Between August and November 2021 the Bulgarian Fund for Women implemented the projectForlove without Violence: Prevention and protection from domestic violence through an information campaignand social media materials and provision of services for victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. The project was implemented with the financial support of the Ministry of Justice.
More than 30 free online consultations with a psychologist or lawyer were conducted with women who have experienced domestic violence from all over the country.The project targeted victims of domestic violence, perpetrators of violence or those living in an environment of domestic violence, including witnesses of that violence. BFWprovidedprimarily online legal and psycho-socialassistance, which is critical, as well as easily accessible information on the subject.
The assistance also reached people from small and remote settlementsthrough flexible online forms of counselling and referral, as well as through the national information campaign. The services were targeted at people who are in a situation of domestic violence or in crisis as a result of an incident of domestic violence; who needed information on how to defend themselves; they sought support to clarify what they would like to take as a way out of a situation of violence or to reduce the risks of new incidents.
Signing up for a free consultation has become very easy and convenient, thus enabling people who do not have access to specialized social services or tools to meet and consult a lawyer or psychologist to take advantage and seek help, advice and guidance. The consultations were conducted online via Viber, Zoom or Skype (or another suitable and accessible tool for users).
In addition to the individual consultations, threeinformational online meetings (webinars) were held, in which experts answered the participants’ questions and introduced them to the steps to get out of a toxic relationship. The meetings were also adapted for thehearing impaired by providing sign language interpretation.This was identified as a necessity, as people from the deaf community have very limited opportunities to access interactive information, participate in such events and share their experiences.
The three online meetings were recorded and professionally edited and can be watched here (in Bulgarian).
- Webinar 1Domestic Violence and Isolation, September 28, 2021
- Webinar 2Domestic Violence and Vulnerable Groups, October 21, 2021
- Webinar 3Stronger Than the Violence: From victim to independent woman, November 4, 2021
Throughout the project, anational information campaignwas conducted, which introduced the general public to the most common forms of violence and opportunities for support.
You can see theshort information videos and posts on social mediaon theposts pageLove Errorson Facebook, managed by the Bulgarian Fund for Women.
More details and useful materials can be found on the website of Bulgarian Fund for Women and on the page loveerrors.bg. In recent years the platform Love Errors, created by Bulgarian Fund for Women, has become a serious source of information for girls and young women, who are at risk of domestic violence and need to learn how to recognize signs of violence. It has grown into a kind of support center – through a series of webinars and individual consultations with lawyers and psychologists, which were held in 2020 and in 2021. To build on this practice, in this project BFW included the creation and dissemination of a series of educational videos that clearly answer the most frequently asked questions by potential victims of domestic violence. Through the video animation, they gave brief and informative tips, guidance and useful information. You can see the videos here.
Within the project, andinformation printed materialwas created– a card, which was distributed in social services, doctors’ offices, public institutions, restaurants and others.
The project is implemented by Bulgarian Fund for Women under a grant agreement with registration № 93-00-243 / 02.08.2021, concluded with the Ministry of Justice.
