International Social Work 51(5): 623–633

i s w Sage Publications: Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore DOI: 10.1177/0020872808093341

Domestic violence services in Romania A longitudinal case study

Jane S. Wimmer and Pamela Awtrey Harrington

This article describes a domestic violence intervention and prevention program in Sighisoara, Romania, called Floare de Colt‚. It began in 2003 as a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partnership project between the Social Work Program at Cornerstone University, Michigan, and the Veritas Foundation in Sighisoara. A locality development model with international assistance was used to create services. Program goals included the creation of a community-wide response system and capacity building of multi-disciplinary community stakeholders, and goals were evaluated using a longitudinal case study methodology. The context The recent work of global organizations highlights the pervasive and traumatic effects of domestic violence as well as the need for a multilevel and coordinated response. The eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2005) include the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women and an agenda of halting violence against women. The World Health Organization’s World Report on Violence and Health (Krug et al., 2002) testified to widespread domestic violence, including physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Forty-eight population-based studies showed that 10–69

Key words case study domestic violence development Romania

international partnership

locality

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percent of women worldwide had been physically abused by a male partner at some time in their lives and that over 90 percent of these women experienced psychological and/or sexual abuse as well. Of female murder victims, 40–70 percent were killed by a spouse or other intimate partner. The issue of domestic violence in Romania began to attract international attention within a few years of the fall of communism in December 1989. In 1994 the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (1995) found that domestic violence was a widespread social problem in Romania. However, only in recent years has the issue of domestic violence been addressed with the passage of legislation in May 2003 pertaining to family violence prevention and punishment. Neither the General Police Inspectorate nor the Prosecutors’ Office gathers statistics specifically on violence against women (Open Society Institute, 2006). During a 12-month period in 2002–3, 827,000 Romanian women described themselves as having been frequently subjected to some form of domestic violence and over 340,000 children witnessed physical violence in the home (Center for Partnership and Equality, 2003). Robila and Krishnakumar (2005) and Kideckel (2004) discussed the increase in Romanian domestic violence related to economic difficulties as the country moved from communism to a market economy. In February 2003 a coalition of 32 non-governmental organizations, including Floare de Colt‚, was established with the mission ‘to prevent and combat violence against women in Romania, upholding women’s rights as human rights’ (Secretary General of the VIF Coalition, 2005: 4). The coalition’s priorities include the development of legislation, the establishment of standards and representation at the decisionmaking level (Secretary General of the VIF Coalition, 2005). While their work continues to be impressive and encouraging, the 2006 Violence against Women Fact Sheet states that Romania ‘has not developed any common indicators to evaluate the scope of violence against women’ (Open Society Institute, 2006: 3). Various governmental attempts to address the issues, such as the National Strategy on Preventing and Combating Family Violence for 2005–2007, present admirable goals but have been threatened by budgetary constraints and lack of political prioritization. Literature review Scholars from various parts of the world have called attention to domestic violence programs for underserved populations (Chan, 2006; Chan and Lam, 2005; Cheers et al., 2006; Hatashita et al., 2006; Lawoko,

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2006; Minaker and Snider, 2006; Rajan, 2004). From research focusing on attitudes, prevalence, effects, and access and barriers to services, common themes of acceptance of intra-familial violence and difficulties in reporting and receiving help have emerged. The cultural acceptance of domestic violence is prevalent worldwide. In North India one study found that 25.1 percent of the men admitted to physical violence against their wives in the preceding 12-month period and 30.1 percent acknowledged sexual violence towards wives (Koenig et al., 2006). In Albania ‘abused women learn to survive by silencing their voices’ and in communist dictatorships ‘there was a governmentally enforced code of silence about domestic violence as well as other social problems’ (Van Hook et al., 2000: 352). A survey of 200 university students in Romania and 155 in the USA found that 76.9 percent of the American students believed that domestic violence was a major problem compared with 55.9 percent of the Romanian students. In responding to a scenario of wife-beating, 79 percent of the American students favored reporting the incident to the police but only 33 percent of the Romanian students (Knickrehm and Teske, 2000). Ritchie and Eby (2007) presented a ‘coordinated community response system’ (p. 121) developed with professionals from the USA, Honduras and Costa Rica, which raised capacity and awareness providing services for victims of domestic violence in a cross-cultural context. They addressed the needs for coordination and communication, diverse and holistic service provision, legal services and community education. Their findings mirrored the needs that drove the creation of the Floare de Colt‚ program. International research reflects three barriers across cultures: lack of community awareness, legal issues, and psychological feelings of shame and fear. All of these played a role in the design of the Floare de Colt‚ program. The ability of both victims and perpetrators to comprehend that physical and sexual assault is unacceptable is related to community mores. Cheers et al. (2006: 55) in a qualitative study of family violence in an Australian Aboriginal community found that ‘for this community, the first step in addressing family violence is to ensure that everyone participates in the community’s naming and conceptualizing of it’. Ritchie and Eby (2007: 133) highlighted the cultural difficulty of naming and discussing this issue in their work in the USA, Honduras and Costa Rica, stating: ‘The need for increased education around domestic violence was especially evidenced in the lack of definitional clarity.’ Legal issues pertaining to the rights of women, criminal prosecution of perpetrators and the treatment of victims combine to create a second barrier to services and reporting. Rajan (2004) discussed the

