site.btaProtests, Marches Take Place on Occasion of International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women

Protests and marches are organized by NGOs across the country on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women under the slogan "No More", as well as against gender-based violence. They are scheduled to take place Saturday afternoon in Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo and Varna.

Among the organisers of the events is the Feminist Mobilisations collective, which continues to raise the alarm about the growing cases of domestic and gender-based violence. Demands are made for Bulgarian institutions to immediately take action to address physical, sexual, psychological, economic and structural violence.

Among the measures demanded are targeted efforts to address the daily increase in institutional violence, homophobic and transphobic attacks on LGBTQ+, children and women, as well as to review the serious gaps in legislation with regard to ensuring the human rights and dignity of trans and intersex people in Bulgaria and to take measures to protect the bodily autonomy of adolescent children and young people.

According to unofficial statistics cited by the collective, at least 20 women have lost their lives due to domestic or gender-based violence since the beginning of 2023, and thousands more are subjected to harassment, violence, persecution and humiliation by their abusers on a daily basis.

Starting Saturday until 10 December-the International Day for the Protection of Human Rights, the Alliance to Protect Against Violence, is launching the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence initiative.

The aim is to increase investment in preventing violence against women and girls, ensure the faithful implementation of the Protection from Domestic Violence Act, and provide special measures and programmes for victims.

The Alliance recalls that violence against women is the most widespread human rights violation worldwide. 

In an interview with BTA at the beginning of November, the Interior Ministry's General Secretary, Commissioner Zhivko Kotsev, noted that in 2023, Bulgaria will see a serious increase in the number of reports of domestic violence cases, with an increase in the number of pre-trial proceedings. "So far 1,359 cases have been registered compared to 749 in 2022, i.e. there is an 81.4% increase in domestic aggression, this is extremely worrying," he said.