A total of 33,159 children have been born to underage mothers in Bulgaria over the past decade, Labour and Social Policy Minister Borislav Gutsanov said at a roundtable on the prevention of early marriages and adolescent births in Sofia on Monday. He described the trend as incompatible with the values of a modern society and called for stronger joint action by state institutions to protect children’s rights and ensure access to education and healthcare.
Citing two recent cases of violence involving minors, Gutsanov linked early childbirth to social exclusion and poverty. “Early childbirth condemns children to poverty, denies them access to education and healthcare, and increases the risk of violence,” he said, adding that education is key to overcoming harmful practices wrongly perceived as cultural traditions.
The forum, organized by the State Agency for Child Protection (SACP), brought together representatives of government institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the prosecution service. The initiative is part of the Agency’s national campaign against child abuse – Be Brave, Be Kind!
SACP Chair Teodora Ivanova said an action plan has been drawn up to target the cities with the highest number of children born to minors, including Stara Zagora, Pazardzhik, Sliven, and Plovdiv. Health mediators in these communities will assist the Agency’s outreach work. Ivanova stressed that effective prevention depends on local engagement and political will. “The children are not to blame, we, the adults, are,” she said, noting that intergenerational patterns of early childbirth must be broken through education and dialogue rather than punishment.
According to data presented by Kalina Serafimova, prosecutor from the Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office, 289 people were convicted in the first half of 2025 for sexual relationships or cohabitation with minors. During the same period, prosecutors opened 49 pre-trial proceedings for sexual contact with a person under 14 and 301 for cohabitation with a minor, while two cases involved parents or relatives accepting payment to allow such relationships.
Gutsanov, who launched the SACP campaign, said the issue demands urgent attention across all institutions. “We cannot allow children to give birth to children in modern Bulgaria,” he said. Authorities Step Up Efforts to Curb Early Childbirth and Child Marriages THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-10-27 19:18:29 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
