Bulgaria is one of the countries that has joined the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign under the auspices of the UN, which will take place November 25 - December 10. The start was given on November 25 – the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The event is also organised in support of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women.

Within the framework of the campaign an International conference on the topic of "Institutions, media and society together against violence towards women" took place in Sofia. It was organized by the Association of Women Lawyers, jointly with the Council of Sofia Bar Association under the auspices of the National Ombudsman of Bulgaria Maya Manolova. What were the main objectives of this major forum? More from lawyer Elka Porominska, president of the Association of Women Lawyers in Bulgaria:

"The goal of the forum is described in a declaration approved by the participants, institutions, the media, including the Bulgarian National Radio. We want signing and ratification of the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. The Convention was created in 2011 and adopted in 2012. In 2014, the Convention was signed by ten countries and entered into force. The document provides the legal framework for protection against all types of violence.  In this context, we discussed the issue of protecting women against violence.”

According to the lawyer Porominska, the moment is very crucial for signing the declaration and joining the Convention, because, later it would be difficult to catch up. In the future the requirements for signing the convention will be much more.

Currently, Bulgaria has one major acting law on protection against domestic violence and a new one is waiting to be adopted by the National Assembly. It concerns equal opportunities, but its adoption is a slow process. There is Lack of coordination between institutions, the media and society.  Ambassador of Turkey to Bulgaria Mr. Suleiman Gokcen’s speech made impression to the guests. Turkey is the first country that has signed the "Istanbul Convention" and Mr. Gokcen was involved in its preparation and signing. Women lawyers from Milan, Italy also shared their experience at the forum. Gender equality is the key to stopping various forms of violence. Globally, it is considered that one out of three women is a victim of violence. In Bulgaria one out of four women is a victim of violence…

We asked Ms. Porominska what motivated her to stand behind this cause:

"In other European countries I see that people speak about this problem and work to overcome it. As a lawyer with over 30 years of experience I think the cause is worth it. We should not turn our backs to people who are being hurt. I think in purely human terms this is a cause that is worth it,” says lawyer Elka Porominska.

English: Alexander Markov