Abuse

An avalanche of reports of domestic violence followed the news of the abuse of an 18-year-old girl in Stara Zagora, but court orders for permanent victim protection increased even earlier in the year.

This is what Zornitsa Shumanova, who heads the new unit for combating domestic violence at the National Police, told bTV:

Only 17 out of 28 provinces in Bulgaria have shelter centers for women and children who have suffered domestic violence, Nova TV reported.

The way to escape from the abuser is not at all easy, says Martina, who was the subject of mental and physical abuse in front of her two children.

"If there is no one to help and show you, you might give up", she shared.

With 144 votes "in favor", the Bulgarian parliament adopted the amendments to the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence in the first reading. With them, "intimate relationship" is equated to marital partnership and cohabitation without marriage, and victims receive the same opportunities for protection.

Interpol has ended a two-year global operation to catch criminals running networks of websites with child sexual abuse material designed to generate advertising profits.

A study has shown that harassment is common at Greek universities, with females being the usual victims. 

At an extraordinary meeting, the legal commission in the Bulgarian parliament adopted changes to the Criminal Code and the Law on Domestic Violence. Penalties for minor and moderate bodily harm are increased, and intimate relationships are equated to cases of domestic violence along with de facto conjugal cohabitation.

A pregnant woman from Burgas lost her fetus after being hit in the stomach by her boyfriend. The case is from last week. The woman sought protection at the Center for the Prevention of Violence. From there, they report an escalation of cases of violence against pregnant women, with three in the last month in Burgas alone.

A drunken 45-year-old man beat his wife and father-in-law in front of his daughter in Burgas. The report of domestic violence was filed shortly after midnight from an apartment in a building in the "Slaveykov" district, bTV reported.

On the back of the 'Public Room' scandal, North Macedonia made stalking a crime in February - but so far only one charge has actually been filed.

Gender-based violence is a pervasive issue in the Balkans; in Kosovo alone, a 2018 survey found that 68 per cent of women had experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, with 60 per cent of respondents saying they had experienced violence just in the past year.