Prostitution in Romania is not itself criminalized, although associated activities, such as procuring, are criminal offenses, and solicitation is a contravention punishable by fines.
In the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century there were legalized brothels, but these were closed by the communist regime in the late 1940s, and prostitution itself became a criminal offense in 1957.[1] Prostitution was decriminalized in 2014, as the new Penal code of Romania, which came into force on 1 February 2014, no longer contains such a criminal offense. Prior to that date, it was considered a criminal offense (infracţiune) punishable by up to a year imprisonment.[2]
There had been proposals in the past to legalize and regulate prostitution (such as in 2007)[3] but these were rejected, especially as Romania is a party to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, which states that prostitution is "incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and endanger[s] the welfare of the individual, the family and the community" and binds countries which ratify it to ban organized prostitution such as pandering or running a brothel. According to the official explanations of the Ministry of Justice, with regard to the new penal code "the fact that prostitution will be excluded from criminal penalties does not mean "legalizing "it, transforming the activity into one regulated or permitted by law, because the persons practicing prostitution will still be sanctioned with a contravention."[4] The Association for the Promotion of Women in Romania opposes legalized prostitution, as they view prostitution as "another form of violence against women and girls".[5] The Romanian Orthodox Church also opposed the legalisation.[3]
In 2008 an EU-funded survey by TAMPEP found Romania was top country of origin of migrant sex workers in the EU.[6]
On January 20, 2010, Iana Matei was named "European of the Year" by Reader's Digest for finding and rehabilitating victims of forced prostitution.[7][8][9][10]
APFR considera prostitutia o alta forma de violenta impotriva femeii, de aceea a luat pozitie ferma impotriva legalizarii acesteia. Atitutdinea organizatiei este sustinuta si de rezultatele unei cercetari efectuate in cadrul organizatie care arata situatia prostitutiei in diferite tari, atat in cele care au legalizat-o cat si in cele care au legi impotriva ei.