site.btaEuropean Socialist Leader Says Bulgarian Government Has Abdicated Its Responsibility to Fight Violence

Sofia, February 14 (BTA) - Party of European Socialists President and MEP Sergei Stanishev warned in a letter to Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov that the government has abdicated its responsibility for combating all forms of violence. Stanishev wrote: "This is not a good approach, and it is not up to the European standards which Bulgaria wants to meet."

He called for urgent measures to provide necessary funding for the National Programme against Domestic Violence and urged the Justice Ministry to immediately launch application procedures for relevant projects.

As a rule, the government gives the Justice Ministry 500,000 leva annually to finance the centres for advice to victims of violence, a national helpline, programmes for victims and perpetrators of violence, and police training programmes. All this is done on a project basis. But NGOs have warned that only 200,000 leva of that money actually reaches the organizations concerned, and in 2017 application procedures were not conducted even for that small amount of money, Stanishev claimed.

Psychologists and other specialists work in those centres voluntarily and without payment, and the lawyers who represent the victims may face penalties because they provide more pro bono services than legally allowed, Stanishev wrote.

He noted that procedural delays at the Justice Ministry will cause the national 24/7 helpline to stop functioning on the night between February 14 and 15, because the contract for its operation will expire. Up until now, the helpline has been operated by NGO-recruited volunteers during the day, but voluntary work is not legally allowed at night, so money is needed to keep the line open round the clock.

Stanishev wrote: "All political parties have condemned violence against women, but this is little comfort to the victims. It is generally believed that the existing Bulgarian laws are enough to address the problem, but there are shocking facts which point to the contrary - we have at least five murders so far this year.

"If we keep ignoring the real magnitude of the problem, we will sink even deeper in the vicious circle of violence breeding more violence. Violence in the family. Violence in kindergartens. Violence at school. Violence against physicians. Violence on the street. Violence for its own sake, violence for fun."

Stanishev noted that the current Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU is an occasion for the country to show it is willing to defend human values.