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complexity of legal protection for women under current law in India. Issues of matrimonial property and religious laws and customs were two concerns that complicated the protection of women within their marriages. Ritchie and Eby (2007) found that immigrant populations in the Washington, DC area hesitated to seek domestic violence services because of the complex and sometimes insensitive legal and judicial system. In Honduras ‘participants cited deficiencies in the laws regarding women’s rights and protection, inadequate enforcement of existing laws by both police and the judicial system, a lack of police protection, and problems of corruption’ (p. 138). As a third barrier, shame and fear play important roles in preventing the reporting of domestic violence and in obtaining services and safety. These emotions are poignantly illustrated in the words of a young woman presented in the introduction to the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights report on Bulgaria (1996): ‘We live in a house in a small village. Right now, my leg is broken. I have not told anyone, not even my mother and my father, that my husband pushed me down the stairs. My doctor asked me “How did this happen?” I made up a thousand stories. I cannot tell them the truth.’ In an Israeli study, Buchbinder and Eisikovits (2003) found that shame traps women, decreasing their selfesteem and confidence and restricting their ability to leave an abusive marriage. Cheers et al. (2006) found grief and shame pervasive in the Aboriginal participants in their study. Floare de Colt‚: a local response to domestic violence Before the Floare de Colt‚ project started, domestic violence services did not exist in Sighisoara, a town of approximately 40,000, or its surrounding areas. The program was designed to ‘establish the foundation for a community-wide response to domestic violence’ (Rosner, 2003: 11). In 2003 the Veritas Foundation had 29 full-time employees and provided educational and social services, including programs for families, children, the elderly and those with disabilities, and income generation. Veritas staff were concerned with the problem of family violence and the fact that the community had a dearth of options. In May 2002, before the Floare de Colt‚ program began, USAID sponsored a conference on domestic violence in Sighisoara and helped fund a local hotline for abused women. In spite of community interest and a local task force that developed, the program was unsuccessful because of the lack of community resources and referral systems. Veritas and Cornerstone University responded to this community lack

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by applying for the USAID grant. Veritas described the extent of the problem as follows: No systematic records exist identifying occurrences of domestic violence. Anecdotal evidence abounds, and there is general agreement among doctors, police, educators and clergy that there is a serious problem . . . Emergency room doctors claim that there is at least one case of violence-induced injury on every shift, while nurses on surgical wards regret that they have no alternatives to sending battered women home to their violent husbands. It is evident that there are virtually no services available. (Tarrant, 2003: 8)

