On 19 October 2006 the Government adopted Programme for Prevention and Protection from Domestic Violence.

The Programme envisages a national 24-hour phone line for information for victims of domestic violence and setting up temporary shelters for such people.

The development and introduction of educational programmes for children, including those living in specialised educational institutions, are part of the measures for prevention outlined in the Programme, said Blagorodna Makeva, a senior legal adviser at the Ministry of Interior /MI/. Another set of programmes and trainings target the specific groups of personnel at specialized institutions, police officers, law enforcement agencies etc.

According to plan, each district centre will have shelter rooms for victims of domestic violence, said Makeva. She explained that BGN 270 000 has been set aside for these shelters. For the time being the call line for victims of domestic violence remains the police call number. It is the ambition of experts from the MI  to have a separate number soon. Another commitment taken by the Ministry is to draft a guide for protection against domestic violence that will provide advice to the victims as to how to receive quick and effective protection in case of domestic violence. Initially the guide will be issued in 15 000 copies.

The Programme provides for raising public awareness on the problem, primary and secondary prevention, as well as establishing a basis for developing recovery programmes for people that have suffered domestic violence.

The Programme envisages law amendments concerning incrimination in case of breach of a court order that is imposed to protect victims or the regulation of the procedure for taking actions in case of breach of a court’s order by specifying the prerogatives of the police, prosecution and court. Heavy fines are to be imposed in case of a repeated act of domestic violence. The establishing of a mechanism for archiving and indexing previous cases of domestic violence with records of the imposed fines etc. is currently under discussion.

The Programme for Prevention and Protection from Domestic Violence has been drafted by an interagency group consisting of experts from the Ministries of Interior, of Justice, of abor and Social Policy, of Health, of Finance, of Education and Science, as well as experts from the Social Assistance Agency and the State Agency for Child Protection.

Source: Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria’s website, “Temporary Shelters for Victims of Domestic Violence Will Be Set Up”, 19 October 2006.