The public debate on the bill for the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, the Istanbul Convention, organized by National Assembly President Tsveta Karayancheva, ended up as a clash of polarized opinions, with neither side showing any willingness to alter their stance. 

The debate was joined by MPs, representatives of the executive, of NGOs, the principal religious denominations as well as experts. Before that, the document split parliament down the middle. GERB firmly supports the document, while the United Patriots and the Bulgarian Socialist Party are against, as is the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The opponents of the Convention allege it will lead up to the introduction of the so-called “gender ideology” in Bulgarian legislation – the blurring the notion of “sex” by introducing a socially rather than biologically based definition, and will prepare the ground for demands for the recognition of the so-called “third sex” and same-sex marriage.  

The Council of Europe has urged Bulgaria to ratify the Convention, as did EC Vice-President Frans Timmermans during his visit to Sofia on Monday.