News

Domestic violence has come under the spotlight in Romania after a singer said her boyfriend-manager beat her up in a dispute over money.

Marian Chiriac

Bucharest

Alexandra Stan on Wednesday filed a complaint and took her manager and boyfriend, Marcel Prodan, to court for blackmail.

In her complaint, Stan, 24, said he beat her up last week to force her to abandon her demand to receive money from her shows.

On Saturday, police picked her up from a roadside, and took her to the hospital with clear signs of violence on her face.

While many people were shocked, some were more skeptical, wondering whether it could be a publicity stunt.

Either way, analysts say the incident highlighs the problem of domestic violence in a country as socially conservative as Romania.

"For most Romanians domestic violence is commonplace. Polls say around 60 per cent of people accept that a man 'may have reasons' for beating up his wife or children, which is too much," journalist Ramona Ursu said.

Police statistics show that 4,800 domestic violence cases were registered in 2010, as well as 99 fatalities. But the real number of such cases is believed to be much bigger.

In the country of 19.5 million people, many cases of domestic violence cases go unreported due to feelings of shame and because victims are frightened of their attackers.

The government has failed to provide women with appropriate legal and institutional tools to fight back against such abuse, experts say.

Police generally do not intervene in domestic disputes, for example, and tend to investigate only if the victim files a complaint. The criminal code also does not allow restraining orders to be issued.