We need the EU to remain a friend of civil society. We rely on it in Romania as a positive example of respecting human rights.
– Andreea Rusu, FILIA Center, Romania
Andreea Rusu is the Executive Director of the FILIA Center, a women’s rights organisation in Romania. The FILIA Center studies women’s rights, advocates for solutions, and inspires others – especially in smaller, underserved communities – to do the same. “Of course, this is not a structural solution,” Andreea says. “A structural solution would be national authorities intervening in the right way in the first place.”
“Inspiring others fuels me, because I know that little by little, person by person, you can – and do – make change.”
Growing up, Andreea had become accustomed to the daily challenges and indignities endured by half of Romania’s population – women. Sexual harassment was common. Domestic violence was deemed a private matter, as expressed by the idiom, “Dirty laundry is washed in the family.” Classes on feminism opened Andreea’s eyes. “I realized that in high school, I never read a book written by a woman,” she remembers. Suddenly, she had burning questions, like, “Where are the women in our Parliament?”
Romania’s Constitution specifies that men and women are equal. “I thought that because equality was in the law, it was in reality too,” recalls Andreea. Now, she works to bridge the gap between law and reality.
She works closely with activists and government officials from other EU member states to inspire change. “It helps a lot that we can go to the Romanian authorities and say, ‘Look, in France, they have electronic bracelets [for tracking domestic abusers]. We can do that here too.’”
The EU itself is also a model for change. “Last year,” Andreea notes, “the European Parliament passed a resolution about reproductive health. The fact that the European Parliament said reproductive health is important was really helpful to us; we could point to it in our advocacy campaigns.” EU funds are also critical.
“Unfortunately, in Romania, women’s rights are not a priority. Without EU funding, the infrastructure to protect women’s rights in Romania, including domestic violence shelters, wouldn’t exist.”
Much of Romania’s legislation to counter discrimination and domestic violence is inspired by European standards. Andreea believes that Romania would never have adopted this legislation if it were not for the EU’s encouragement. Today, a key part of Andreea’s mission is to inform EU institutions about shortcomings in the implementation of these laws. In her experience, EU representatives aren’t always open to hearing from civil society organisations. “If European politicians only get information from national governments, they won’t get the full picture,” she adds.
Further, Andreea is convinced civil society organisations have an even bigger role to play. “Without a strong and stable civil society that acts as a watchdog and tells you if things are going in the wrong direction, you will be blindsided by the decline of democracy in a country. A healthy democracy is directly related to the health of its civil society.”
Andreea Rusu is the Executive Director of FILIA Center, a feminist NGO making women’s voices heard through advocacy, activism, community work and research in Romania. FILIA focuses on women’s access to safety and reproductive health and rights. Andreea also cofounded the first initiative in Eastern Europe to address and combat sexual harassment in universities.
