Cyber Violence against Women in Bulgaria – Emerging Obligations and the Path Forward

This paper discusses the implications of the newly adopted European Union Directive on Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence considering the utmost importance of addressing cyber violence against women and girls. We begin by an overview of the existing literature and the main topics related to cyber violence against women and girls, as we try to highlight some of the key challenges to tackling this phenomenon. This is followed by a description of the current situation in Bulgaria with respect to preventing violence against women and protecting survivors. We then centre on the importance of the newly adopted EU Directive and some of its key provisions. Based on the obligations borne out of the Directive and good practices from other European countries, we propose several policy recommendations that decision- and policymakers in Bulgaria may consider for the implementation of the new Directive. These relate to the need to adopt relevant and recent international and regional documents, ensure the collection of comprehensive data on cyber violence against women and stimulate the collaboration among different stakeholders.