COURT FINES COMPANY FOR ADVERTISING WITH SEXUAL AND SEXIST OVERTONES

A Chisinau court has fined the Guteks Company for advertising carpets with sexual and sexist overtones on a Facebook page. The claim has been considered at the request of the Competitive Council, which filed a legal claim for bringing the company to responsibility.

The carpet advertising was published at the end of the last year. The picture shows only barefoot legs of a woman and a man who standing on a shag carpet. At the same time, the man stands on his own feet with his jeans down, and the woman kneels before the man. Advertising carpets is accompanied by the inscription “Quality matters”.

The court decided that the advertising is of sexual nature, and the material harms honor and dignity of women. According to the judge, the advertising has an indecent undertone, and the image has nothing to do with the carpet quality. The court found the Guteks Company guilty of this offense and fined it 12 thousand lei (about 600 euros).

The company disagreed with the fine and appealed the verdict to the Chisinau Appeals Court, which upheld the decision of the first instance. The Law on equality of chances came into force in Moldova in 2013; it prohibits discrimination, including gender – based discrimination.