GENERAL OBJECTIVE: 

Change in the practice of court hearing of children victims of violence and children witnesses of crimes in Bulgaria so as to guarantee the best interest and protection of the child.

 PARTNERS: All organs and institutions dealing with court hearings of children victims of violence and children witnesses of crimes:

• Court
• Prosecutor's Office
• Investigation
• Lawyers Association
• Police, Child Pedagogic Room
• Municipal Authority, Local Commission for Fighting Antisocial Acts of Youths and Minors, Complex for Social Services to Children and Families
•  "Social Support" Directorate, Child Support Department

 Pilot cities of the project: Pazardzhik, Shoumen and Sofia

 IMMEDIATE GOALS:

• To facilitate the process of understanding of the problem "Interviewing and hearing of children victims of violence and children witnesses of crimes" among the interested/target institutions.
• To facilitate the process of understanding among the interested/target institutions about the conditions and the proper approach to interviewing/hearing a child witness, so that further traumatizing of the child can be avoided to a maximum degree and the child's best interest and rights can be guaranteed.
• To impose certain behavioral norms and limitations among the participating institutions in the pilot cities during child hearing/interviewing that would guarantee the rights and the best interest of the child. These norms are to be applied in the everyday practice.
• To develop an effective practice of hearing/interviewing children in the pilot cities that, on the one hand, would guarantee the best interest and the rights of the child and on the other, the provision of full and exact information on the part of the child so that the right legal measures can be imposed. 

  TASKS:

• To stir up a dialogue between the responsible institutions in the pilot cities regarding the procedures of hearing children victims of violence and children witnesses of crimes and to analyze the existing practices and normative regulation so that the right characteristics of the problem "Interviewing and hearing of children" can be determined and a plan for the solution of the problem can be developed.
• To build the professional knowledge and skills of the specialists participating in the process of interviewing and hearing children for working with children victims of violence and children witnesses of crimes.
• To equip a specialized room for hearing children that would provide the necessary conditions for avoiding to a maximum degree further traumatizing of the children and would secure the best interest and the rights of the children.
• To work out an operative mechanism for cooperation between institutions in the process of interviewing/hearing children so that the risk of multiple interviews with the children can be avoided.
• To develop a proper and effective methodology for interviewing/hearing children witnesses that would guarantee their rights and best interest as well as prevention of any additional traumatizing effects for them.

 ACTIVITIES:

• Work meetings between representatives from the target institutions and organizations for the selection and formation of expert work groups in Pazardzhik, Shoumen and Sofia.
• Gathering local expert work groups including specialists directly working with children in the target institutions and organizations in the pilot cities. 
• Joint work meeting between the expert groups from the three cities for a discussion of the development of the project and the planning of its future implementation. The concept and the philosophy of working with children and protecting their rights and best interest as well as foreign good practices in this sphere will be presented.
• Selection of 9 consultants from the three cities representatives of the target institutions that would be directly engaged with the development of the project products.
• Working out of an operation plan for the project with the participation of the local expert groups, coordinators and consultants.
• Work meetings and trainings of the local expert groups.
• Sharing of experience with "Nobody's Children" Foundation in Poland with participants from the target institutions in the pilot cities. Studying the Polish System for hearing and interviewing children. 
•  Translation and adaptation of the published materials received as a result of the sharing of experience in Poland. 
• Work meeting for analysis of the shared experience, discussion of the learned lessons and possibilities for their implementation on a local level.  
•   Training with representatives from the professional communities working with children victims of violence and children witnesses of violence. The training will be led by Maria Keller-Hamela and Jolanta Zmarzlik, experts preparing specialists for working with children during criminal processes in Poland. 
•  Gathering of a group of 15 practitioners, active participants in the implementation of the project, to accumulate knowledge and skills for leading trainings and work meetings. The group will be formed after an internal competition for selection of the members takes place. The training for trainers will be conducted in two modules for mastering various techniques for training adults as well as developing training plans, assigning tasks, etc. 
•  Preparation of a manual for working with children victims of violence and children witnesses of crimes. The manual will assist specialists from the target institutions in their work with children victims of violence and children witnesses of crimes.
• Shooting of a training movie for working with children victims of violence and children witnesses of crimes.
• Conducting 28 regional meetings throughout the country between representatives from the professional communities of the Court, the Prosecutor's Office, the Investigation, the Police, the Lawyers Association, the Social Services, the local non-government organizations, the Child Protection Units, etc, for a discussion of the problem "Hearing/interviewing children"; presentation of good practices and sharing of the experience gained during the project implementation.
• Development of projects introducing child hearing practices that would guarantee the best interest and the rights of the children. Essential role in the working out of these projects will be ascribed to the local expert groups and experts from the target institutions while members of SAPI will provide them with methodological help.  
•  On-site implementation of the projects -  furnishing and accommodation of child hearing rooms, development of a mechanism for cooperation between institutions, and usage of the rooms for hearing in the process of their work with children victims of violence and children witnesses of crimes.
• Writing of a report with conclusions and recommendations based on the work of the local expert groups regarding the necessary normative changes for improvement of the child hearing practices.
• Working out of a suggestion for normative changes and lobbying for their implementation.