site.btaJustice Minister Georgiev Comments on Efforts against Domestic Violence

In his first interview after taking office, Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev said that justice institutions need to clearly show that violent behavior is not tolerated.

Although significant changes were made after the high-profile case of domestic violence against 18-year-old Debora Mihaylova in 2023, and are already yielding positive results, Minister Georgiev stressed that efforts need to continue. “The European Directive on Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence was adopted last year and all member states must review their legislation. The goal is to upgrade our legislation so that we have a clear mechanism of interacting institutions that act adequately and quickly in cases of violence, providing the necessary protection and support,” Georgiev told BTA.

“Our task is not only to write texts, but also to create a working mechanism for protection and counteraction to these striking cases of violence, together with all other institutions,” he pointed out.

The Justice Minister said that within the framework of existing state funding, there is an opportunity to ensure the establishment of regional consultation centres in each regional city. He also noted that better financing would provide even better experts and specialists to support those in need.

In Bulgaria , there are 24 regional consultation centres, where victims of domestic violence can receive free legal assistance. This is a good basis, but unfortunately it does not correspond to the real scale of the problem,  Georgiev said, noting that in 2024, the regional centres provided 139 consultations to victims of domestic violence, the Minister also said.