The National Network for Children expresses deep concern regarding reports of serious violations of the rights of children placed in the Social-Pedagogical Boarding School (SPI) “Hristo Botev” in the village of Varnaenci, Tutrakan Municipality. Following a referral from UNICEF Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria conducted an unannounced inspection, which revealed alarming signs of violence, degrading treatment, exploitation, lack of access to education, and lack of psychological support.
The findings confirm the long-standing warnings of the NNC: boarding schools for children with anti-social behaviour are an outdated model that often leads to secondary victimisation, violence, criminalisation, and additional risk for the future of children in situations of extreme vulnerability. For years, a comprehensive reform of the system for combating juvenile anti-social behaviour in Bulgaria has been urgently needed.
As of the end of 2024, there are three closed-type institutions for children with anti-social behaviour operating in the country – the SPI in Varnaenci and two Educational Boarding Schools (VUI) – for girls in the village of Podem and for boys in the town of Rakitovo. According to the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act (1958), the SPI accommodates children who have committed, or for whom “there are grounds to believe they will commit,” anti-social acts, while the VUI houses children who have committed anti-social acts or crimes (due to “indulgence or thoughtlessness”) or who have been sentenced to imprisonment for less than one year. In practice, children with various problems and behaviours – from running away from home to cases of sexual exploitation and drug dependence – remain confined in these institutions for years. This approach, which equates social vulnerability, behavioural difficulties, and crimes, creates serious risks of re-traumatisation, violence, and criminalisation, instead of offering prevention, support, and reintegration into the community.
Data show that in 2023 alone, 6,520 correctional measures were imposed in Bulgaria, with almost one-third for anti-social acts – mainly violence, aggression, vandalism, and use of psychoactive substances. The most frequently applied measures – “warning” and “placing under educational supervision” of the parents or a public educator – are formal and ineffective due to the lack of training, resources, specialised services, and support in the system.
As highlighted in the fourteenth edition of the monitoring report Report Card – What is the Average Grade of the State in Child Care, in the past year the state did not take real steps towards modernising the juvenile justice system. The Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act, although morally and functionally outdated, continues to be applied without meeting contemporary standards for working with children.
Institutionalisation of children in conflict with the law and children at risk continues to occur without individual assessment, without effective support, and under conditions that violate human dignity.
On 25 June 2025, the Ministry of Justice made a serious commitment to a new attempt to carry out the long-awaited juvenile justice reform. The National Network for Children participates in the working group tasked with drafting, by the end of 2025, a new legislative act to replace the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act. Our main goal is to create a new legal framework that guarantees children’s rights and provides timely, individualised, and supportive intervention.
The main priorities we set include:
– establishing specialised services for educational work with children;
– expanding access to psychosocial support;
– increasing the capacity of local structures;
– introducing modern community-based programmes and services for prevention and restorative work.
The National Network for Children will continue to advocate for real reform that will end institutional violence and marginalisation practices and ensure a dignified, supportive, and fair approach to every child in conflict with the law.
This article was created as part of the INSPIRE: Improving National Support for the Prevention, Intervention, and Response to Violence against Children and Empowerment of Victims project. Its main goal is the prevention and response to violence against children and the empowerment of victims. The project is implemented by the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (WCIF) and the National Network for Children (NNC) and is co-funded by the European Union.
The INSPIRE Fund is part of the INSPIRE: Improving National Support for the Prevention, Intervention, and Response to Violence against Children and Empowerment of Victims project. The project also includes a training programme to strengthen the capacity of supported organisations. It is implemented by the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (WCIF) and the National Network for Children (NNC) and is co-funded by the European Union. The project has a duration of three years, during which WCIF will be solely responsible for providing funding for the projects, while NNC will be responsible for building the capacity of the organisations.