As the grant partner, Cornerstone University’s Social Work Program provided more than 100 percent cost match with in-kind donations including faculty salaries, secretarial and library assistance, accounting expertise, consultation, graphic design and website development. Community connections from the social work director and the university brought in a spectrum of interested and experienced professionals who comprised a Cornerstone University task force that complemented and assisted a Sighisoara task force. Six of these professionals traveled as volunteers to Romania to facilitate a three-day domestic violence conference and provided public relations materials, management support, consultation, and training for individuals and groups. In addition, eight social work students spent three weeks in Romania and helped initiate school-based domestic violence awareness through drama and the distribution of materials on healthy relationships. Floare de Colt‚ used the framework of locality development, ‘a purposive process by which awareness emerges along with a desire to act in order to resolve problems’ (Cnaan and Rothman, 2001: 254). Extensive community input, the use of a task force, community education and involvement of the international partner were the methods of community intervention. The locality development method was determined by several factors. First, the lack of statistics but wealth of anecdotal data about spousal abuse indicated the need for general community education and the improvement of identification and documentation of domestic violence occurrences. Second, the failure of the domestic violence hotline in the preceding year underscored the need for organizational capacity development and community networking. Third, the short-term nature of the funding available from USAID required a method of intervention that would motivate a cross-section of community professionals to work together to ensure sustainability. Fourth, broad community attitudes needed to change to provide a climate where domestic violence would be seen as a crime and a community concern. Fifth, the total lack of services for victims of domestic violence made

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it necessary to develop a wide range of services requiring an engaged community approach to problem solving. Focusing on a geographically defined problem and engaging a broad spectrum of the local population in problem definition and solutions, Floare de Colt‚ re-established and expanded a community task force of local politicians, civil servants, educators, lawyers, police representatives, a judge, and other community leaders and concerned citizens. Community sensitization and an awareness of the problems of domestic violence emerged. As both designers and implementers of the program, broad community representation was central to Floare de Colt‚. Services were based on a model of domestic violence intervention from Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice (Schechter and Edleson, 1999) and on intervention models from the USA (National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, 1998). Addressing the identified needs of counseling, legal services and safety, staff consisted of a program director, psychologist, a legal counselor and a family counselor. A three-day invitational conference in the second month of the project, intensive staff and community training, media coverage, extensive publicity and public awareness activities were important components of the project. At the grant’s end, an open house with a prominent national speaker and the attendance of approximately 100 professionals, including representatives from key national initiatives, gave the project credibility for its new phase of sustainability. The evaluation of the program was concerned with the success of the program as it related to community organization, the creation of services and the development of organizational capacity. Case study methodology The researchers used a longitudinal case study approach to evaluating Floare de Colt‚. Both researchers had contributed to the writing of the original grant, and one researcher participated extensively in developing staff capacity in the program’s first year. However, the development of community participation and all client services were the work of the Romanian staff. Thus, although the researchers were supportive of the program, we felt removed enough from the community, organization and provision of services to objectively evaluate. Out of respect for confidentiality and the emotional trauma of the clients, and with sensitivity to the intrusiveness of English-speaking researchers, direct client interviews were not held.

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Individual interviews, focus groups with staff and community partners, and program observations were used to gather data. The researchers, individually or in tandem, were on site at the program five times between April 2003 and August 2007. Interviews were held with the program director on each visit and the program staff were interviewed individually or as a group each year. One or both researchers attended three Sighisoara task force meetings in 2003 and one researcher chaired monthly Cornerstone University task force meetings held from April 2003 to May 2004. A final report of the grant period was prepared for USAID using interviews with staff and an outcome measurement scale developed to meet contract requirements (Wimmer, 2004). Other communication and annual face-to-face meetings in the USA with two members of the Floare de Colt‚ staff and/or the Veritas director increased the information flow. Results of the program The accomplishments of the program can be discussed both in terms of the USAID grant period and through follow-up data maintained for four years. Outputs at the end of the grant included a task force of 16 well-trained local representatives, over 100 community professionals trained in domestic violence issues, 15 local professionals able to provide crisis counseling and legal support to victims, a standardized reporting protocol and response network, a resource library, an interactive website, the distribution of over 20,000 public awareness pamphlets and 56 instances of major local media coverage. Services established included a confidential referral system, social work services, psychological counseling, legal services, medical referral, and a shelter for women and their children. Eighty-five women had used the services at the end of the grant period (Wimmer, 2004). Staff reports of the improved safety and wellbeing of clients were extensive. Even more rewarding has been the ongoing functioning of the holistically-focused program. Four years after obtaining the original funding, 468 clients from all socio-economic and educational levels had received services. Of this number, 55 percent were women who had experienced abuse from a domestic partner, 5 percent were men requesting services related to domestic violence, and 40 percent were children who were victims of abuse themselves or had been affected by their mother’s abuse. The average age of adults receiving services was 35. Domestic violence has been defined broadly at Floare de Colt‚; the youngest victim receiving services was a sexually abused seven-year-old girl, and the oldest was a 74-year-old man abused by his son. Most clients

