site.btaPopular Singers, Young Talents Join UNICEF's Drive against Child Abuse

It is important to create a society that has zero tolerance for any form of violence, Denitsa Krasteva, Director of Fundraising at UNICEF-Bulgaria, told BTA. She stressed the need for prevention against all forms of abuse.

In connection with the cause of helping victims of abuse, in 2015 UNICEF began developing and piloting the Zona ZaKrila Children's Centre for Advocacy and Support model. Currently, the model is implemented in six municipalities - Sofia, Shumen, Montana, Kyustendil, Varna and Yambol. A resource centre was also opened in 2023 to train and support specialists to promote and help its implementation across the country. Zona ZaKrila  has helped more than 3,751 children and families, Krasteva said. 

On February 18 (Sunday), at 8 pm, NOVA TV will feature a special charity performance, featuring eight unique duets between popular Bulgarian stars and talented children. These will include Sofi Marinova, Margarita Hranova, Mihaela Marinova, Miro, Vladimir Mihailov, Slavin Slavchev, Veselin Marinov, Alexander Sano and their young partners.

The performances will raise funds to spread the Zona ZaKrila  model for comprehensive support of children and families affected by violence and abuse throughout the country, as well as prevention and response in cases of violence, sexual abuse and exploitation of children online, Krasteva said.

From the beginning of 2020 to November 2023, there were 144,576 reports of domestic violence. During the same period, 13,600 orders for immediate protection were issued. The number of injured children was 4,015, which is nearly 25% of the cases, commented Krasteva. The calls received on the National Children's Helpline in 2023 were 25 709, she recalled.