Bulgaria: 19 Women Lost Their Lives Due to Domestic Violence, Children Traumatized Increasingly More Often

Notwithstanding changing times and crises, domestic violence statistics remains worrying. Perhaps unsurprisingly, over the past year, this social phenomenon has been talked about as an "epidemic in the pandemic."

Year 2020 was grim in this regard too- 19 women lost their lives due to domestic violence, there were also children injured, lawyer Bilyana Lavcheva, Chair of the AME Foundation, told Radio Sofia. In the past year, over 200 women who confronted with such a problem sought help from the organization.

Positive changes to the Domestic Violence Protection Act were proposed in early 2021. They are related to the criminalization of most dangerous acts. It is also proposed to create registers of victims and abusers, noted lawyer Lavcheva. She was no less alarmed by increasingly frequent incidents of child abuse.

"In Bulgaria we have a law against these crimes, but abusers have no fear of this law", stressed the expert. She further reminded that when discussing the subject, mental harassment should not be downplayed - it is equally dangerous.

The foundation Work continues to build and furnish shelter homes for victims of violence. Charity events are also organized to raise funds for them.