Founded in 1997, the Neglected Children and Women Foundation is an affiliate member of the ECPAT network. NCS members work on a voluntary basis and include experts on prevention of juvenile delinquency, the judicial system and the police, as well as specialists in research, psychology, sociology, social work and publishing.
The National Network for Children (NNC) is an alliance of more than 120 civil society organisations and supporters, working with and for the children and families of Bulgaria. The promotion, protection, and observation of the rights of the child are the key principles which unite the Network. NNC believes that all policies and practices that affect children, directly or indirectly, should be developed, applied, and observed taking into account the best interest of the child, with the active participation of children and young people themselves. All the NNC activities are led by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the key document that lays down the philosophy and the values of how the Network works.
Contact: Ms. Lydia Zagorova
Phone: +359 2 9861103
Address: 1, Graf Ignatiev Str., floor 4, apart.11, Sofia 1000
Email: ecpatbulgaria@gmail.com
Website: http://www.ecpat-bg.com
Contact: Plamena Nikolova
Phone: +00 359 2 9888 207
Address: 58 Vitosha Blvd., fl. 4, Sofia 1463
Email: office@nmd.bg
Website: http://www.nmd.bg
Bulgaria is one of the primary source countries for human trafficking in the EU. Bulgarian children are trafficked for sexual purposes within the country as well as in Europe, Russia, the Middle East and the United States. Romanian girls, in particular, are vulnerable to trafficking for sexual purposes within the country’s borders.
The Bulgarian Family Code allows for marriages of persons aged 16 with permission of a regional judge, in cases of “important reasons” requiring the marriage. This exception has been condemned by the Committee on the Rights of the Child as recently as 2016.
In September 2015 a controversial provision of the Criminal Code which exempted perpetrators of rape from punishment if they married their victim was repealed.
Year: 2024
Year: 2024
Year: 2023
Year: 2023
No
The age of sexual consent is 14 years for both girls and boys. The national legislation does not provide for a close-in-age exemption.
Analysis of country legislation on age of sexual consent, 2024
Partial
Active and passive extraterritoriality is provided for SEC related offences defined in the Criminal Code (Articles 4 and 5 of the Criminal Code) and there is no double criminality requirement for the exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction. There is no specific provision for SEC related crimes that allows the direct application of universal jurisdiction.
Extraditable offences are those punishable under Bulgarian law and under the law of the requesting state (double criminality) with imprisonment or a measure requiring detention of not less than one year (Article 5 (1) of the Law on Extradition).
SEC offences are referred to as extraditable under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) framework within the EU without requiring double criminality if the act is punishable by a maximum period of at least three years of imprisonment in the requesting State.
Criminal Code Law on Extradition and the European Arrest Warrant, 1968 (status as of2023), 2005
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