The campaign raises funds for crisis andcounsellingcentres in the country, which are at the forefront of the fight against domestic violence, in response to increased cases.
On the eve of November 25 – International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, andon the occasion ofthe UN global initiative “16 days of activism against gender-based violence”, we from the Bulgarian Fund for Women presentThe Invisible First Line– a charity campaign in support of the crisis andcounsellingcentres in Bulgaria, which are at the forefront in the fight against domestic violence by helping the affected women and children. There are only 17 centres for the whole country, and the services theyprovideare systematically underfunded.
According to the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and according to WHO, every third woman is a victim of violence, and since the beginning of anti-epidemic measures and isolation, the situation has deteriorated in many homes. According to media reports, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, at least 42 women have lost their lives killed by their former or current partners, sons,fathers,or other men close to them. The organizations that manage the hotlines for victims of violence report an increase in signals by about 30%, and the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria reports a threefold increase in domestic violence cases in 2021.
Domestic violence is a hidden pandemic that has long taken hold in homes in Bulgaria and is different from that caused by the coronavirus. The cases of women andchildrenvictims of violence who are currently seeking support are much more serious and require immediate help and protection.
Through theInvisible First Linecampaign, we at the Bulgarian Women’s Fund aim to tell the stories of psychologists, lawyers and social workers from organizations that work on the front line byprovidinglegal, psychological, and social services, managing crisis centres for temporary accommodation, counsellingcentres, hotlines for help and mobile services across the country and to raise funds for their urgent needs. These include measures against the spread of COVID-19, the payment of state legal fees for the representation of victims in court,additionalhours of work of psychologists and lawyers due to the increased number of cases, textbooks for children and emergency humanitarian aid for women leaving the crisiscentres, etc.
Thecentresthat the donations will reachtocontinue helping the dozens of women and children they work with every dayare inthe cities of Varna,Dimitrovgrad,Dupnitsa, Lovech, Pernik, Plovdiv, Ruse,Silistra, Stara Zagora, Sofia, Targovishte,Haskovoand others.
The campaign can be supported in the following ways:
- onsilna.infoby donation by account or bycard;
- atPlatform.bg;
- with DMS SILNA on 17 777 oronline donation;
- atEasyPaycash registers throughout the country with KIN 4236895688.
Donors of BGN 50 or more will receive as a gift the specially created documentary bookThe Invisible First Line, telling stories of specialists who work in crisis andcounsellingcentres, intertwined with the fates of the injured women and children, whom they help every day. The idea of the book is to inspire hope and show these everyday heroes, who often remain hidden, outside the news on television, but who change human destinies.
Avon Cosmetics Bulgaria, Veolia –SofiyskaVoda, Raiffeisen Bank, Melon, the British Embassy inSofia,and individual donors have already stood behind the cause of the campaign. The book will be delivered to the donors free of charge with the kindassistanceofGlovo-Bulgaria.
