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Description
The project aims to answer the needs of improvements in the prevention and counteraction to all forms of violence against children in the North-West of Bulgaria.
The target group includes children victims or witnesses of crime, children in conflict with the law with a focus on vulnerable Roma children.
The project plans to develop and introduce a new specialised support service called "Children''s Path". In parallel, the project will provide continuous upgrading of the expertise and competence of professionals working with children. The trainees will be magistrates in the target region and members of local Coordination mechanisms for children protection - interagency teams established in every municipality in Bulgaria in 2010. The implementation approach includes a series of thematic meetings between the children and magistrates, taking place in the courtrooms.
The project has the ambition to lead to a more effective detection and investigation and to a reduction of the re-victimisation of children during court and pre-court proceedings. Thus, it is expected to have a tangible and sustainable contribution to the improvement of the status and the opportunities for vulnerable children as well as to the capacity of the professionals working with children.
Summary of project results
Project "Children''s Path" aimed to support through a comprehensive new service the development and introduction of effective integrated approaches aimed at improving the status and opportunities of children from the Roma community in contact with the law and victims of domestic violence. It also contributes to increasing the access and quality of specialized services, with a special focus of children from the Roma community.
A Guide for providing the “Children’s Path” service was developed.
A Manual for local implementation of the service was developed.
Methodology and Handbook on working with children for frontline professionals were developed.
28 workshops to implement the service on the ground were conducted.
One of the most impactful outcomes of this project was the development of clear procedural guidelines for prosecutors, investigators, and judges on how to interact with children victims, witnesses and offenders.
Developed guidelines emphasised reducing trauma and minimizing secondary victimization, ensuring that children were treated with dignity and respect throughout legal proceedings. To implement these changes effectively, the project placed a strong emphasis on training justice professionals. A total of 969 individuals, including police officers, social workers, and child protection specialists, were trained in child-friendly legal practices.
This project covers a network of professionals across the country - workshops were held in the 28 regional city centres of the country for the implementation of the "Children''s Path" service