site.btaIncrease in Domestic Violence Cases Reported Across Bulgaria in 2023

The number of domestic violence cases increased across Bulgaria in 2023, it transpires from recent statements made by Interior Ministry Secretary General Zhivko Kotsev. According to him, the rise is due to the higher number of citizens reporting these types of offences.

Yambol Region reported an increase in domestic violence last year, he said in the southeastern city on Thursday. He was in Yambol for the annual report on the work of the Regional Directorate of Interior.

In Varna (on the Black Sea), the increase amounted to nearly 150 points, Kotsev said Wednesday after getting acquainted with the annual report of the Varna Regional Directorate of Interior. A larger number of protection measures and restraining orders were also reported, he added.

The Ruse Regional Directorate of Interior too reported an upward trend in domestic violence. Kotsev commented that the increase in the number of such cases is country-wide. "This means that it is necessary to integrate the attention of all competent institutions, to work preventively, to establish the reasons and conditions for these acts, as well as to launch a very broad preventive campaign to clarify the rights of citizens and victims", he said.

The Smolyan Regional Directorate of Interior has set as a priority for 2024 the implementation of effective measures against domestic violence, said Senior Commissioner Tsvetan Tsankov, head of the Directorate in the southern city. "We are the directorate that was the first in the entire country to conduct a specialised police operation in the field of domestic violence. The entire Smolyan region has been combed, all the perpetrators have been rounded up and action has been taken," Tsankov said on Tuesday.