One in two children in Bulgaria suffers psychological abuse at home, and one in three experiences physical violence

Metal detectors will be installed in certain schools only, Education Minister Krasimir Valchev has announced on October 22 — a day after an eighth-grade pupil stabbed a 12-year-old boy.

The Association of Secondary School Heads says the move is merely cosmetic and will not tackle the real problem.

According to UNICEF, one in two children in Bulgaria suffers psychological abuse at home, and one in three experiences serious physical violence.

“Metal detectors will be installed only in certain schools,” the Education Minister said.

Experts say family tensions strongly affect how children behave outside the home.

Rossen Yordanov, criminal psychologist:

“When adults — parents — are in a constant state of conflict, what they instil is a phenomenon of premature adulthood — a false sense of maturity. The child begins to feel entitled to do things that are not appropriate for their age.”

Lyubomir Krilchev, Programme Coordinator, Protection from Violence and Access to Justice:

“Science has long proven that a child who has been a victim of violence, especially one who has witnessed violence at home, often becomes an aggressor later in life.”

Bullying and aggression are common in schools and increasingly prevalent online.

11% of children report having been bullied
10% say they have taken part in physical fights
15% have been victims of cyberbullying
Source: UNICEF

Lyubomir Krilchev added:

“One in ten children has been a victim of bullying, and incidents of online bullying are rising sharply. The data for Bulgaria are particularly concerning — around 24% of boys admit to having bullied other children, while among girls the figure is slightly lower, at around 9%.”

Yesterday’s knife attack in a school in Sofia has reignited the debate over security in educational institutions.

Krasimir Valchev, Minister of Education and Science:

“We won’t put metal detectors in every school. We’ll support those that ask for them. But this won’t solve the problem — education’s main role is to teach values. We can’t promise instant results, but stronger moral guidance means less aggression in the long run.”

Assen Alexandrov, Chair of the Association of Secondary School Heads in Bulgaria:

“You’ve been to an airport — can 600 students pass through metal detectors in ten minutes? It’s just a comfort measure. We need to look for the root causes, because a child can be harmed with a tool from the physics lab or even with kicks. The problem is the cause, not just the consequence."

Daniel Mitov, Minister of the Interior:

“The general consensus is that such measures are unlikely to prove effective.”

UNICEF emphasises that significant investment is needed in early childhood development programmes and parental support initiatives to prevent violence before it occurs. Equally urgent are reforms in the juvenile justice system, which is still governed by outdated legislation dating back to the late 1950s.