"The fact that cases of violence by children on children have become more frequent scandalizes society. We also had a case of encroachment on human life. Every day we witness videos in which children beat children. The increase in aggression is not only a national problem. This trend is also observed in a number of European countries." This was said by the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Assembly of the BSP and the coalition “BSP-United Left” Atanas Zafirov, who is also responsible for the work of the Central Commission for Combating Antisocial Behavior of Minors and Juveniles CCBPMN in the Council of Ministers during parliamentary control in the National Assembly.
Zafirov also referred to the Salzburg Forum with the participation of Deputy Minister Popov, where the same findings were made.
"Aggression is everywhere - in the park, malls, video games, movies, and children are a reflection of our society. They copy adults and want to demonstrate their superiority in strength over others. For some of today's youth, it seems fashionable to be a hooligan, not to follow norms and not to respect authorities," the Deputy Prime Minister described the trends.
According to him, it is therefore extremely important what example politicians set in the parliament hall and what tone and language are observed there. The unlimited use of social networks by our children also has an extremely negative impact on them, the Deputy Prime Minister was categorical.
"To deal with this growing aggression, an effective policy for prevention against asocial behavior is necessary. This prevention is among the priorities in the work of the Central Committee for the Prevention of Violence and the local committees. The Central Committee for the Prevention of Violence has sent an instruction to all local committees to develop and implement municipal programs and action plans for the prevention of violence", Atanas Zafirov pointed out.
He informed that since the beginning of the year, 2 national and 9 regional meetings have been organized with chairmen and secretaries of local committees, with workers, public educators, related to the implementation of innovative preventive methods to counteract asocial and risky behavior. Ways for individual and group prevention have been discussed. Leading specialists, university professors and practitioners are invited to speak at these meetings.
"In 2024 alone, local committees conducted a total of 784 municipal programs, covering 5,237 parents and 116,871 children. In these programs, children engage in sports, art, music, and organize children's sports camps for children from the weakest families. A very successful practice of local committees is attracting volunteers to work with children, as well as the "Peers Teach Peers" program, the Deputy Prime Minister pointed out.
We work in close coordination with social workers from the Child Protection Department of the Social Assistance Agency.
"For the nine months of 2025, in which I am the chairman of the committee, we are working on strategic documents for children at risk. CCBPMN is working on the National Program for the Prevention of Violence with a horizon of 2026. The result of this program is yet to be reported. CCBPMN is also a partner of the State Agency for Child Protection in its campaign "Be Brave, Be Kind", which is extremely successful and is being warmly welcomed in Bulgarian schools", said Atanas Zafirov.
He informed that CCBPMN is also seeking support from educational institutions and social services, carries out joint activities with NGOs, volunteer organizations, the Bulgarian Red Cross and regional RHIs and works closely with the Ministry of Interior in the fight against cybercrime and false signals on the 112 hotline.
"Regarding the problem with the locales, we also held a meeting with the Ministry of Interior on preventive measures, for observing evening hours and increasing inspections in nightclubs. "This problem is inter-institutional, it is difficult for the Central Commission to re-educate children if they are not covered by the entire system. And it will be difficult for us to motivate people to work with such low wages," Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov outlined the picture.