In the period from February 15 to March 5, the Institute of Social Activities and Practices and the Animus Association Foundation conducted 13 specialized trainings in online format, which covered social service specialists in 25 districts of the country, in the other 3 districts pilot trainings were conducted. Trainings for social service specialists on the topic: "Work on cases of child victims / witnesses of domestic violence - identification and direct work for support and recovery". A total of 375 social service employees participated, working directly with children and families - psychologists and social workers in social services such as: public support center, crisis center, center for social integration and rehabilitation.

The trainings conducted so far have focused on identifying cases of domestic violence and working directly with child victims or witnesses of domestic violence.

The specialists deepened their knowledge on a series of training topics, including: definition of domestic violence; victim profile; experiences of those involved in domestic violence; symptoms in children, victims and / or witnesses of domestic violence; murder risk assessment; integrated assessment of a child, victim or witness of domestic violence; interventions to stop the violence; sparing participation of the child in legal proceedings; trauma recovery interventions; psycho-social / psychological support of the non-abusive parent; psycho-social support of the parent - perpetrator of violence; presentation of the model of the Children's Center for Advocacy and Support "Zona ZaKrila".

The feedback for the trainings is extremely positive

In their feedback on the trainings, the participants from different cities shared a high degree of satisfaction, as well as confidence in the applicability of the acquired knowledge and skills and that in times of isolation and restrictions they needed professional contacts, meetings and exchange of experience and training. "Motivating" effect. They emphasized that they had received knowledge that they would use in their practice and a desire for further training.

Detailed written feedback was provided by a total of 132 training participants participating in trainings led by the two partner organizations - SAPI and Animus.

The participants indicated that they would use each of the topics presented in the training in their future work. 82% of them consider the usefulness of the topic "Consequences and needs of children, victims and witnesses of domestic violence", 75% indicated the importance of topics such as "Symptoms of domestic violence" and "Recovery of children, victims and witnesses of domestic violence" . The remaining topics of the training, over 51% of the participants define as applicable in future work.

To the question "Do you think that this training will help you work better with cases of children, victims or witnesses of domestic violence?", 131 (99.2%) participants answered YES.

To the question "What did I learn during the training?", The participants state:

many things about direct work in cases of child victims or witnesses of DN; reaction in case of DN; conducting an interview with a child; the work of a specialized center for children victims of violence Zona ZaKrila, the work in a blue room; roles of institutions in children, victims of DN; psychological work with the victims of DN; shared experiences and practices; new techniques and methods of work; recalling and enriching knowledge on the topic.

Participants said that they liked the methods of presenting the topics (films, discussions, working in small groups, sharing good practices), the well-structured program, the accessibility and comprehensiveness of the information and topics presented, the experience of trainers and professional training, practical focus of training, feedback.

Feedback data show that participants' attitudes towards domestic violence as a problem, as a consequence for children and as a way of responding vary depending on their experience in working with children, victims of DN, as well as according to established and applicable local practices. for inter-institutional interaction in these cases.

For the BODROZI project - reaction in cases of domestic violence against children

The trainings are under the BODROZI project - response to cases of domestic violence against children, implemented by both organizations. The main goal of the project is to optimize the response of the child protection authorities in Bulgaria in cases of domestic violence in which children are involved - as victims or as witnesses and as a result to improve the practice of working with child victims or witnesses at home. violence across the country.

The project has the support of a number of institutions - Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, ASA, UNICEF-Bulgaria and the municipalities of Shumen and Montana. At the end of the project, 1,000 specialists from all over the country will have undergone specialized training, including: police officers, social workers, protection specialists working in social services and local authorities.

The trainings are based on the shared experience of experts from all over the country on good practices for working on cases of child victims / witnesses of domestic violence.