Main events related to the 16- days campaign against VAW in Bulgaria

25 November- Launching the campaign at a press conference sponsored by NGO representatives and representatives of institutions such as The State Agency for Child Protection, the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, as well as the Information Centre of the Council of Europe, foreign embassies, like the American embassy, etc. The main events will be marked and the link between the different forms of VAW stressed upon.

28 November – Launching a poster exhibition by the Council of Europe on the theme – in the National Library in Sofia.

29 November – “Parliaments against DV against women,” a regional conference of the Parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, organized by the focal point in the BG parliament Mrs. Darinka Stancheva. The conference will take place in the Bulgarian National Assembly and the speakers are parliamentarians from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Moldova, Albania, BiH, Serbia, etc. They will cover important aspects of the responsibility of parliaments in combating DV against women. It is an unprecedented conference on the issue, at least in Bulgaria. NGOs are invited as observers.

30 November – The BGRF, Demetra Association, and partners and representatives of the institutions will hold a round table on the theme of Strategies and Partnerships, as well as creating favourable conditions for the effective implementation of the Law on Protection against DV. The first results of the BGRF monitoring will be presented, a project funded by UNIFEM, as well as the first recommendations for legislative changes. A press conference will take place in the middle of the round table.

3 December- A seminar on interdisciplinary intervention and community response to DV will be held by BGRF and Demetra in Blagoevgrad. The establishment of a branch in Demetra will be announced and contacts with the new municipal council will be established.

4 December- A seminar on good practices for combating trafficking in women will be held by the National Commission for combating trafficking in Human Beings. The different models for tackling prostitution will be discussed as well- addressing arguments for and against legalization.

12 December- A conference on DV will be organized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy / the vice- minister Ivanka Hristova and will be held in Sofia with delegates from NGOs around the country. Issues of sustainability of services and of directions for improvement of the legislation will be discussed. This is also an unprecedented event for Bulgaria.

13 December- A seminar for concrete strategies on TIW will be organized by the US Embassy.

In addition to that, partner NGOs will hold round tables and seminars in Plovdiv, Gorna Oryahovitza, Haskovo, Varna. The Information Centre of the CE has also announced 6 round tables in Northern Bulgaria related to the CE Campaign.

All this is a clear progress compared to previous years and marks the deep impact of the work of NGOs in Bulgaria during the years after Beijing.