Domestic violence (DV) in the country was largely ignored during the Communist era, and development has been slow during the transition period in the 1990s, but it has started to be addressed, socially and legally, in the 21st century.
217/2003 on the prevention of family violence was Romania's first specific law dealing with DV.
[5] This law describes seven types of DV:[6] a) verbal violence (aggressive language, insults, threats, humiliation) b) psychological violence (includes controlling behavior, provoking psychological harm and tensions on the victim, endangering animals, destroying property, threats, displaying weapons, excessive jealousy, and other controlling behaviors) c) physical violence (several acts are described by the law, including hitting, punching, poisoning) d) sexual violence (coercion and harassment into sexual activity, including marital rape.
Marital rape, in Romanian viol conjugal, is explicitly listed as sexual violence) e) economic violence (includes the prohibition of working outside the home, depriving family members of food or clothes, as well as forced child labor of a minor child) f) social violence (includes isolating the victim, forbidding them to see family or friends, it also includes stopping family members from attending school) g) spiritual violence (stopping family members from pursuing cultural, ethic or religious interests, or forcing them to pursue certain beliefs/spiritual practices) In Romania, 800 people were killed in DV incidents between 2004 and 2011.
In a 2013 Romanian survey, 30.9% of respondents agreed with the assertion that "women are sometimes beaten due to their own fault".