We tend to talk more and more often about the rights of children in Bulgaria as the reasons are numerous and often not celebratory at all. The International Children's Day on June 1 will pass again this year in a festive fashion but it would hardly be more memorable than other days of the year for a large number of  Bulgarian children who live at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Such is the statistic that was announced months ago and had an oppressive impact upon Bulgarian society. It is true that the number of kids begging on the streets has decreased. But the problem does not remain hidden from our eyes. At the same time the social benefits allocated from the state for raising children are entirely insufficient as the successful stimulation of responsible parenthood through material support still remains only wishful thinking.

More effective protection of the rights of minors in Bulgaria is the goal of the National Network for Children. It is an organization of the NGO sector that works directly with minors and families from across the country. The Foundation recently spread a video clip on the Internet, through which it calls on adults not to educate their children with violence. Under the everyday stress it happens occasionally that parents might lose their temper, as the educational effect of such an act is negative. "Often slapping a kid seems to be the only possible way to deal with the situation, but children can be educated and learn to respect the boundaries through love and respect!", psychologists say. According to Dani Koleva, program director of the National Network for Children, the state institutions must commit to greater control over offenders.

"Children raised in institutions were about 7 thousand in 2010. The good news is that their number has dropped and they are now about 3 thousand. There is an increase of those kids placed with foster parents. But the number of children in the custody of the state is not reduced. It has not yet fulfilled its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - to support parents so that they can take care of their children in a calm manner. The assessment of our organization is that the support of the Bulgarian family is not a priority. At first, the state can change some of its policies as the funds set aside could be more effectively targeted to help families. In the departments for child protection in Bulgaria we have psychologists, social workers, etc. Our experience shows that these people are few in number; they are not well trained and are not well paid. Unfortunately, the big problem is the lack of coordination between departments."

The latest data of the NSI indicates that the children who are victims of violence in Bulgaria are about 2 to 3 thousand per year. There is an alarming trend that these cases do not decrease. "Each and every one of us plays a role in the struggle with violence but leading again must be the work of state institutions", says Dani Koleva.

"One incident of domestic violence exercised by the father over his child and his wife in a family in Pernik has made us request as an NGO a response from state authorities. Thanks to our colleagues, the administration took action and eventually this led to police intervention. The problem was resolved in favor of the child and the mother. In this case, under the law the protection services had to prepare a joint plan for coordination and action within 24 hours. However, this did not happen until the 5th day after the filing of the complaint. During this time, the health and life of the woman and the child were at risk. Sadly, there are many similar examples that clearly speak to the inaction of the authorities that are obliged to work for the protection of children, regardless of whether the threat is in the street or in the family”, says Mrs. Koleva.

English Rossitsa Petcova