18-12-2023 16:52
For all of the more than 35 students who filled the classroom at the 37th Raina Knyaginya Secondary School in Sofia, this is a long-accepted, undeniable rule. They also learned how this rule is reflected in the legislation against domestic violence.
With the kind hosting of the principal and teachers of the capital school, experts from the PROTECT project, funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, organized an information meeting with students from 9th to 11th grade.
They were informed about what students know about this increasingly serious and visible problem in our society. At the end of the meeting, scepticism turned into optimism. The young people proved that they are aware of many commonly accepted myths about domestic violence (e.g. that if someone beats you it is an expression of affection, that men cannot be victims of violence, that it only happens in poor families...). The girls and boys showed great curiosity about the work of the investigators, who introduced them to specific cases of domestic violence and pointed out the steps to report the crime when it happens.
This meeting was part of the PROTECT project information campaign.
"Crimes such as domestic violence are an expression of a range of societal problems that we can tackle if we start an open and ongoing dialogue about them, not just with adults, but also with children and young people. We will continue with meetings and information on social media next year," said the project experts.