The charity SOS Children's Villages Bulgaria has launched a campaign called "Choose Your Words" to fight verbal abuse and hate speech among children and young people, its press office says.
One in four children in Bulgaria has faced bullying at school or in their community. The problem often goes unnoticed, but it can do serious damage to young people's mental health and self-esteem.
"Verbal abuse hurts and harms just as much as physical violence," says Denitsa Avramova from SOS Children's Villages Bulgaria. "It wears down self-confidence, isolates people and leaves deep scars that are often invisible," she adds.
The campaign calls on society, parents, teachers and young people themselves to change in three ways: recognise the power of words and choose to support rather than hurt others, refuse to tolerate hateful language, and never stand by silently when they see someone being bullied.
At the heart of the campaign is a video made by children and young people from the charity's Children and Youth Council. In it, they talk about their own experience of verbal abuse and call on people to treat each other with respect.
Avramova says the campaign is a reminder that every word leaves a mark, and that everyone shares responsibility for the world children grow up in.
A few days ago, Targovishte hosted a working meeting on "cross-agency cooperation for early prevention and coordinated support to tackle antisocial behaviour, aggression, bullying and risky behaviour among pupils."