Bulgaria: Child witness in criminal proceedings – multidisciplinary approach

On 11th - 12th November 2008 international seminar "Child witness in criminal proceedings - multidisciplinary approach" took place in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event was organized by Social Activities and Practices Institute - Bulgarian Partner of the Childhood without Abuse Project, with cooperation of the Nobody's Children Foundation and the Bulgarian Judges Association.

The conference gathered judges and other legal and child protection specialists from Bulgaria, as well as representatives from Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland and Ukraine. Childhood without Abuse Project coordinators also participated in the conference.

Patterns of child maltreatment and community health approach to the prevention of violence were topics introduced by prof. Kevin Browne, whereas Maria Keller-Hamela presented psychological situation of child witness and child interviewing.
Radka Stoyanova from Bulgaria described current legal state regarding the situation of the child in criminal proceedings and necessary amendments. Nadya Stoykova and Iva Pushkarova presented outcomes of research on the situation of child witness in Bulgaria. Iva Pushkarova presented international legal acts concerning child witness in criminal proceedings.

Conference topics proved to be interesting for the participants and raised a lot of questions and discussions.
The event could be organized thanks to the financial support received from EU Phare Programme in Bulgaria, the OAK Foundation, The Open Society Institute East - East Programme, and the Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe.