Between October 22-24, our colleague Ana-Maria Apopei was part of the Romanian delegation in Burgas, Bulgaria. At the initiative of British Embassy Sofia, British Embassy Bucharest and Demetra Association, officials from the Burgas region together with representatives of NGOs and social service providers in the UK, Romania and Bulgaria discussed sexual violence and effective tools for victim protection. Good practices and methods of functioning of Reference Centers for victims of sexual assault were presented. In the hope that Romania will establish such a specialized center for the victims of rape, a visit to the Integrated Referral Center for victims of sexual assault in Burgas – Selena Center – specialized for the victims of rape was carried out.

According to ANES, such a pilot center will be set up in Bucharest and in the coming years, several at national level.