Summary of the project
Violation of human rights in Bulgaria in the field of domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking is a problem recognized by the European Court of Human Rights: S.Z. v. Bulgaria, P.M. against Bulgaria, P.Ch. v. Bulgaria, Bevacua and S. v. Bulgaria, and by the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: V.K. v. Bulgaria, Isatu Jallow v. Bulgaria, S.V.P. v. Bulgaria, S.L. against Bulgaria. Therefore, in accordance with the specific goal of the selected priority, the project seeks to improve the implementation of international standards for the protection of human rights, conducting campaigns to raise awareness of human rights, incl. by involving young people, as well as providing legal aid and counseling for victims of discrimination and human rights violations. The project is expected to contribute to the realization of the set goals by achieving the following results: 6 press conferences, 1 webpage, 3 studies on the topic of gender-based violence - domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking, 170 national decisions on cases of domestic violence , sexual violence and human trafficking and 10 international decisions, legal representation of 180 victims of gender-based violence, 3 specialized programs to support victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence with a focus on women and girls from Roma origin, legal and psychological support to 400 victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence, with a focus on women and girls of Roma origin, 1 training to create the specialized programs for victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence, with a focus on women and girls of Roma origin, 4 trainings in the field of gender-based violence, 124 trained specialists, 5 discussions with students, 100 trained students, 3 focus groups with young people, 45 trained young people, 3 focus groups with victims of violence, 15 trained victims of violence, 9 videos on gender-based violence, 3 monitoring reports. The direct beneficiaries of the project are: victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence, with a focus on women and girls of Roma origin, those working in these spheres and the whole society. The project partners will contribute to its successful implementation in several areas of the country, taking into account their experience and expertise in the protection of human rights.
Description of the problem and context.
According to the data of the Ministry of the Interior, every fourth woman in Bulgaria is a victim of domestic violence. In 2017, 29 women were killed by their husbands or partners in the country. Their number in 2018 was 35. According to the data of the prosecutor's office, 588 proceedings for sexual crimes were registered in 2017. According to the data of the National Commission for Combating Human Trafficking, 856 reports of human trafficking were registered with the commission in period 2015-2016. Due to the huge number of victims and the insufficiently effective implementation of our country's legislation in these three areas, the project foresees activities aimed at direct assistance to the victims, training of law enforcers and raising public awareness on these topics. The experience of the project partners shows that only working directly with the victims, and in particular free litigation in their support, leads to effective change. Similar projects have been implemented so far by the project partners. New are the Specialized Program for the support of victims of domestic and gender-based violence, with a focus on women and girls of Roma origin, and the Preventive Work with Youth. The current project builds on the previous initiatives because of its focus on working with young people, the innovative element of the two new activities mentioned, the fact that it will be implemented in an extended partnership simultaneously in five regions of the country: Sofia, Plovdiv, Pazardzhik, Smolyan and Kardjali.