The project “National unified register of violence against children” was launched
No institution in Bulgaria knows how many children are actually victims of violence. Even when it comes to the worst possible form of violence against children – intentional homicide – the data of the institutions differs dramatically – according to the NSI for 2020 it is 2, according to the Ministry of Interior – 11, according to the Prosecutor’s Office – 32.
This confusion is present when we talk about all forms of violence against children. In 2021, 1,649 children were victims of crime. The National Childline 116 111 received 738 reports of violence. Child protection departments received 1 387 reports. At the same time, one in three children in Bulgaria says they have been victims of some form of violence. What is actually happening?
There is no uniform data on cases of child abuse (including bullying, exploitation and neglect) in Bulgaria. They are collected by different institutions and according to different criteria. This blocks the possibilities for a meaningful analysis of the situation and the development of adequate prevention and protection policies.
There is no way to combat violence against children if we do not even know what is actually happening to children who have experienced violence.
The project “National Unified Register on Violence against Children” aims to support and improve data collection on violence against children in Bulgaria. The National Network for Children, the State Agency for Child Protection and the Institute for Mediation and Dispute Management, as partners behind the implementation of the project, will work over the next two years to analyse the legal framework, trends in violence against children, indicators currently used by institutions and international best practices in order to propose guidelines that will serve as a basis for the development of a National Information System on Violence against Children in Bulgaria.
The project will also support the implementation of the National Programme for the Prevention of Violence and Abuse of Children (2022-2024). The development of a unified information system will allow institutions to have a unified view of violence against children and to better coordinate their joint activities to prevent cases of violence or in response to a child who has suffered violence.
The National Network for Children has advocated for years for the creation of a single register of cases of violence and for a comprehensive zero tolerance policy on violence against children.
As coordinator of the Childhood Without Violence Alliance, the Network has gathered dozens of examples of how violence against children can be prevented and how child victims of violence can be supported. See here: www.endviolence.bg
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