National Study on Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (DGBV) and Elaboration of a Victims Support Model (VSM), Legal, Institutional and Policy Analysis - Bjørnsen, Gunn; Nesheva, Elmira; Ilcheva, Miriana (Centăr za izsledvane na demokracijata, 2015)
Although throughout the last decade the Bulgarian authorities have adopted a number of acts and subsidiary legislation, as well as improved the existing ones, related to domestic and gender-based violence (DGBV), the country still has a long way to go to bring its legislation and practices in full compliance with EU and Council of Europe standards. The present analysis will attempt to show that Bulgaria has a fairly comprehensive legal framework for counteracting violence, affecting disproportionately women and girls. It includes, inter alia, the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence and the Regulation for its implementation, stipulating a civil law procedure for protecting those harmed; relevant provisions in the Criminal Code, criminalising bodily injury and other forms of violence against the person, plus a provision on punishing non-compliance with a domestic violence protection order; a body of legislation for protection and (financial) assistance of victims of crime, including a dedicated law, relevant provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code. In addition, a number of policy documents guide the work of institutions in co-ordinating their efforts to combat violence and protect groups of persons harmed, especially those with multiple vulnerabilities, such as Roma women and girls
Keywords: Politics / Political Sciences; Politics; Social Sciences; Gender Studies; Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence; Human Rights and Humanitarian Law; Civil Society; Public Law; Sociology; Security and defense; Welfare systems; Social development; Social differentiation; Criminology; Studies in violence and power; Substance abuse and addiction; Family and social welfare; Penology; Victimology; Welfare services; Social Norms / Social Control; Penal Policy; Sociology of Politics; EU-Legislation; Sociology of Law