Combating hate speech and sexism ahead of parliamentary election
A third edition of the anti-discrimination campaign launched by the Council of Europe in partnership with the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova and UN Women, supported by the European Union, gathered over 60 participants representing national and local authorities, political parties, media, as well as civil society. The aim was to jointly address measures needed to tackle hate speech, sexism and gender-based intolerance building on lessons learned in the context of the Presidential election and the EU-related referendum in autumn 2024.
At the opening of the round table, Falk LANGE, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, highlighted that: “The Council of Europe commitment to democratic values lines up with the support for creating an electoral environment free from discrimination and harmful rhetoric, in particular in the context of electoral campaigns. In this sense, through this event we aim to increase the level of understanding the issues of hate speech, sexist speech and other forms of gender-based violence and to prevent this phenomenon in the upcoming electoral campaign for Parliamentary elections.”
“Hate speech and sexist rhetoric not only harm individuals, especially women and members of vulnerable groups, but they also erode public trust in democratic institutions and poison the atmosphere of political debate. That is why I am a bit worried that I see almost only women at today’s discussion; frankly speaking the perpetrators of sexist speech are likely in majority not to be women. Elections are the cornerstone of democracy — a moment when the voices of citizens must be heard freely, fairly, and without fear, but this vital process can be undermined when hatred, discrimination, and sexism enter the public space. Today’s roundtable is more than a discussion. It is a collective commitment to action. By bringing together Moldovan decision makers, civil society and media, we are creating the conditions for meaningful progress”, mentioned Jānis MAŽEIKS, EU Ambassador in the Republic of Moldova.
“Combating hate speech and sexism in electoral campaigns – an indicator, a litmus paper for the maturity of democracy in the Republic of Moldova. Today’s event is part of a wider effort – an endeavour of synergy, of unity among institutions, political parties, civil society, media and citizens. Because only together can we change not only the rules of the political game, but also the culture in which this game is played”, stressed Angelica CARAMAN, Chairperson of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova.
The discussions focused on the results and trends following the monitoring of hate speech and sexism during 2024 electoral period in audiovisual and online media, storytelling on preventing and combating sexism at the local level, on prevention of gender-based violence against electoral candidates and local elected representatives, pending legal initiatives to combat these phenomena, including during the electoral periods.
As an outcome of the event, participants agreed upon the importance of continuing cooperation and joining efforts to counter hate speech, sexism and all other form of discrimination, ensuring equal rights for all, especially in the context of the upcoming 28 September 2025 Parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova.
This event was organised by the Council of Europe and UN Women Moldova, in cooperation with the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova. The roundtable is part of a joint initiative of the CoE project “Improving electoral practices in the Republic of Moldova, 2025-2028“, EU/CoE project “Combating discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in the Republic of Moldova” (part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme Partnership for Good Governance), CoE Congress project “Reinforcing the culture of dialogue and ethical open local governance in the Republic of Moldova ,CoE project “Supporting the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Republic of Moldova– phase II”.
