Prostitution in Romania
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Prostitution in Romania is not itself criminalized, although associated activities, such as procuring, are criminal offenses, and solicitation is a contravention punishable by fines. In the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century there were legalized
brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
s, but these were closed by the communist regime in the late 1940s, and prostitution itself became a criminal offense in 1957. Prostitution was decriminalized in 2014, as the new
Penal code of Romania The Penal Code of Romania (''Codul penal al României'') is a document providing the legal basis regarding criminal law in Romania. The Code contains 446 articles. The articles mention aspects such as the national boundaries of law and the crimes t ...
, which came into force on 1 February 2014, no longer contains such a criminal offense. Prior to that date, it was considered a criminal offense (''infracţiune'') punishable by up to a year imprisonment. There had been proposals in the past to legalize and regulate prostitution (such as in 2007) but these were rejected, especially as Romania is a party to the
Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others The Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on 2 December 1949, and entered into force on 25 July 1951. The preamble states: ...
, which states that prostitution is "incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and endanger the welfare of the individual, the family and the community" and binds countries which ratify it to ban organized prostitution such as pandering or running a brothel. According to the official explanations of the Ministry of Justice, with regard to the new penal code "the fact that prostitution will be excluded from criminal penalties does not mean "legalizing "it, transforming the activity into one regulated or permitted by law, because the persons practicing prostitution will still be sanctioned with a contravention." The Association for the Promotion of Women in Romania opposes legalized prostitution, as they view prostitution as "another form of violence against women and girls". The Romanian Orthodox Church also opposed the legalisation. In 2008 an EU-funded survey by
TAMPEP TAMPEP (European Network for HIV/STI Prevention and Health Promotion among Migrant Sex Workers) is an international organisation that supports the health and human rights of migrant sex workers in Europe.Margaret DucketMigrants' Right to Health ...
found
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
was top country of origin of migrant sex workers in the EU. On January 20, 2010,
Iana Matei Iana Matei is a Romanian activist and founder of Reaching Out Romania, an organization to seek out and rehabilitate victims of forced prostitution. Early life Iana Matei was born in Orăștie, Romania. Her mother was a pentathlete, and her fathe ...
was named "European of the Year" by Reader's Digest for finding and rehabilitating victims of forced prostitution.


Legal situation

Solicitation is an administrative offence (''contravenție'') punishable by a fine of 500–1500 lei (approximately 110–330
euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s as of 2016). The National Police, Local Police and Gendarmes are all responsible for enforcing the laws, but there are reports that law enforcement is corrupt and sometimes violent. Clients are not prosecuted, unless they knowingly use the services of a victim of forced prostitution, or the prostitute is a minor (Art. 216''1'') Article 213 criminalizes procuring; it states that "The causing or facilitation of the practice of prostitution or the obtaining of financial benefits from the practice of prostitution by one or more individuals shall be punishable by no less than 2 and no more than 7 years of imprisonment and a ban on the exercise of certain rights." In certain aggravated circumstances, the punishment increases. The penal code also criminalizes several offenses against
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
,
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
,
child trafficking Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour and exploitation. ...
,
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
, and using exploited persons (Art. 182 ''Exploitation of a person'', Art. 209 ''Slavery'', Art. 210 ''Trafficking in human beings'', Art. 211 ''Trafficking in underage persons'', Art. 212 ''Pressing into forced or compulsory labor'', Art. 216 ''Use of an exploited person’s services'').


Sex trafficking

There has been a growing awareness of
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
as a human rights issue in Europe. The end of communism has contributed to an increase in human trafficking, with the majority of victims being women forced into prostitution. Romania is a country of origin and country of transit for persons, primarily women and children, trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The Romanian government has shown some commitment to combat trafficking but has been criticized for failing to fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Authorities opened 864 new trafficking cases in 2016 (858 in 2015), and prosecutors indicted 358 suspected traffickers in 2016 (480 in 2015). Courts convicted 472 traffickers in 2016 (331 in 2015). Romania is a destination country for a limited number of foreign trafficking victims, including sex trafficking victims from
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
. Government officials have been convicted of human trafficking crimes, and there have been reports of local officials obstructing trafficking investigations. The government reported two cases of official complicity in 2016. In one case, a police officer was sentenced to two years imprisonment for repeated trafficking of minors and nine months for establishing a criminal enterprise. In the other case, a judge received eight months for using the services of an exploited person and 16 months imprisonment for blackmail. Articles 210, 211, and 367 of the penal code prohibit all forms of trafficking and prescribe penalties of three to 10 years imprisonment. The
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) is an agency within the United States Department of State charged with investigating and creating programs to prevent human trafficking both within the United States and internation ...
ranks Romania as a ' Tier 2' country.


References

{{Portal bar, Romania, Prostitution, Sex work, Human sexuality Society of Romania
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...