site.btaOn Women Non-Violence Day, Institutions Stay Committed to Combating Violence, NGOs Assess Efforts Negatively

Addressing a conference, dubbed "The Voice of Women, in Support of the Law", organized by the Animus Association to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev said that the legislative framework is already adequate but stressed the need to strengthen infrastructure and ensure practical enforcement. He highlighted the importance of an automated, protocol-based system that would alert all relevant institutions once a victim seeks help from social services.

Georgiev underscored the essential role of NGOs and emphasized prevention and training for magistrates, police officers and other officials involved in domestic violence control. Neglecting signals of violence must remain in the past and may carry disciplinary consequences, he said.

At the same conference, Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva called for the opening of more crisis centres in support of victims of violence, as the lack of sufficient services remains a major problem.

Foreign Ministry, National Legal Aid Bureau catalogue achievements

National Legal Aid Bureau (NLAB) Chair Natalia Ilieva said that the National Legal Aid Bureau actively works to provide legal assistance to victims of domestic violence. In 2023, a memorandum was signed between the Ministry of Justice and the NLAB on the one hand, and the Ministry of the Interior and the Bar Councils hosting regional counselling centres on the other. Under this memorandum, individuals receive legal consultations on-site within the structures of the Interior Ministry, Ilieva said.

According to NLAB data, 324 people have received consultations under this mechanism so far. In 2023, the number stood at 66, including three men; in 2024, at 139, including ten men; and in 2025 so far, at 119, including 12 men.

Bulgaria, as a member state of the United Nations and the European Union and current member of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2024-2026 period, remains committed to combating all forms of violence against women and girls, the Foreign Ministry said on its website on Tuesday.  The Foreign Ministry noted that in recent years Bulgaria has undertaken a number of legislative initiatives and institutional steps that have contributed to more effective prosecution of offenders, and to ensuring better protection and support for victims.

NGOs: Bulgaria fails to recognize femicide as a problem and other forms of violence beyond physical assault

The Together Against Violence coalition said that Bulgaria is a country that does not recognize femicide as a problem. The assessment of the state administration's work is negative at the end of the second year after the implementation of the Protection against Domestic Violence Act. 

A protest under the slogan "Not One More" in Sofia on Tuesday, organized by the Feminist Mobilizations collective, demanded 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.

"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. 

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.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women has been marked since 2000 under a resolution of the UN General Assembly from December 17, 1999. From 1981 to 1999 it was marked by activists from women's organizations. The theme of the day in 2025 is: "Digital violence is real violence. There is #NoExcuse for online abuse".