Deputy Prime Minister will be appointed with responsibility for dealing with domestic violence

Domestic violence is an extremely serious problem, both globally and for the Bulgarian society. Much abuse in the family remains undisclosed. The exacerbation of this problem, especially in the context of the pandemic, puts the issue of solving it as a priority. Therefore, consensus on controversial issues will be urgently sought in the draft law amending the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence within a working group with the participation of MPs from all parliamentary groups.

This was stated by the Minister of Justice, Nadezhda Yordanova, during a working meeting on January 17 with experts from state institutions and NGOs involved in the drafting of the texts.

The discussion was also attended by Lena Borislavova - Chief of Staff of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy Ivan Krastev. Representatives of non-governmental organizations were also invited to the meeting, who sent opinions during the public discussion of the draft law.

"Decisive action is needed on this very important issue for society - domestic violence. Therefore, by the end of the week we are organizing a meeting with MPs from all parliamentary parties and experts on the draft in order to speed up the process of clearing up controversial issues and moving the draft to the Council of Ministers for approval," said Minister Yordanova.

The chief of the Prime Minister's cabinet, Lena Borislavova, said the fight against domestic violence was a cause backed by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and his entire cabinet. She added that a Deputy Prime Minister will be appointed, with responsibilities for dealing with this issue.

"It is a matter of political courage to open this very important topic at the beginning of the term of office of this government," said Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva. She recalled that last year, under the auspices of the ombudsman,. an online discussion on the draft law was held, with more than 100 people taking part.

The participants in the meeting expressed readiness to continue working on the key issues raised in the public consultation until agreeing on opposing views and proposals for changes in the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence.