For more than two decades, the walls of Marina’s home served as a silent witness to a cycle of physical and emotional torment. Like many survivors of domestic abuse, the mother of two eventually reached a point where the cost of staying outweighed the terrifying uncertainty of leaving. In 2021, she finally gathered the courage to walk away, filing for divorce and seeking a new life of peace for herself and her children. However, as Marina soon discovered, the end of a marriage does not always signal the end of a predator’s reach. In the modern age, an abuser no longer needs to be in the same room to inflict terror; they only need a digital connection.
The violence Marina thought she had escaped simply mutated, migrating from the physical world into the digital ether. Her former husband orchestrated a campaign of high-tech psychological warfare, employing third parties to surveil, stalk, and film her without her consent. The intimacy of her private life was weaponized as he created fraudulent social media profiles in her name, maliciously claiming she provided sexual services to strangers. Death threats flickered across her screen at all hours of the day and night. Under Moldova’s current legislative framework, these digital assaults are often categorized merely as misdemeanors. For years, perpetrators have operated with a sense of near-total impunity, frequently escaping the consequences of their actions by paying a negligible fine—a price many consider a small fee for the continued control of their victims.
But the tide is finally turning in Eastern Europe. On 14 February 2026, a landmark suite of legal amendments will come into force in Moldova, signaling a seismic shift in how the state perceives and punishes technology-facilitated gender-based violence. This legislative overhaul aims to dismantle the digital loopholes that have left women like Marina vulnerable for far too long. Under the new laws, stalking will be elevated to a criminal offense, carrying a penalty of up to two years in prison. In cases where the perpetrator is a family member or a former partner—recognizing the heightened lethality of domestic situations—the sentence can extend to three years.
The significance of this legal evolution cannot be overstated. In Moldova, the digital landscape has become a primary battlefield for gender-based abuse. Statistics reveal a staggering reality: 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 this point, the law lacked the vocabulary to describe these crimes, let alone the teeth to prosecute them. The new amendments provide a comprehensive definition of digital violence, identifying it as any act of harm perpetrated through information technologies or electronic communications. Furthermore, the law introduces the concept of “abusive content data,” a term that encompasses discriminatory, sexist, threatening, obscene, or defamatory digital materials. By establishing this clear legal basis, the Moldovan government is providing prosecutors with the tools necessary to hold digital predators accountable.
This legislative victory is the culmination of a massive, multi-year collaborative effort. It represents a unified front 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 bodies including UN Women, UNFPA, and the Council of Europe. Civil society organizations have also played a pivotal role, ensuring that the voices of survivors remained at the heart of the drafting process. Viorica Șimbalari, Director of the ANPCV, emphasizes that this is about more than just technology; it is about the fundamental right to safety. She notes that ensuring security in the digital space is a natural extension of ensuring safety in every other sphere of life. While digital violence is a modern challenge, it also presents an opportunity for the justice system to prove it can evolve alongside the tools used by those who seek to cause harm.
However, the passage of a law is only the first step in a long journey toward justice. The year 2026 will see a massive push for institutional education. The ANPCV plans to launch intensive training programs for the entire chain of the justice system—police officers, criminal investigators, prosecutors, and judges. The goal is to ensure that when a woman walks into a police station with a smartphone full of threats, she is met with an officer who understands the criminal nature of those messages and knows exactly how to preserve digital evidence.
While the legal framework prepares for 2026, the immediate needs of survivors are being addressed through grassroots legal aid. UN Women, with financial backing from the Government of Denmark, has partnered with the Dacia Centre in Soroca to provide a lifeline for women currently trapped in the legal system. For Marina, this support was the difference between justice and despair. “I was at the end of my strength,” she recalls. “I couldn’t believe that someone would help me for free.” Through the project, she has received professional legal counseling and representation in court—services that would otherwise be financially out of reach for a woman struggling to rebuild her life from scratch.
Tatiana Vicol-Felișcan, a human rights lawyer at the Dacia Centre, has seen firsthand the devastating impact of the “invisible” bruise. She explains that psychological violence is often the most pervasive and least recognized form of abuse, and in the modern era, it almost always manifests through online intimidation or blackmail. While Vicol-Felișcan is optimistic about the new laws, she advocates for further systemic changes, such as the widespread adoption of video hearings. Such measures would allow survivors to testify without the trauma of being in the same room as their abuser, ensuring they feel protected rather than judged by the system.
The urgency of these reforms is underscored by the continued danger survivors face. Even as Marina pursues her divorce and legal recourse, the physical threats remain a harrowing reality. Just one month ago, her husband launched another physical assault, leaving her with severe head injuries that have rendered her unable to work. This brutal reminder of the intersection between digital stalking and physical violence highlights why the new penalties for sexual harassment and stalking are so vital. The updated law will see fines for sexual harassment—including online harassment—climb to USD 3,000, with potential prison sentences of up to four years, doubling the previous maximum. If the victim is a minor, the stakes are even higher, with sentences reaching up to seven years.
Dominika Stojanoska, UN Women Moldova Country Representative, views these amendments as a testament to Moldova’s commitment to the dignity and freedom of its citizens. She stresses that the effectiveness of the new legal framework will depend entirely on its implementation. The transition from paper to practice requires a cultural shift within the judiciary and law enforcement, moving away from a culture of dismissal toward one of rigorous enforcement.
Ultimately, these laws are designed to do more than just fill prison cells; they are designed to change the national consciousness. By criminalizing digital abuse, the state is sending a clear message that the “virtual” world is a real place with real consequences. For Marina, the most important outcome is the empowerment of the next generation of women. She hopes her story and the new legal protections will encourage others to step out of the shadows. “I wish more women knew that digital violence is also violence and that they can get help for free,” she says. Through her journey, she has learned a vital lesson that she hopes to pass on: the shame of abuse belongs solely to the aggressor, never the victim.
As the world observes the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence under the banner of #NoExcuse, Moldova’s legislative progress serves as a beacon of hope. Digital spaces should be platforms for connection, education, and empowerment, not minefields of control and harassment. By codifying these protections, Moldova is taking a decisive stand: online abuse is not just a “part of the internet”—it is a crime, and it will no longer be tolerated.
