language, religion, sex, opinion, political adherence, property or social origin". Art 48 (1) ensures equal rights in family law: "The family is founded on the freely consented marriage of the spouses, their full equality [...]." The rights of women in the workforce are also protected: Article 47 (2) reads: "Citizens have the right to pensions, paid maternity leave [...]" and Article 41 states: (2) "All employees have the right to measures of social protection. These concern employees' safety and health, working conditions for women and young people [...]" and (4) "On equal work with men, women shall get equal wages." With regard to the new civil code, relevant provisions include Art. 30 Equality in front of the civil law and Art. 258 The Family (freely given consent for marriage; equality of the spouses). In 2016, Romania ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). Anti-discrimination laws Romania has many laws banning discrimination. The problems in the country are not rooted in lack of legislation, as Romania has a strong de jure framework, but in the lack of enforcement of the existing laws - often due to bureaucracy, corruption, and social norms. The most important anti-discrimination laws are: Ordinance no. 137 of 31 August 2000 republished (law on preventing and sanctioning all forms of discrimination) Law no. 202 of 19 April 2002 republished (law on equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women) In addition to these laws specifically created to deal with discrimination, articles banning discrimination can also be found in many general laws, which deal with general aspects of life, and also contain specific articles banning discrimination in that area (e.g. Law no. 188 of 8 December 1999 republished [law on the status of civil servants], the Labour Code of 24 January 2003, the Law on National Education no.1/2011, etc.). Furthermore, discrimination is also addressed in the Criminal Code, art Art. 297 (2) which reads:"The same punishment applies to the action of a public servant who, while exercising their professional responsibilities, limits the exercise of a right of a person or creates for the latter a situation of inferiority on grounds of race, nationality, ethnic origin, language, religion, sex, sexual orientation, political membership, wealth, age, disability, chronic non-transmissible disease or HIV/AIDS infection". Domestic violence Domestic violence is serious problem in Romania. Although Romania has improved its legislative framework