Focus group on topics, connected with safety and protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse online conducted a team of the Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association (BFPA) in Pleven on July 30, 2018. Special focus when working was put on informational and communication technologies. The work with children is an addition to answers of the countries of Council of Europe according to the Convention of Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, which requires criminalizing of every kind of sexual crime against children. It shows that the countries in and out of Europe have to adopt concrete legislation trough measures for preventing the sexual violence, protecting children-victims, as well to implement criminal prosecution of perpetrations.
„Not everybody had the chance to get good education, we have to do our best to understand everyone,” – says one of the participants, thinking on the question if she knows whether there are some punishments for children who share pictures with provocative content in the network”.
BFPA Annual Retreat Meeting 2018 – The New coming 25
Panagyurishte, July 13-15, 2018
Besides the pleasure of meeting, discussing and having fun together with our branch managers, some of our most prominent and active volunteers, representatives of BFPA’s Board and key partners of the Association, at the 2018 Annual retreat meeting we put the start of a lot of activities for the present and upcoming programmatic period and also shared outcomes of successfully implemented and finalized activities. We called the meeting “The New coming 25” – it is the first year after our 25th anniversary. BFPA’s Executive Director Dr. Radosveta Stamenkova reported the activities for 2018 until now and outlined the forthcoming ones, the perspectives from the viewpoint of the volunteers, the Board and partners were discussed, we tried to foresee the challenges in connection with our future activities in 2018-2019 and their eventual success, which usually brings on more work, and we still find it is good news.
For the Management board, staff, volunteers and supporters of the Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association (BFPA) it is a great sadness to share that the first (and only so far) Honorary President of BFPA Professor Todor Chernev passed away on June 4 2018 the age of 72. He was one of the most outstanding gynecologists in the country, with many awards and achievements, including the national “Golden Hands” award. Besides all his different duties and important causes he was supporting, the Professor , as we called him was one of the founders of BFPA and was President of its Management Board for more than a decade. Professor Chernev remained a reproductive health consultant of our clinic in Sofia for almost 25 years and was active in the work for providing access to health services for underserved and vulnerable groups. He will be missed a lot by his wife, two sons, granddaughter, relatives and friends. The short video below reflects just part of his initiatives and successes. RIP! You will be remembered.
Training of Trainers on Health Education
Sofia, May 18-19, 2018
The Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association (BFPA) conducted on May 18-19, 2018 the first for this year training of trainers on health and sexuality education „About the Shared Knowledge”. High school students from 8th to 11th grade from Sofia, Pleven, Plovdiv, Ruse, Stara Zagora, Troyan and Gorna Oryahovitza were introduced to topics connected with prevention of reproductive health and effective ways for delivering health messages to their peers. The participants were from schools with different profile – entrepreneurship, math, natural science, informatics, humanities…, and what united them was the expectation to gain new knowledge and make new friends. „How can one understand that he/she is suffering from Syphilis?”, „Which of the sources of information are credible?” and „Is it possible an person living with HIV to have life expectancy as long as an uninfected one?” – were some of the questions during the sessions.
BFPA presents its newest edition: a leaflet on Fake news
Sofia, May 17 2018
A new edition with relevant information to recognize fake news was published by the Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association (BFPA). Author of the text is the journalist Polina Paunova and of the drawings – the artist Kremena Koeva. The leaflet has a focus to health, but treats fake news and disinformation as a whole. It is targeting young people, but is useful and appropriate for all age groups. „Fake News draw attention. They are scandalous. Shocking. Spicy. They are often about sex. Or about money. Or about death. Or about the three of the above together. Fake news are “grandiose”, “shocking” and reveal “a secret”. They are presented in a way that make you feel lost or shake your understanding of the world, on politics, medicine, authorities and celebrities. ... they discredit people, sometimes even entire countries. They do not have authors, but use names. They do not use factology, but simulate authenticity…“
Break the Silence: November 18 is the European Day on protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual violence. The first thing that comes to mind when we hear ‘sexual exploitation’ is usually connected with red lanterns, streets or roads with women (and men) sex workers, trafficking of human beings. Sexual exploitation of children could have also other faces – sex services in exchange of expensive things such as smart phone or modern accessory or at the cost of a lunch, sweets or instead of rent for parents’ accommodation. It can happen via internet and to affect minors before they become teenagers. That’s why it is needed to break the silence and to ask for zero tolerance concerning this ugly phenomenon. Statistics show that one of five children becomes victim of violence, including sexual. As parents we can prevent this: we can teach them for instance on the Rule of the Bathing Suit. It says that no one has the right to touch their body, especially where the body is covered by a swimming bathing suit. Medical examinations and manipulations as well don’t have to be allowed without their informed consent. The rule helps children to understand that their bodies are their own, that there is good and bad touching, as well es personal borders and social ethnic norms.
The second competition for small projects for organizations of Learning Action Partnership (LAP) took place in June and July 2020. In the defined for collecting proposals deadline five proposals were presented, among which with the help of a special selected committee, as well of organizations members of LAP, for supporting were approved three: Project ‘ACT>Re-Act>ImpACT! – innovative approach for advocacy of HGO concerning sexual exploitation of children’ of Re-Act Association has the ambition to develop innovative business oriented approach for effective advocacy of NGO with the help of professionals in marketing sphere. Project ‘Can You See Me? – the hidden vulnerability of children from sexual exploitation and violence’ of ‘Parents’ Association will contribute for improving and effective applying of ‘Mechanism for reaction against harassment and violence in the institutions in the system of preschool and school education’ as exploring the gaps concerning prevention and its effective applying in cases of risk and/or cases of sexual exploitation and violence against children, including online. Project ‘Individual Protection – advocating for changes in the legislation for individual assessment of children victims of sexual exploitation’ of Social Activities and Practices Institute (SAPI) is aiming to improve the policy and the law on individual assessment of children, victims of crimes, incl. sexual exploitation within the meaning of a directive 29/2012/ЕС.
Yambol, September 24, 2020 Montana, September 28, 2020
At the end of the second year of BFPA’s project “My body, my rights”, supported by the initiative for socially responsible business “MSD for mothers”, the association organized round tables on the need and benefits of family planning with a focus on vulnerable communities in two of the project locations. During the meetings a recap of the activities up to now was made and future ones were discussed for the third year. Both events were attended by municipal representatives, Regional health inspectorate, Regional health insurance fund, health mediators, health specialists, representatives of local NGOs, Community support centers, social workers and most importantly – members of the target communities in which activities are implemented. A special accent was BFPA’s new short animated products - “Family planning” and “Pregnancy with a smile”. The discussion was on the activities until now and their effect on improving the level of information in the target groups, the need for such activities in general, the best working communication channels in the Roma community, the role of the self help groups and the health mediators, the difficulties caused by COVID-19 and other problems, i.e. the duplication and decentralization of social activities from different institutions. A recapitulation of what has been done until now in Montana was made by Dr. Radosveta Stamenkova, Executive Director of BFPA and Petar Tzvetanov, local Project Coordinator, and for Yambol – Tzveta Petkova, member of NNHM’s Board and Kina Asenova, local Project Coordinator.
Pleven, July 30 2018
Panagyurishte, July 13-15, 2018
Todor Chernev, 1945-2018
Sofia, May 18-19, 2018
Sofia, May 17 2018
