site.btaProtest over Violence against Women Blocks Traffic outside Sofia's Palace of Justice

A protest under the slogan "Not One More" blocked traffic in front of the Palace of Justice in Sofia on Tuesday. The demonstration was organized by the Feminist Mobilizations collective to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

"Statistics compiled by our collective show that 23 women have died this year as a result of domestic violence," Aleks Tankova from the organizing team said, adding that the protest would continue with a march.

The organizers said that they demand greater visibility of the issue of domestic and gender-based violence and prevention-focused policies - not only punishment for those who have already committed crimes.

The Protection against Domestic Violence Act should protect every victim of domestic abuse, regardless of the length of the relationship, race, ethnicity, age, disability, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, economic status, or other factors, the Feminist Mobilizations collective said.

They called for concrete plans detailing where crisis and counseling centres for survivors of violence are located, how many exist, what their capacity is, and what funding is allocated. They also urged the introduction of mandatory sex education classes in school curricula as a preventive measure against sexual harassment, adding that the country must clearly commit to protecting the bodily autonomy of children and young people.

"We demand an immediate end to institutional violence against trans women and LGBTI+ people. We also demand that the State fulfill and expand its commitment to collecting and producing official statistics on gender-based violence," the organizers said. They added that definitions of femicide, gender-based violence, and hate crimes must be introduced into the Penal Code.

The collective also called for a legal framework to address psychological and economic violence and all other forms of violence against women beyond physical assault. They pointed out that physical assault is currently the only form of gender-based violence recognized in Bulgarian criminal law.