"The Priceless Things" exhibition is being displayed for the seventh consecutive time at Lozenetz Hospital.

The exhibition "Priceless Things" by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and Tanuki Films, featuring the work of photographer and documentarist Anna Stoeva, is being displayed for the seventh time. In December, the exhibition can be viewed in the building of the University Multiprofile Active Treatment Hospital "Lozenetz" in Sofia. It is currently part of a joint campaign called "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence" by the Demetra Association, International Police Association, Association of Police Chiefs, and BHC.

The exhibition presents a series of intimate photographs of personal belongings that reveal the stories of women who were killed in cases of domestic violence.

The opening of the exhibition also marked the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the Demetra Association, the Multiprofile Active Treatment and Emergency Hospital "N. I. Pirogov" (MBAH "N. I. Pirogov"), the Military Medical Academy Ltd. (MMA), the University Multiprofile Active Treatment Hospital "St. Anna" - Sofia Ltd. (UMATH "St. Anna"), Lozenetz Hospital, UMAH "Alexandrovska" JSC, UMAH "Queen Joanna - ISUL" JSC, and the Main Directorate National Police (MDNP) to provide assistance and support to victims of domestic violence. Additionally, November 29th is officially recognized as the Day of Remembrance for Women and Children Killed as Victims of Violence.

"The stories of these women, as depicted in the media, usually reduce their lives to the moment of tragedy, seen through the prism of sensation and violence. The portraits in the exhibition aim to connect the viewer with each of the real women behind the newspaper headlines, using objects as a thread to the person she was. Tools of her profession, an unfinished book, a favorite keychain, her lipstick color - objects as personal as they are universal, they create a connection of recognition. To me, they are the key to the unique individuals we have lost forever," explained the author, Anna Stoeva.

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee emphasizes that the state is obliged to protect victims of domestic violence, who are usually women, but its duty does not end there. The state must work towards preventing cases of domestic violence, which are particularly destructive for both women and children raised in such families. As of today, the issue remains inadequately addressed, and this is one of the reasons for the high number of victims of domestic violence.

Domestic violence needs to be seen as a systemic issue of national importance, which logically cannot and should not be solved "within the family."

The title of the exhibition, "Priceless Things," is a play on words borrowed from the recurring concluding phrase in court decisions on cases of dozens of women killed in instances of domestic violence: "...the same personal belongings should be destroyed as valueless things." When only memories remain, what defines what is valuable and what is precious?

"Priceless Things" is part of the project "Breaking the Cycle of Gender-Based Violence against Women and Children in Bulgaria" by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee in partnership with the Alliance for Gender-Based Violence. The exhibition is also part of the project "Stop Gender-Based Violence against Women and Children in Bulgaria" - GBV-OUT, co-financed by the "Rights, Equality, and Citizenship" Program of the European Union. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the authors and in no way can be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission or its agencies.