site.btaJustice Minister at Domestic Violence Roundtable: We Will Not Stop or Give Up

The growing number of personal protection orders issued by the court, shows that many more citizens now know that such a form of protection exists. “We will not stop, and we will not give up,” Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev said in his speech at a roundtable on the domestic violence protection system, organized by Zonta Bulgaria on Tuesday.

Minister Georgiev noted the need for coordination between institutions and the non-governmental sector. He assured that the Ministry of Justice and the government will provide organizations fighting domestic violence the necessary support so that their initiatives and ideas can turn into public causes.

“There is no way that the State can handle such a challenging, fundamental problem for society on its own, nor solely with the repressive apparatus of criminal justice,” the Minister said.

The moderator of the round table, Maria Stefanova, pointed out that Zonta International is the oldest women's human rights organization in the world, which set foot in Bulgaria 30 years ago.

In 2024, over 53,000 reports of domestic violence were filed to the 112 hotline, with emergency medical assistance required in half of the cases, Stefanova added. She said that according to data of the Supreme Judicial Council, 5,365 personal protection orders were issued in 2024, nearly 1,600 of them for children.