Ms Vasiliu was nominated and selected for her Stolen Birth project, which began with a national call for testimonies. In autumn 2024, over 650 women from across Romania shared their birth experiences, most of them reporting verbal and physical abuse, as well as non-consensual procedures.
The consequences are tragic and extend beyond injury and postpartum depression. Romania has the EU’s highest infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rates roughly double the EU average. By documenting obstetric violence across public and private facilities,Stolen Birth brings women’s untold stories to light, exposes systemic failures that enable abuse, and ultimately provides women with the much-needed information to catalyze meaningful change in Romania.
The multi-part series will be published in the independent outlet Snoop.ro towards the beginning of 2026.
Ms Vasiliu studied literature before pursuing a career in journalism. In 2016, she co-founded Scena9, a platform for the young generation of artists and thinkers, where she edited over 1,000 pieces.
She later used her talents to enter the field of investigative journalism. She published a series about a well-known Romanian doctor, who performed unauthorized experimental procedures that either killed children or crippled young children.
Her investigation led to the doctor’s arrest and was a finalist for the European Science Writer of The Year Award. She also wrote about astrophysicists studying micro black holes, a teacher chastised for showing her students a movie about Verlaine and Rimbaud, and a communism dissident who set fire to Stalin’s statue.
She is currently pursuing a story about the Tate brothers and their ties to Romanian organized crime. Her areas of interest include human rights, gender-based violence, and human trafficking.
She currently writes with Victor Ilie on the Substack “Drepturi și strâmbe” (Rights and wrongs), an investigative newsletter on disinformation, Russian operations, far-right movements, and hope.
The Voices of Women Journalism Award will continue to support women journalists in Romania who report on women’s rights. The nomination model will also foster a spirit of sisterhood: the current laureate may nominate up to three fellow women journalists whose work addresses key issues related to women’s rights, including women’s health and reproductive rights, domestic and gender-based violence, inequalities across different contexts, girls’ education, the representation of women in politics, and inspiring personal stories, among others, a statement sent to Universul.net said.
The Award provides an annual grant of up to 2,500 EUR.
Universul.net presents a selection of photos from the Gala Dinner and the 2025 Ratiu Dialogues on Journalism.
Left to right, Karen Renee Lane, Luiza Vasiliu, Georgiana Pascu, Nicolae Ratiu and Robert Olteanu.
