First-ever European Court decision on servitude of persons with disabilities reveals systemic failures in Moldova’s deinstitutionalisation practices 

• Validity has prepared an Easy-to-Read Summary of the Court’s Decision: see here.

The European Court of Human Rights has delivered a groundbreaking judgment concerning the right of a woman with disabilities not to be held in servitude and forced labour. The Court found that Moldova had violated the rights of I.C., who had been sexually abused and forced to work without any remuneration on a private farm, with the knowledge of the Moldovan authorities. After she managed to escape, the Moldovan police, prosecutors and judges insisted that nothing illegal had happened and disputed her credibility. They also used gender and disability-based stereotypes to justify negative findings.  

The judgment revealed serious flaws in Moldova’s approach to deinstitutionalisation, where persons with disabilities such as I.C. can be “placed” with families without adequate safeguards or support systems. The judgment is the first time the Court has addressed the issue of servitude against persons with disabilities in the context of deinstitutionalisation under Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Olesea Doronceanu, the domestic lawyer who represented the applicant on behalf of the Moldovan Institute for Human Rights (IDOM) gave her reaction to the Court’s decision:  

“The judgment today is the result of 5 years of fighting against a legal and social system whose decisions do not comply with international standards. The European Court asked the Moldovan authorities to act, and we shall ensure that this judgment is observed in our country.” 

 Case Background 

I.C.’s ordeal started when the director of the institution she had been living agreed to “give” her to a family, upon the family’s request, purportedly as part of Moldova’s deinstitutionalisation process. Once in the family’s home, she was forced to do household labour without any remuneration and under the threat of punishment if she refused. Subsequently, the landlord started to sexually abuse her, threatening that she had nowhere else to go and that she would not be believed if she dared to complain. 

Over the years she tried to escape on several occasions. Yet, the lack of food and other living  options forced I.C. to return to the family. Validity learned of her situation after she contacted a hotline dedicated to persons with disabilities. She placed the call for these reasons: 

“I called the hotline because I no longer want such a life. I want I.P. to leave me in peace, no longer chase after me [and] no longer seek sex from me. I am not lying, I am telling you how things are.” 

In the domestic criminal proceedings, the authorities used her disability and her lack of support as a reason to justify closing the case. For example, one of the domestic judgments states that I.C. could not expect complete freedom as she had a disability. The domestic judges and prosecutors incorrectly concluded that a person’s wish to avoid institutional living somehow negated the possibility of abuse occurring within a family placement. 

Findings of the European Court of Human Rights 

The European Court disagreed with the Moldovan government’s position and instead emphasised that I.C.’s circumstances should have prompted the authorities to properly investigate her case. The Court emphasised the weaknesses in the Moldovan approach to deinstitutionalisation of persons with disabilities. In particular, I.C. had not been offered any support or community-based system and was instead “placed” with a private family without any official oversight. The Court stressed that this superficial approach to deinstitutionalisation creates dangerous opportunities for new forms of exploitation and abuse.  

The Court further found that the criminal investigation was conducted without offering I.C. procedural accommodations, a failure the Court recognised as a form of discrimination against persons with disabilities. Procedural accommodations refer to adjustments to the legal system, including evidence giving, designed to ensure that persons with disabilities are able to participate on an equal basis with others. Further, I.C.’s disability was used to question her credibility in the criminal proceedings, despite evidence that she was not prone to exaggeration. 

The first thing I.C. said when she was told about this judgment was: “Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I tell you that they will not get away with what they did?”  

This is also the reason I.C. persevered all the way to the European Court of Human Rights: she wanted to be believed.  

Simona Florescu, Validity’s Litigation Director said:  

“Justice is important for all of us, but it is especially important for persons with disabilities who face systems built against them. At all stages of the litigation, the victim in this case had to hear that she deserved what happened to her simply because she had a disability. No person should have to face this.”  

Florescu added: “Protection was used here as a justification for abuse. We are happy to see the European Court of Human Rights deconstructing this, and we hope that the domestic authorities will take this judgment seriously and build community-based services and support networks for persons with disabilities. Deinstitutionalisation should be a process to empower persons with disabilities and not one depriving them of rights even further.” 

About the Organisations 

The Moldovan Institute for Human Rights (IDOM) is a nongovernmental organisation from the Republic of Moldova, founded in 2007 whose major aim is to contribute to raising awareness, promoting and protecting rights and liberties guaranteed by the national and international legal frameworks. 

Validity Foundation is a leading legal advocacy organisation focused on tackling the generations of isolation, segregation and exclusion faced by persons with disabilities in Europe and Africa, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

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