International Social Work 51(5): 623633

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 loca-
lity 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 commu-
nity 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 multi-
level 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 halt-
ing violence against women. The World Health Organizations World
Report on Violence and Health (Krug et al., 2002) testified to wide-
spread domestic violence, including physical, psychological and
sexual abuse. Forty-eight population-based studies showed that 1069

Key words case study domestic violence international partnership locality

development Romania

Downloaded from isw.sagepub.com at Universitatea din Craiova on November 20, 2016

624 International Social Work volume 51(5)

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, 4070 percent were killed by a spouse or other
intimate partner.
The issue of domestic violence in Romania began to attract inter-
national 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 domes-
tic violence been addressed with the passage of legislation in May
2003 pertaining to family violence prevention and punishment. Nei-
ther the General Police Inspectorate nor the Prosecutors Office gath-
ers statistics specifically on violence against women (Open Society
Institute, 2006). During a 12-month period in 20023, 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 wom-
ens rights as human rights (Secretary General of the VIF Coalition,
2005: 4). The coalitions priorities include the development of legisla-
tion, the establishment of standards and representation at the decision-
making 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 20052007, 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 domes-
tic violence programs for underserved populations (Chan, 2006; Chan
and Lam, 2005; Cheers et al., 2006; Hatashita et al., 2006; Lawoko,

Downloaded from isw.sagepub.com at Universitatea din Craiova on November 20, 2016

 Wimmer & Awtrey Harrington: Domestic violence services in Romania 625

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 difficul-
ties 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 silenc-
ing their voices and in communist dictatorships there was a govern-
mentally 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 ser-
vices 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 physi-
cal 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 par-
ticipates in the communitys 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 vio-
lence was especially evidenced in the lack of definitional clarity.
Legal issues pertaining to the rights of women, criminal prosecu-
tion of perpetrators and the treatment of victims combine to create a
second barrier to services and reporting. Rajan (2004) discussed the

Downloaded from isw.sagepub.com at Universitatea din Craiova on November 20, 2016

626 International Social Work volume 51(5)

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 regard-
ing womens 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 self-
esteem 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 ser-
vices 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 disabili-
ties, 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 inte-
rest and a local task force that developed, the program was unsuccess-
ful because of the lack of community resources and referral systems.
Veritas and Cornerstone University responded to this community lack

Downloaded from isw.sagepub.com at Universitatea din Craiova on November 20, 2016

 Wimmer & Awtrey Harrington: Domestic violence services in Romania 627

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 Universitys Social Work Program

provided more than 100 percent cost match with in-kind donations
including faculty salaries, secretarial and library assistance, accoun-
ting expertise, consultation, graphic design and website development.
Community connections from the social work director and the univer-
sity 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 sup-
port, 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 pur-
posive process by which awareness emerges along with a desire to act
in order to resolve problems (Cnaan and Rothman, 2001: 254). Exten-
sive community input, the use of a task force, community education
and involvement of the international partner were the methods of com-
munity 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 orga-
nizational 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 com-
munity 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

Downloaded from isw.sagepub.com at Universitatea din Craiova on November 20, 2016

628 International Social Work volume 51(5)

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 solu-
tions, 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 implemen-
ters of the program, broad community representation was central to
Floare de Colt.
Services were based on a model of domestic violence interven-
tion 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 cover-
age, extensive publicity and public awareness activities were important
components of the project. At the grants 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 eva-
luation 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 develop-
ing staff capacity in the programs 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 sensi-
tivity to the intrusiveness of English-speaking researchers, direct client
interviews were not held.

Downloaded from isw.sagepub.com at Universitatea din Craiova on November 20, 2016

 Wimmer & Awtrey Harrington: Domestic violence services in Romania 629

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 resear-
chers 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 profes-
sionals trained in domestic violence issues, 15 local professionals able
to provide crisis counseling and legal support to victims, a standar-
dized 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 ser-
vices, 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 holisti-
cally-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 mothers
abuse. The average age of adults receiving services was 35. Domes-
tic 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

Downloaded from isw.sagepub.com at Universitatea din Craiova on November 20, 2016

630 International Social Work volume 51(5)

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 con-
tinue 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 require-
ment 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 relation-
ship was developed with a shelter in the countys 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 commu-
nity 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

Downloaded from isw.sagepub.com at Universitatea din Craiova on November 20, 2016

 Wimmer & Awtrey Harrington: Domestic violence services in Romania 631

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 com-
munity 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 deve-
lopment 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 serv-
ing families and worked diligently to create services, learn and use
new skills, and meet the needs of individual clients. Finally, the inter-
national 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, Its not a project, its a program. We are here to stay.

References

Buchbinder, E. and Z. Eisikovits (2003) Battered Womens Entrapment in Shame:

A Phenomenological Study, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 73(4): 35566.
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, Inter-
national Social Work 49(1): 6573.
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): 41928.

Downloaded from isw.sagepub.com at Universitatea din Craiova on November 20, 2016

632 International Social Work volume 51(5)

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, Interna-
tional Social Work 49(1): 5163.
Cnaan, R.A. and J. Rothman (2001) Locality Development and the Building of Com-
munity, in J. Rothman, J.L. Erlich and J.E. Tropman (eds) Strategies of Community
Intervention, 6th edn, pp. 25167. 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: 16974.
Kideckel, D.A. (2004) Miners and Wives in Romanias Jui Valley: Perspectives on
Postsocialist Class, Gender, and Social Change, Identities: Global Studies in Cul-
ture and Power 11: 3963.
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): 2751.
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): 1328.
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): 64556.
Minaker, J.C. and L. Snider (2006) Husband Abuse: Equality with a Vengeance?,
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice 48(5): 75380.
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (1995) Lifting the Last Curtain: A Report
on Domestic Violence in Romania, Womens International Network News 21(2):
307.
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (1996) Domestic Violence in Bulgaria,
Document 0929293 4001. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Advocates for Human
Rights.
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (1998) Family Violence: Emerg-
ing 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): 76993.
Ritchie, D.J. and K.K. Eby (2007) Transcending Boundaries: An International, Inter-
disciplinary Community Partnership to Address Domestic Violence, Journal of
Community Practice 15(1/2): 12145.
Robila, M. and A. Krishnakumar (2005) Effects of Economic Pressure on Marital
Conflict in Romania, Journal of Family Psychology 19(2): 24651.
Rosner, L. (2003) Sub-grant Agreement No. 186-A-000000113 (27-RO). Unpub-
lished 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.

Downloaded from isw.sagepub.com at Universitatea din Craiova on November 20, 2016

 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 Vio-
lence in Albania: A Partnership Effort, International Social Work 43(3): 35163.
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: jwimmer@daltonstate.edu]
Pamela Awtrey Harrington is an international consultant who previously
resided and worked in Romania. Address: 4961 Michigan Street NE, Ada,
MI 49301, USA.

Downloaded from isw.sagepub.com at Universitatea din Craiova on November 20, 2016