project Children first - Център за развитие на устойчиви общности

"We are a nation sick for love. It's the same for both adults and children. "

"We are a nation sick for love. It's the same for both adults and children. "

This was shared by one of the child psychologists - participants in the focus groups held last week on the project "Children first" in Ruse.

6 young women are ready to start their own businesses in Ruse

They were part of a series of trainings on entrepreneurship organized by the Center for Sustainable Communities Development (CSCD), Sofia and Centre Dinamika Association, Ruse within the project "Children First: Improving Local Services for a More Effective and Child-Centered" Aproach to Witnessed Violence ") under the EU's Rights, Equality and Citizenship Program.

CHILDREN FIRST - Improving Local Services for a more effective and Child – Centred Approach to Witnessed Violence

START: 01.01.2020
END: 31.12.2022

Partners:

Horizon Serivce, Italy – leading partner
Ares 2.0, Italy
Center for Sustainable Communities Development, Bulgaria
Dinamika Centre Association, Bulgaria
Women's Center Of Karditsa, Greece
Cismai, Italy

Each case of a child witnessing domestic violence is strictly individual

This became clear at the focus group organized on June 17 in Sofia by Center for Sustainable Communities Development within Children First project. It was attended by representatives of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Agency for Social Assistance, State Policy for Children, Sofia Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, Open Door Center, Foundation for the Development of Emotional Intelligence, National Network for Children, lawyers and teachers.

Experts from 3 European countries met in Milan for a final conference on the Children First project

On May 2 in Milan, the 6 partners from Bulgaria, Greece and Italy presented their experience and materials prepared within the project.

EXPERTS TALK: Children, witnessing domestic violence

Why is no one talking about these children and what are their defense mechanisms?

Eleven experts from all over the country took part in the in-depth interviews with specialists within the framework of the "Children First" project.

First activities on Children First project

Center for Sustainable Communities Development and Dinamika Association Ruse – partners in the European project Children First launched a desk research on the existing legislative and institutional framework, which at this stage engages representatives of various institutions in the process of prevention, recognition and work with the phenomenon of children witnessing domestic violence.

In Bulgaria there is no minimum age at which a child can be interrogated

"In Bulgaria there is no minimum age at which a child can be interrogated”

This was one of the most interesting conclusions during the training organized by the Center for Sustainable Communities Development experts for the long-term partners of the Association "Center Dinamika" - Ruse, last Friday (January 29).

Nearly 100 students from the University of Ruse already know how to work with children who have witnessed domestic violence

The young people participated in an online discussion on the topic of the testimony of domestic violence, organized by the Association "Center Dinamika", Ruse and the Center for Sustainable Communities Development(CSCD), Sofia.

Nearly 80 representatives of institutions across the country spoke about children witnessing domestic violence

On November 10, in the online platform Zoom, inspectors of the Children's Pedagogical Room, social workers from the Child Protection Departments and other regional structures involved in children's rights actively participated in a training dedicated to children, witnesses of domestic violence, organized by the Center for Sustainable Communities Development and Association Center "Dinamika" - Ruse.

According to the participants, social workers often have difficulties in assessing the signal given to them, and according to the representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the court and prosecutors too often do not believe the words of the children during their hearings in blue rooms. Inspectors are adamant that children have specifics of emotional development that must be taken into account and they cannot be expected to pass on what happened to them as adults.

During the meeting Children First Project was presented as well as its aims and activities (you can find project presentation here: https://cscd-bg.org/en/projects/project-children-first/children-first-improving-local-services-for-a-more-effective-and-child-centred-approach-to-witnessed-violence ). CSCD expert Diana Georgieva shared the experience of the Italian partner in the project - CISMAI, explaining the guidelines for intervention when it comes to children who witness domestic violence.

Deana Dimova, director of the Association Center Dinamika gave a detailed analysis of how the Covid-19 pandemic affected domestic violence and in particular the evidence of domestic violence. Her colleague Adriana Angelova explained how they work with children witnesses of domestic violence in the AVC in Ruse. Emphasis was also placed on the quantitative and qualitative data related to the users of services in the AVCs.

Of course, the regulatory framework is also important in these cases. For this topic the floor was given to Elka Porominska – lawyer from Association of Women Lawyers and to Maria Gancheva, a member of the Milan Bar Association. She complemented the discussion with good practices from Italy.

After the presentations of the panelists, it became clear again that the evidence of domestic violence is a problem that is not paid enough attention in the public space, and field experts need a number of trainings to increase capacity.

Another training is forthcoming within the project, this time in Ruse, where we will meet with children's teachers, pedagogues and nurses.

Follow our website for more details!