Ombudsman Delcheva: Working with Families Is Necessary to Reduce Violence against Children

Nikolay Zabov, Borislava Bibinovska

Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva, Sofia, September 18, 2025 (BTA Photo/Hristo Kasabov)

Sofia,

18.09.2025 13:24

(BTA)

Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva who spoke here on Thursday at the launch of the Be Brave, Be Good! campaign organized by the State Agency for Child Protection said that working with families is particularly important in order to reduce violence against children and overcome the still existing perceptions of corporal punishment as a good model of upbringing. A mobile app that children can use to report instances of violence that they have witnessed or suffered was presented at the event.

Delcheva said that children often become victims of violence in the family environment, and in most cases, the perpetrators of violence are the parents or people close to the child. Data shows that 39% of parents in Bulgaria still use corporal punishment in some form—mostly slaps or smacks—and one in six children aged 2-14 has been regularly subjected to corporal punishment by their caregivers.

The Ombudsman stated that the public should have zero tolerance toward violence.

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