V. Situation of groups particularly vulnerable to poverty

A. Women and girls

24. Although the Constitution and legal framework of the Republic of Moldova include extensive guarantees of women’s rights, many women face significant challenges, including lack of access to decent work, unequal remuneration, lack of representation at the political and decision-making levels, exposure to gender-based violence and trafficking. Women and girls with disabilities, Roma women and girls, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, single mothers, older women and women living in rural areas face particular exclusion, stigmatization and discrimination, which often prevents them from lifting themselves out of poverty and impedes their access to public services.

VI. Challenges to the enjoyment of specific rights by those living in poverty

A. Right to health

67. Persons living in poverty who suffer compound discrimination based on gender, ethnicity (in particular Roma), sexual orientation or gender identity, age or health status experience additional challenges. For example, women with HIV/AIDS have been denied prosthetic operations on apparently pretextual grounds, and there have been repeated reports of ambulances not coming, or arriving after undue delay, in Roma settlements or in response to calls from older persons. Abortion and contraception have only limited coverage in the basic health insurance package and a broad range of treatments are discretionary or rationed. The Special Rapporteur heard plausible reports of cases of discretionary allocation of limited health-care resources away from disfavoured or marginalized groups, in particular Roma.

Link to full text of the report: Report-SRPoverty-Moldova-2014-eng