Validity Foundation - Mental Disability Advocacy Centre

Moldova: Psychiatrist guilty of raping multiple women with disabilities

By Validity 25th October 2016

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Today in Bălți, Moldova, a psychiatrist was found guilty of several counts of rape that he committed during the course of a decade against 16 women under his care in a 400-bed social care institution. Dr. Florea Stanislav was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment.

Ana (not her real name) recounted at the trial how she was first raped 15 years ago when Dr. Florea, drunk, assaulted her in his office. She recalled the scratches on her back caused by her skin being rubbed on the rough floor of the office. The psychiatrist was able to continue the rapes because he threatened the women with locking them in seclusion and subjecting them to large doses of neuroleptic medication that would cause unpleasant side effects. It took the authorities many years to act and before prosecutors opened investigations.

Oana Gîrlescu, Validity (formerly MDAC) Lawyer, has been covering the trial and said:

“Today’s conviction is a recognition of the horrors of institutional care. Institutions breed exploitation, violence and abuse. The criminal trial focused on the narrow issue of the guilt of the defendant. International human rights law demands that the Moldovan Government establishes an independent investigation into how these women were allowed to be raped for so long. We call on the authorities to put together a package of rehabilitation for all women affected and a plan to evacuate all residents out of the institution as soon as possible and into the community where, with individualised supports, all of them can live.”