Moldova Criminalises Digital Violence — Landmark Anti-Stalking Law for Women and Girls

For years, Moldovan women who reported online stalking or harassment saw their complaints treated as minor misdemeanours, punishable only by a fine. National survey data cited by UN Women and UNFPA found that 65% of women aged 18 and older who are active online had experienced some form of digital violence in their lifetime, from repeated unwanted contact to covert monitoring of their home or workplace.
In late 2025, Moldova's Parliament adopted amendments to the Criminal and Contravention Codes that, for the first time, criminalise stalking and technology-facilitated harassment. Under the new provisions, which enter into force on 14 February 2026, stalking becomes a criminal offence punishable by up to two years in prison, rising to three years if the perpetrator is a family member. The law covers repeated attempts to contact a person by any means and monitoring of a person's home or workplace, whether in person or through digital tools.
The reform was developed jointly by Parliament, the National Agency for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (ANPCV), UN Women, UNFPA, the Council of Europe office in Moldova and civil-society organisations. Because the amendments only take effect in February 2026, there is not yet any data on prosecutions, convictions or changes in reported abuse — the achievement to date is the legislative reform itself and the institutional coalition built to implement it.

Read the full analysis: https://anpcv.gov.md/en/communication/comunicate-de-presa/online-harassment-becomes-criminal-offence-republic-moldova.html