Preparations of National Action Plan for prevention of violence against children under way in Bulgaria

On 15th and 16th December in Sofia a group of fifty child protection professionals from governmental and non-governmental institutions participated in consultative meeting organized by Social Activities and Practices Institute and UNICEF Bulgaria, with support of State Agency for Child Protection. The meeting provided opportunity to strengthen efforts at local and national level, aiming to find solutions for better protection of children and intervention in identified cases of violence against children.
Recent study Sensitivity of the system for identification, recording and reporting of child abuse cases in Bulgaria done by SAPI and UNDP, as well as Recommendations for Bulgaria in response to periodical report submitted to Committee for the Rights of the Child from 2007, show that there is a need of activation of all basic actors in the process of child protection and intervention in cases of violence, and improvement of their coordination, which would ensure the readiness of the system to react adequately and consistently.

The main objective of the meeting was to prepare a draft National Action Plan for prevention of violence against children. The legal framework and actual functioning of the child protection system were analyzed. After mapping of interventions in the field of prevention of violence against children in different settings, the participants elaborated the draft plan to be finalized by SAPI and UNICEF experts. It will be presented to National Council for Child Protection for approval, and implemented in practice by the State Agency for Child Protection.