According to a survey made in 2014 under a program of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, one out of four or five women in Europe has become victim of violence or sexual aggression. The results of the survey in Bulgaria confirm this bad statistics. One out of four Bulgarian women said that they were subject to violence. The Alliance for Protection Against Gender-Based Violence has set itself specific tasks to fight this type of violence, in partnership with the Roma District Union in Burgas. They start a joint campaign supported by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014. They are to attract people from the local authorities, the non-governmental sector and the Roma community to the common cause through seminars and training programs in eleven Bulgarian cities. Their main goal is to develop local policies aimed at protecting the victims of violence in given regions. The head of the project Iliana Stoycheva voiced hopes that within one year or so, they will do a lot to change the thinking stereotypes of the people on this problem.

“The acts of violence do not bear any specific national features. We are working together with our international partners, in order to make the necessary changes. In some countries violence is still perceived as part of the national culture, which is another obstacle we must overcome. We have made a substantial progress in Bulgaria with regard to this problem. Bulgaria was among the first post-communist countries which adopted a law against domestic crime. Later, this act was used as an example by many other countries from the former Socialist Bloc. Although we have made a substantial progress, there is still a lot to be done in the fight against violence. The use of power against the weaker is a matter of adjustment and it takes time to change peoples' adjustments. In recent years the Bulgarian woman has become more emancipated, just like the women from other European states. The women have become more educated, they postpone their plans for marriage and family, which is something typical of the highly-developed countries worldwide. As a result, the Bulgarian woman shows higher self-esteem and does not tolerate any disrespect. However, there are still women who are afraid to admit that despite their successful career, they have become victims of violence, usually at home. Our campaign is focused on these women. We want to fill them with courage and tell them that their violators are the ones who should be ashamed of their behavior.”

The project accentuates on the Roma community. According to data of the research, made by the alliance in the past 2 years, between 7% and 10% of the victims of violence who sought help were representatives of the Roma ethnic group. People in this group rarely speak about violence-related problems. However, violence exists there and has been growing. Mitko Dokov who heads the District Roma Union told Radio Bulgaria what can be done in that aspect and how peoples' adjustments can be changed.

“We witness the most-serious problems in neighborhoods populated mainly with Roma people. Children from these districts go to school, but the girls from this capsulated group are usually not allowed to study. Their role is to stay at home, take care of the children and do the housework. They grow in this environment, live with this culture and do not realize that they are victims and have become victims of gender-based violence. Our main task is to inform these women, to make them understand that they have rights and that they can rely on our help to defend their rights. I believe that if all partners of this project work together, we can bring our campaign to a successful end and will have positive results.”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov