For more than two decades, Marina* lived a life defined by the crushing weight of physical and emotional terror. Like many survivors of domestic abuse, she believed that leaving the marital home would be the final chapter of her ordeal. In the autumn of 2021, she finally found the courage to take her two children and walk away, filing for divorce and seeking the peace that had eluded her for twenty-two years. But as she soon discovered, the walls of a new home offered little protection against an aggressor armed with a smartphone and a persistent connection to the internet. While the physical blows had stopped, a new, more insidious form of warfare had begun.
Marina became the target of a relentless digital campaign orchestrated by her estranged husband. He did not need to be physically present to violate her privacy or destroy her sense of safety. Instead, he hired intermediaries to surveil and film her without her consent, tracking her movements across the city. He created a network of fraudulent social media profiles using her name and likeness, maliciously suggesting she was a provider of sexual services. Death threats began to flicker across her screen at all hours of the night. Under Moldova’s current legal framework, these harrowing experiences are often relegated to the status of mere misdemeanors. For years, perpetrators of such digital psychological warfare have faced little more than nominal fines—a slap on the wrist that does nothing to deter the behavior or provide justice for the victim.
However, a legislative revolution is on the horizon. On February 14, 2026, the Republic of Moldova will enact a series of landmark legal amendments designed to drag the country’s criminal code into the twenty-first century. This new legal framework represents a decisive blow against technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), formally criminalizing digital abuse and providing the state with the tools necessary to prosecute those who use the digital world as a weapon.
The scale of the problem in Moldova is staggering. Statistics reveal that more than 65 percent of women aged 18 and older who are active online in the country have experienced some form of digital violence in their lifetime. Until now, the law struggled to keep pace with the rapid evolution of technology. The new amendments change this by providing a comprehensive definition of digital violence: any act of harm committed through the use of information technologies or electronic communications. This includes the creation and dissemination of “abusive content data”—defined as digital materials that are discriminatory, sexist, threatening, obscene, or defamatory.
Under the new law, stalking will no longer be a peripheral grievance but a serious criminal offense. Perpetrators face up to two years in prison, a sentence that increases to three years if the offender is a family member. The law is meticulously crafted to cover the realities of modern harassment, including repeated attempts to contact a person through any digital medium, the monitoring of a victim’s residence or workplace through online technologies, and the unauthorized tracking of a person’s location.
This legislative victory did not happen in a vacuum. it is the culmination of a rigorous, multi-year collaboration between the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, the National Agency for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (ANPCV), and international partners including UN Women, UNFPA, and the Council of Europe. It reflects a growing global recognition that the digital sphere is not a “virtual” world separate from reality, but an extension of the physical world where human rights must be protected with equal fervor.
Viorica Șimbalari, the Director of the ANPCV, views these changes as a fundamental shift in the social contract. “For us, ensuring safety in the digital space means expanding the concept of safety into every sphere of life,” she explains. “Digital violence is a challenge of our time, but it is also an opportunity to demonstrate that our systems of justice, empathy, and respect can evolve alongside our technology.”
However, passing a law is only the first step. The true test lies in its implementation. To that end, the Agency has announced an ambitious plan for 2026 to provide specialized training for the entire judicial chain. Police officers, criminal investigators, prosecutors, and judges must be equipped to handle the technical nuances of digital evidence, from tracing IP addresses to understanding the psychological nuances of cyber-stalking. Without a bench and a police force that understands the gravity of digital harm, the law remains a series of words on a page.
For women like Marina, the path to justice is often blocked by financial barriers. Legal representation is expensive, and many survivors find themselves economically disenfranchised by their abusers. This is where grassroots support and international aid become vital. Through a project funded by the Government of Denmark, UN Women has partnered with the Dacia Centre in Soroca to provide free legal counseling and courtroom representation for survivors.
“This support was a lifeline,” Marina says, reflecting on the moments when she felt her strength failing. “I was at the end of my rope. I couldn’t believe that someone would help me for free, that someone would stand by me when I felt so alone.”
Her lawyer, Tatiana Vicol-Felișcan, is a frontline witness to the shifting tactics of abusers. She notes that while physical violence is the most visible, psychological and digital abuse are often the most pervasive and the least recognized. “Increasingly, psychological violence goes hand in hand with online intimidation or blackmail,” Vicol-Felișcan observes. She advocates for even further reforms, such as the expanded use of video hearings. This would allow survivors to testify and seek justice without the added trauma of being in the same room as their tormentor—a crucial consideration for those who have been stalked both in person and online.
The 2026 amendments also take a hard line on sexual harassment, significantly increasing the penalties for those who use digital tools to solicit, harass, or degrade. Offenders could face fines of up to USD 3,000, hundreds of hours of community service, or up to four years in prison—doubling the current maximum sentence. In cases where the victim is a minor, the law is even more stringent, allowing for sentences of up to seven years.
Dominika Stojanoska, the UN Women Moldova Country Representative, emphasizes that these changes are a reflection of Moldova’s commitment to the dignity and freedom of its citizens. “The digital space should be a place of empowerment, not a minefield,” she asserts. “Now that the legal framework is being established, the focus must shift to effective application and the continuous training of those in charge of protecting the public.”
Beyond the courtroom and the prison cell, these laws serve a deeper sociological purpose: the shifting of cultural mindsets. For too long, the victims of digital abuse—particularly those whose private images have been shared or who have been slandered via fake accounts—have carried a heavy burden of shame. The new law sends a clear message that the shame belongs to the perpetrator, not the survivor.
Marina’s journey is far from over. Only a month ago, her husband attacked her physically once again, leaving her with head injuries so severe she has been unable to return to work. The road to recovery is long, and the divorce proceedings are fraught with difficulty. Yet, she remains hopeful that her story will serve as a beacon for others.
“I wish more women knew that digital violence is also violence,” Marina says. “It is not something you have to ‘just ignore’ or ‘get over.’ It is a crime. Thanks to the counseling I received, I finally understood that I don’t have to be ashamed. I hope that by the time this law is fully in effect, every girl in Moldova will know that her safety online is a right, not a privilege.”
As the world prepares for the annual “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence,” which runs from November 25 to December 10, Moldova’s legislative progress stands as a powerful example of the #NoExcuse campaign. The digital world is evolving, and with this landmark law, Moldova is ensuring that its justice system evolves with it, proving that there is no excuse for abuse—whether it happens on the street or behind a screen.
