Bulgaria

The report Problem of Child Abuse: Attitudes and Experiences in Seven Countries of Central and Eastern Europe presents selected findings from a comparative research programme carried out in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Ukraine in 2009 and compares it with results from an analogous research from 2005 within the Childhood without Abuse - Toward a Better Child Protection System in Eastern Europe project. The project, coordinated by the Nobody's Children Foundation and financed by the OAK Foundation, was carried out in 2005 - 2009.

On 25th and 26th January project coordinators met to inaugurate new stage of the Childhood without Abuse project that will last from 2010 till 2013 and include organizations from Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland and Ukraine.

In September 2009 two local trainings for social workers, educators, psychologists and pedagogues were carried out by Social Activities and Practices Institute. During the first event the participants were given general information about the problem of child abuse and services of support for victims of violence.

Studies parallel to the studies from 2005 were conducted this year in the frame of the Childhood without Abuse Project. The aim of the studies was to assess changes in the level of public's and professionals' awareness on the topic of child abuse that took place during the time of the project implementation. Studies were conducted in all seven countries participating in the project: Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine.