Peaceful procession in Sofia on International Day Against Violence Against Women

The procession for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women began at 6:30 pm in downtown Sofia on November 25.

It marks the start of 16 days of the annual International Campaign against Violence against Women. One of the events, part of the campaign, is a peaceful procession called "They will never dance again," in memory of the women killed by their partners in recent years. The procession started from Independence Square, will cross Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., near the National Assembly, the University building and will end at the Eagles Bridge.

Over 23,300 alerts for domestic violence were reported in the first 7 months of the year. As a comparison, they were just over 31,000 for the whole 2018. National police have urged victims not to be afraid, to report abuse.

Senior Commissioner Blagorodna Makeva: Domestic violence begins with shouting but must not end with silence. For each victim of domestic violence, it takes a different period of time before she feels strong enough to seek help.

For the first 9 months of the year, the district courts have issued more than 2,390 restraining orders against abusers, compared to 2,000 in the previous year.

National Ombudsperson Diana Kovacheva also spoke in defence of women who became victims of violence. She and her team came out of their office, with black patches on their mouths. The building was illuminated in orange, the colour of the UN's Orange World Campaign.