Position Statement on Friday’s failure to pass the Bill for the Protection from Domestic Violence Act
The chilling propaganda against LGBTI people is shameful
After 'Deborah': 25 organizations alert that the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence is still not being implemented.
The Coalition "Together Against Violence," an alliance of 25 civil organizations, of which the BHC is a part, issued an open letter urging Prime Minister Acad. Nikolay Denkov, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Gabriel, and ministers from the cabinet to expedite the implementation of the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence adopted last year.
The letter points out that Bulgarian institutions were given a sufficiently long period - a whole 6 months - to allow the responsible ministries, institutions, and state bodies to prepare and align their activities with the changes in the law.
"The delay in adopting and implementing the law costs the health and lives of many victims who continue to turn mainly to non-governmental organizations that have been working for years to support victims of violence."
Problems exist at all levels: national and local, in the judiciary, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, in healthcare, and social services. Difficulties arise in: apprehending perpetrators; serving restraining orders; assessing the risk to individuals by judicial bodies; medical examinations, and in practice in all areas.
Participants in the coalition "Together Against Violence" strongly question why non-governmental organizations are being kept away from the entire process, given that they mainly possess expertise in domestic violence protection.
The letter concludes with a call for immediate action on behalf of victims of violence: "We, from the NGO sector, continue the unequal battle against domestic violence, but it is time for the state to contribute to care and prevention, not just in words."
The Coalition "Together Against Violence" is an informal association of non-governmental organizations aimed at more effective combatting of domestic violence.
You can see the full text of the letter here.
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Finished Help us build the First Hotline for Male Domestic Abusers
At least one in four women in Bulgaria has been verbally or physically abused at home , according to statistics. Psychologists warn that during and after the quarantine of the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation is even worse. There is a large number of campaigns dedicated to the domestic violence issue in Bulgaria, but none of them are targeted directly at the abusers. Our goal is to change that. When it comes to domestic violence, we are used to seeing women as victims, they are the ones who need of help, who are dependent on men, and are the physically vulnerable part in the conflict. That’s how the real weakness of the abusers remains overshadowed by our desire to help the victims. When in fact In most cases men’s aggressive behavior comes as a result of childhood traumatic experiences and emotional damages left unresolved for years: often they are violence victims themselves, have low self-esteem, mental health issues or live under socio-economic stress and addictions. This campaign sets two main goals : 1. To create and support the First Hotline available to men who commit acts of domestic violence. The hotline will provide professional psychological assistance to male abusers in order to help them recognize and understand their aggressive behavioral problems and the situations that trigger them. Introduce models for managing their emotions, search and find new and non-violent ways of communication. The team of consultants will direct those seeking help to professional work sessions with psychologists from the Alliance's programs for protection against gender based violence network. All the support and assistance provided will be strictly confidential. 2. To change the public debate about the domestic violence issue and the perception of a victim. Most often abusers need to reestablish their powerful and dominant role. The acts of violence are in fact signs of weakness and emotional immaturity, of seeking validation of their own strength and power, of recurring self-doubt. The discourse on women as the “weaker gender” justifies and stimulates this behavior of the aggressors. This campaign will highlight domestic violence as a sign of weakness of the abusers and put them in the position of the weak and vulnerable side of the conflict. It aims to put focus on the prevention of domestic violence, not just healing the wounds. Domestic violence is not a "family issue". It affects us all. Together we can help more men to pick up the phone instead of raising their arm. Support us by donating! This is a campaign realized in partnership together with McCann Sofia advertising agency, The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and The Alliance for Protection Against Gender-Based Violence.