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come from the majority Romanian population, with approximately 15 percent from the Roma population. The impact of the program was emphasized by a hospital nurse who told a visiting researcher, ‘If Floare de Colt‚ was not there for Mariana she would have no option but to return to her husband, and I fear that he would kill her.’ Domestic violence services throughout Romania continue to develop at a steady pace with advocacy and professional peer support from programs nationwide. Veritas is now active in a national advocacy coalition of 32 domestic violence-related organizations. The Sighisoara task force evolved into a county-level working group that continues to meet regularly. Excellent program staff have been retained and continue their professional development. Challenges remain in three areas: public funding, adequate shelter facilities and services for perpetrators. Public funding was allocated for 2005 with support from the county council, but in spite of a requirement from the national government for the support of domestic violence projects, local politicians refused to release the funds. As of mid-2007, the program continued to function on private donations as it has since the end of the USAID grant. The local shelter that existed during the first two years of the program was closed because of problems with finance and community acceptance, and a successful referral relationship was developed with a shelter in the county’s capital 54 km away; however, a short-term crisis shelter is needed in Sighisoara. Fewer than 10 percent of the women have used shelter services. Family counseling currently serves as the focus of help for violent partners, but there is not a formalized program for perpetrators. The Floare de Colt‚ staff are keenly aware of the need for training in this area, and it remains an arena in which international collaboration could once again move Romanian services forward. Discussion and application to practice The community of Sighisoara greatly benefited from the development of a domestic violence program, and the project partners expanded their knowledge of cooperative international program development. Mutual respect with shared concern and vision characterized the project. The method of locality development was well suited to meet the needs of the community, professionals and clients in Sighisoara. The community owned the project as a grassroots effort, and stakeholders were participants and learners together. Several hurdles confronted both research and international program consultation. Cultural and language differences limited communication

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in subtle ways, especially with sensitive topics such as marital rape and shame. Translators were often used, particularly in conversing with government and community professionals. Additionally, there was limited contact with victims of domestic violence. Also, the researchers did not continue direct contact with Romanian community stakeholders after 2004. In 2003 Romania was in the early stage of recognizing domestic violence as an important issue, and as a result there was little experience available as background for Floare de Colt‚. This was both an exciting opportunity and a hindrance to program development and research. This research is limited to events in Sighisoara and does not reflect information on the broader development of domestic violence services in Romania that has occurred since Floare de Colt‚ began. Conclusion The success of Floare de Colt‚ is attributable to three factors. First, the community recognized the need for services for families affected by domestic violence and created an environment to provide these services. Second, the staff of Floare de Colt‚ were dedicated to serving families and worked diligently to create services, learn and use new skills, and meet the needs of individual clients. Finally, the international partners who served as trainers and consultants contributed greatly to the increased capacity of the Romanian professionals to meet the challenge of program development in a short period of time. The permanence of Floare de Colt‚ was emphasized by the legal advocate on staff when she corrected the language of a researcher during a site visit in the summer of 2007. Referring to the services as a ‘project’, a reflection of the grant status that initiated Floare de Colt‚, the correction was, ‘It’s not a “project”, it’s a “program”. We are here to stay.’ References Buchbinder, E. and Z. Eisikovits (2003) ‘Battered Women’s Entrapment in Shame: A Phenomenological Study’, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 73(4): 355–66. Center for Partnership and Equality (2003) ‘National Research on Domestic Violence and Violence in the Workplace’. Available online at: http://www.cpe.ro/english/ index.php?option=com_contentandtask=viewandid=27andItemid=48 (accessed 22 October 2007). Chan, K.L. (2006) ‘The Chinese Concept of Face and Violence against Women’, International Social Work 49(1): 65–73. Chan, Y.C. and G.L.T. Lam (2005) ‘Unraveling the Rationale for a One-Stop Service under the Family and Child Protection Service Units in Hong Kong’, International Social Work 48(4): 419–28.

