The number of calls made to the national helpline for victims of violence has gone up in the first six months of the year – to 960 in January-June, as compared to 794 during the same period of last year.

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More often than not, the violence is reported by the victims, in some case by friends or relatives. Against this background, amendments were approved to the law on protection from domestic violence, with the votes of the MPs from GERB/SDS, We Continue the Change/Democratic Bulgaria (PP/DB) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, to facilitate the process of obtaining protection from this type of violence.

What will each regulatory change actually change?

Extending the deadline for filing an application for protection from domestic violence from 1 to 3 months resolved a very important issue regarding the future protection of the victim, explains Katya Krastanova, clinical psychologist and psychotherapist with Animus Association Foundation, and adds that the changes are extremely important:

“I can cite, as an example from our practice, a woman who was brutally beaten in March. Her arm was broken in several places, she had to undergo surgery multiple times, and by time she had finished her medical treatment in May, it turned out she was not entitled to a restraining order because she had not filed a report to the regional court within the deadline specified – one month. She is now a target of constant threats by the domestic violence offender who keeps threatening her that this is going to happen all over again, the most direct threat being “I will come to finish you off”. This is a threat she can only refer to the prosecutor’s office but she cannot demand a restraining order, as the act itself took place too far back in time.”

The second change to the law stipulates that the court shall perform a risk assessment based on a specific methodology and make use of the opinion of specialists. This will put an end to the practice of the court interpreting the risk of domestic violence subjectively, Katya Krastanova explains, and gives more examples from the practice of the foundation:

“A woman who has received a great many threats, verbally or on online platforms, collects this information and hands it over to the regional court with an application for a restraining order.  The regional court rules there is no risk to the life or health of the woman and the child because there is no physical violence or other evidence, and decrees the measure: the offender shall refrain from violence. When this happens the woman has no other choice than to go to a crisis centre somewhere in the country, where she has to wait for 6 months for the court to collect evidence that there is a serious risk to their life and health, and to order the issuance of a restraining order. When a methodology is adopted – it is already being introduced within the structures of the Interior Ministry – judges will no longer rule whether there exists a risk or not on the basis of their own subjective criteria, they will have to cite the information coming from everyone who has had anything to do with the case, and in this way, will assess the degree of risk to the life of the victims, decreeing measures conforming to the degree of danger to their life.”

The law also envisages the creation of a national domestic violence information system, which will be extremely useful to the police, as it will make their job easier, eliminating the multi-step cumbersome procedure now in place when reports of domestic violence come in.

Other measures set down by legislators are connected with a prohibition on the offender approaching or communicating with the victim, broadening the circle of persons who are entitled to help in the event of domestic violence, setting up a national council for prevention and protection from domestic violence.

Translated and posted by Milena Daynova

Photos: Animus Association Foundation, BGNES