Bulgarian reformatories are places where children are suffering from sexual harrassment, physical violence and deprivation of food, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee has warned.

The organization has carried out a study comprising ten institutions were minors are held for various offenses.

BHC's report also comprises Romania, Poland and Hungary, with Bulgaria ranking last in ability to defend the rights of children in reformatory institutions.

Poor living conditions and lack of proper medical services are also among the major problems for underage delinquents, the NGO has pointed out.

A researcher at the organization cites the example of a girl in a Northern Bulgarian village that tried to escape a reformatory and was made to go around the building only with her underwear on as a form of punishment.

According to the researcher quoted by Darik Radio, many children say they are insulted every day on an ethnic, gender, sexual and social basis.

Commenting on a separate case of a girl which claims to have been sexually harrassed by an educator at a reformatory also reported on Tuesday, social service officials say the facts should first be verified, as the children "can also be manipulative."