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Cheers, B., M. Binell, H. Coleman, I. Gentle, G. Miller, J. Taylor and C. Weetra (2006) ‘Family Violence: An Australian Indigenous Community Tells Its Story’, International Social Work 49(1): 51–63. Cnaan, R.A. and J. Rothman (2001) ‘Locality Development and the Building of Community’, in J. Rothman, J.L. Erlich and J.E. Tropman (eds) Strategies of Community Intervention, 6th edn, pp. 251–67. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Hatashita, H., K. Hirao, K.A. Brykczynski and E.T. Anderson (2006) ‘Grassroots Efforts of Japanese Women to Promote Services for Abused Women’, Nursing and Health Sciences 8: 169–74. Kideckel, D.A. (2004) ‘Miners and Wives in Romania’s Jui Valley: Perspectives on Postsocialist Class, Gender, and Social Change’, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 11: 39–63. Knickrehm, K.M. and R.L. Teske (2000) ‘Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence among Romanian and U.S. University Students: A Cross-cultural Comparison’, Women and Politics 21(3): 27–51. Koenig, M.A., R. Stephenson, A. Saifuddin, S.J. Jejeebhoy and J. Campbell (2006) ‘Individual and Contextual Determinants of Domestic Violence in North India’, American Journal of Public Health 96(1): 132–8. Krug, E.G., L.L. Dahlberg, J.A. Mercy, A.B. Zwi and R. Lozano (2002) World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva: World Health Organization. Lawoko, S. (2006) ‘Factors Associated with Attitudes toward Intimate Partner Violence: A Study of Women in Zambia’, Violence and Victims 21(5): 645–56. Minaker, J.C. and L. Snider (2006) ‘Husband Abuse: Equality with a Vengeance?’, Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice 48(5): 753–80. Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (1995) ‘Lifting the Last Curtain: A Report on Domestic Violence in Romania’, Women’s International Network News 21(2): 30–7. Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (1996) ‘Domestic Violence in Bulgaria’, Document 0–929293 40–01. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (1998) Family Violence: Emerging Programs for Battered Mothers and Their Children. Reno, NV: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Open Society Institute (2006) Violence against Women: Does the Government Care in Romania? Fact Sheet. New York: Open Society Institute. Rajan, R.S. (2004) ‘Rethinking Law and Violence: The Domestic Violence (Prevention) Bill in India, 2002’, Gender and History 16(3): 769–93. Ritchie, D.J. and K.K. Eby (2007) ‘Transcending Boundaries: An International, Interdisciplinary Community Partnership to Address Domestic Violence’, Journal of Community Practice 15(1/2): 121–45. Robila, M. and A. Krishnakumar (2005) ‘Effects of Economic Pressure on Marital Conflict in Romania’, Journal of Family Psychology 19(2): 246–51. Rosner, L. (2003) ‘Sub-grant Agreement No. 186-A-00–00–00113 (27-RO)’. Unpublished manuscript. Bucharest: World Learning. Schechter, S. and J.L. Edleson (1999) Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice. Reno, NV: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Secretary General of the VIF Coalition (2005) ‘The Coalition of NGOs Working in the Area of Violence against Women: 2004 Annual Report’. Bucharest: Secretary General of the VIF Coalition.

Wimmer & Awtrey Harrington: Domestic violence services in Romania 633 Tarrant, D. (2003) ‘Response to the Invitation for Application: Romanian-American Sustainable Partnerships (RASP) Umbrella Grant Program’. Unpublished manuscript. Sighisoara: Veritas. United Nations (2005) ‘UN Millennium Development Goals’. Available online at: www. un.org/millenniumgoals/ (accessed 20 October 2007). Van Hook, M.P., E. Haxhiymer and E. Gjermeni (2000) ‘Responding to Gender Violence in Albania: A Partnership Effort’, International Social Work 43(3): 351–63. Wimmer, J.S. (2004) ‘Final Evaluation of the Floare de Colt‚ Program’. Unpublished manuscript. Woodstock, GA: Child and Family Associated Consultants.

Jane S. Wimmer is an instructor and child welfare specialist in the School of Social Work at Dalton State College, 650 College Drive, Dalton, GA 30720, USA. [email: [email protected]] Pamela Awtrey Harrington is an international consultant who previously resided and worked in Romania. Address: 4961 Michigan Street NE, Ada, MI 49301, USA.