site.btaLabour and Social Policy Minister: Children Have Given Birth to 2,837 Babies in 2024

Labour and Social Policy Minister Borislav Gutsanov said that in the past decade, children have given birth to 33,159 babies. Last year alone, there were 2,837 such cases. "On the one hand, we claim to live in a modern society. On the other, 14-year-olds are giving birth. This has no place in a modern society," Gutsanov said as quoted by his Ministry's press service on Monday. He launched the State Agency for Child Protection's (SACP) campaign aimed at addressing early marriages. The campaign is part of the Agency’s broader initiative against child abuse.

SACP Chair Teodora Ivanova expressed her gratitude to the minister for his support.

“How can these children raise their own children to go to school when they themselves have not attended? How can these children support a family when they have never worked a day in their lives?" Gutsanov asked rhetorically.

The minister linked early childbirth to cases of violence, citing two recent tragedies - the murder  of an underage boy in a shopping centre in Sofia and a case in Burgas, where a young man killed his mother, aunt, and sister.

"Early childbirth condemns children to poverty, denies them access to education and healthcare, and increases the risk of violence. There are exceptions, of course, but they are rare," Gutsanov said.

He called for joint action by state institutions, emphasizing that no single body can address the issue alone.

"The key is access to education and healthcare. Without education, we cannot expect these children to think differently. Education helps them understand that early childbirth is not a cultural tradition. What kind of tradition is it to give birth at 14 or 15? We must do everything possible to ensure this no longer happens in modern Bulgaria," Gutsanov added.

Christina de Bruin, UNICEF Representative for Bulgaria, said some 12 million girls worldwide are married each year before the age of 18.

As part of its campaign, the SACP will hold meetings in six cities across the country to raise awareness about the risks of early childbirth.

Lieutenant Victoria Kovachka from the Bulgarian Armed Forces, one of the campaign’s ambassadors, shared her personal experience. Medical experts also discussed the health risks, presenting the attendees with statistics on child abandonment in cases of early childbirth.