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.
During the meeting was presented the Children First project , which is implemented in Bulgaria, Greece and Italy. Diana Georgieva, a CSCD expert, presented useful materials prepared within the initiative - videos and manuals that will be provided for use in the university library.
The future social workers also met with the child psychologist Yanka Vasileva, who shared her practical experience on the topic and stressed that children always remain loyal to their parents, no matter what they have done to them.
Four female students introduced their peers to the idea of creating a babysitting agency in Ruse. They themselves are sensitive to the issue of domestic violence and would like to be in the service of working mothers who have difficulty raising their children on their own. Moreover these future entrepreneurs want to be able to hire mothers who have experienced domestic violence in the future to enable them to be financially independent.
One of the most important parts of the meeting was the explanation of the so-called Coordination mechanism when working with children who witness domestic violence. The legislative and institutional framework was presented by Deana Dimova - Director of the Association "Centre Dinamika" and an expert with many years of experience in working with victims of violence.
The meeting ended with many questions from the students and a lively discussion, which included the director of the Center for Sustainable Communities Development - Stanimira Hadjimitova.
Although the Children First project is coming to an end, hard work on the issue of witnessing domestic violence continues in full force. The municipality of Ruse is also involved in the fight by signing a protocol for assistance to local institutions in the case of children who witness domestic violence.