„Навират те в устата на вълка“ (Бариери при идентификацията и разследването на насилието срещу жени в България, когато е упражнено от интимния им партньор)
“They Bring You into the Wolf’s Mouth” Barriers to the Identification and Investigation of Intimate Partner Violence against Women in Bulgaria

Summary/Abstract: The current article presents some outcomes of a qualitative study among female victims of domestic violence, police officers and experts from sheltering services in Bulgaria. Eight focused groups, from four different regions, with 63 respondents were developed by a Grounded-theory analysis. The finding shows “mistrust in the system” as a core concept, shared by all types of respondents in all discussion settings. The axial codes include systematic, cultural, and personal nodes. The basic barriers at that level include: “negative previous experience”, “cumbersome procedures”, “rushed protection”, “mutual negative stereotypes”, “professional culture” [of the police officers], “revictimization”, “inefficient protection”, “concerns about the future quality of life”, and “severe social vulnerability”. Some limitations of the study such as non-selection bias of non-reported IPV cases, underreported violence against male partners, and IPV cases in LGBTQ+ communities, as well as lack of focused group with healthcare providers are discussed at the end of the article.

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