable when the effects of climate change hits. 

UNDP Moldova is supporting rural communities and women-led households and entrepreneurs to protect themselves, their families and their life-supporting ecological environment, through economic, social and educational empowerment. With an increased focus on women’s access to education and knowledge, women will increasingly play a stronger role in establishing new sustainable and climate resilient agricultural practices and business models which employ energy efficient and renewables technologies, as well as identifying co-financing for climate resilient agricultural production solutions at the local level, especially in vulnerable communities. Furthermore, by shifting the focus from vulnerability to empowerment, capacity building measures have the potential to transform into gender equality opportunities. Such an approach would overturn gender stereotypes, compounded by social and cultural norms and will empower women to become agents of change. So, UNDP will continue to support women’s economic empowerment by promoting employment, entrepreneurship and woman’s access to resources.