site.btaUPDATED Estranged Parents Protest on Father's Day, Demand Shared Parenting

A protest of estranged parents took place in central Sofia and Plovdiv (South Bulgaria) on International Father's Day, under the slogan "Dads love too! Yes to shared parenting!" The protest was attended by representatives of NGOs and parents.

The protestors demanded legislative amendments that would guarantee that in case the parents separate, both the mom and the dad would have equal rights when raising their children and will not become estranged parents.

The current legislation puts the parents in conflict because the court is obliged to choose a favoured parent, forcing the parents to compete in court, lawyer Yordanka Bekirska told BTA in Sofia. 

"Our goal is to be able to achieve parity and not to concentrate the parental authority in only one parent, added Bekirska. According to her, both parents should fully and actively participate in their children's lives.The practice in Bulgaria at the moment is such that in case of separation only one parent raises the child, while the other, most often the dad, is the "vacation" parent. Bekirska also touched on the topic of the child becoming victim of parental conflict and being traumatised.

"We are here to mark Father's Day, to celebrate it and to call for all children to equally have a mom and a dad," organizer Vladimir Nenov told BTA in Plovdiv. There have been many problems in the system for years and the biggest problem when parents separate is that the court has to prefer one of them. Currently, the system is such that at best one parent has access to their child only four days a month. For four days, there is no way that person can be an effective parent, Nenov argued, adding that this is not normal as it harms the psyche of the children and overwhelms the custodial parent, and it is also a problem for the separated, estranged parent.

A few days ago, on 20 December, three bills were submitted to the National Assembly to amend and supplement the Family Code, supported and prepared with the assistance of the For Shared Parenting Foundation, Vladimir Nenov said.

A few days ago on December 20, three bills were submitted to the National Assembly to amend and supplement the Family Code, supported and prepared with the assistance of the For Shared Parenting Foundation, said Vladimir Nenov. According to the proposed changes, children should be able to spend equal time with both parents. Nenov added that parents should have equal access to institutions and important decisions for the child, such as education, health care.

"We insist on working institutions, there is no way to draft a bill that covers all cases, we insist that when it comes to children, officials are conscientious and think about what they are doing. We urge judges to think and child protection services to work in the interests of children and for things to happen quickly and not drag on for years and, last but not least, we call for love for children," Nenov said.

According to the organizers, the event aims to draw public attention to the outdated and extremely incorrect enforcement of the existing legal framework, as well as to the need for legislative changes to guarantee equal rights to parents after separation and to strengthen the principle of shared parenting in Bulgaria.