About 1,000 cases of child abuse are registered in 2019 by the Agency for Social Assistance. Most cases were registered in Sofia, Montana, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo. This was reported today by Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy Zornitsa Rusinova to the delegates of the two-day regional conference aimed at preventing and dealing with violence against children, the social ministry said.
 
The organizers of the forum are UNICEF in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the State Agency for Child Protection, the World Health Organization, the Childhood Non-Violence Association (Bulgaria) and the Child Protection Hub.

The most important step towards the elimination of violence against children is the legislative initiative, said Deputy Minister Rusinova. She noted that the Bulgarian legislation focuses on issues related to the prevention of violence, the coordination between the institutions and the support of children victims of violence and their families. That is why the complex efforts of all child protection bodies provide protection against various forms of abuse, explained Rusinova, quoted in the report. She was categorical that there could be no violence against children in the 21st century.
 
Deputy Minister Rusinova presented the new Social Services Act, which separates social payments from social services. The sub-legislative regulation is also being prepared for it. A national map of social services will be prepared according to which new day-care centers and 24-hour support and care will be built.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy has committed to EU funds to provide support to social service providers, she reminded. The forecasts are that in the next programming period the funds for Bulgaria from the European Social Fund will increase by 70 per cent. In the current programming period, about 27 percent of the funds are targeted at social inclusion and this trend will be maintained, said Deputy Minister Rusinova.

 
To prevent violence and work with victims of violence, we need to expand and create the additional services to be funded with European funds and the state budget. An important part of the process is the building of a good network of specialists to take the cases to the local level, Rusinova stressed.

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