Over 4500 Children and Young People in Bulgaria Live in a Criminal Environment

4547 children and adolescents in Bulgaria aged between 8 and 17 years are growing up in violent and criminal environment. And this has an affect because they end up into a pediatric room - sometimes as victims, in some cases as initiator of violence.

1634 have been the victims of a crime last year. The figure is startling and higher than in the previous year 2017. Then 1462 minors and juveniles suffered from a crime. This is shown by the National Statistical Institute (NSI) data for juvenile delinquencies and crimes in 2018.

According to statistics, the most cruel crimes are few, but they are still there. 4 minors were killed in 2018. There is a difference because in 2017 no child murder was recorded. If you look at all of these cases as numbers - the increase is minimal.

Last year, 23 children had been raped or attempted to rape, and 68 were the cases of sexual harassment in 2017. Then 20 children were raped or attempted for such sexual abuse. Three minors were trafficked, and in 2017 there was only one.

This shows the numbers. And practice shows that each one will need long and difficult time for recovery not only from physical but from mental trauma for years.

Statistics on child abuse also show that 285 minors were physically injured and were beaten in the past year and 240 in the previous. The difference is not great, but it will be essential if it becomes a trend.

The most common crimes against children, however, are thefts and robberies - a total of 894 minors and juveniles have been robbed.

Almost every teenager threatened their parents with running away from home. Escape from home is no longer in fashion among children. Less and less are minors who run away from their family. In the last 2018, they were...

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