During the 17th Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP17), the Validity Foundation and the Network of Independent Experts-NIE internationally launched a new monitoring report on torture and ill-treatment of persons with disabilities in Bulgarian institutions, including in small group homes. 

Having presented our new monitoring report in Sofia in April 2024, we launched it on the first day of COSP17 on 11 June 2024 at an online expert workshop. 

The report, entitled ‘Poor her, for having dreams’ reveals numerous signs of “total institutions” concerning small group homes, including no choice of where and with whom to live, no or strictly controlled contact with the outside world, physical signs of segregation, strict daily routine, identical activities, and paternalistic approach by the staff. The report uncovers several types of abuse, including neglect, punishment, financial, emotional, verbal and reproductive abuse happening in small group homes.

 The title of our report is a quote from a group home’s staff member. While the woman with disabilities was present, the staff told a member of the monitoring team: 

 “You know, poor her, she has dreams of having a family, a husband and children. Can you imagine? Look at her! You know this can’t happen. Poor her, for having dreams!”

During the online launch event, Ms. Tanya Petkova, a Bulgarian survivor of institutionalisation shared her shocking experiences concerning group homes. During her presentation, Tanya said: 

 “The small group home was actually a small apartment, and there were five more women who lived there, for they had nowhere else to go.[…] We were not allowed to go out without the permission of a staff member, and when we had their permission, they told us when to come back, and we were not allowed to have visitors, either. The only thing that we could choose was what clothes to wear. […] I felt guilty, useless, hopeless, and helpless. If I was emotional, there was no professional to talk to immediately. I think I mentioned it once to a staff member, and they were like ‘You should be thankful you are even here.'”

After a brief presentation of the monitoring report, four invited experts shared their views on the report’s findings and recommendations. Elīna Šteinerte, a member of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, highlighted: 

“Facilities that were described by Validity are absolutely covered by article 4 [of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture], and it means that they are covered by the mandate of the subcommittee on the prevention of torture as well as the mechanisms which are, if you wish, the national extension of the subcommittee on the prevention on torture.”

Amalia Gamio, Vice Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, pointed out: 

“Institutionalisation on the grounds of disability is a form of violence and discrimination. The Guidelines on deinstitutionalisation, including emergencies provide a new tool to end the practice of institutionalisation so that State Parties, in full coordination with persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, finally apply a real deinstitutionalisation process.”

Jamie Bolling, Co-Chair of the European Network on Independent Living and Director of the Independent Living Institute underlined: 

“The places described in the report have nothing to do with the aspirations of the UN CRPD, the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities or the right to independent living, which I’ve been fighting for since 1993. […] Personal assistance is not the only support service that should be available, but it is key to independent living and should be available to all. The right to legal capacity, accessible housing, inclusive education and the right to work in the open labour market are other issues that need to be addressed. Day care centres are not an alternative and are not compliant with the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.”

Aneta Genova, from the Bulgarian Network of Independent Experts, said: 

“The institutional culture still exists in Bulgaria and we cannot see any change. […] The only answer we received from institutions and authorities was that it [torture and ill-treatment] was not their problem: Maybe these problems exist in Bulgaria, but in their particular institution […] Our fight should be for zero institutions, which means zero small homes and zero institutions. I know it is a long-term fight, but we have to move on with our work in that direction.”

A variety of stakeholders from around the world, including governments, donor organisations, national and international monitoring bodies are grappling with the complexity of deinstitutionalisation and the role of small group homes in these processes. We provide recommendations to these stakeholders based on the findings of our report. International bodies as well as domestic entities must take immediate action to abolish or amend outdated legislative frameworks, investments into community-based support measures instead of financing institutions and apply the redress and reparations framework.

Representatives of the European Commission, who provide support to Bulgaria’s “deinstitutionalisation” efforts, and the Council of Europe, were unable to provide representatives to respond to the findings of the report, but have been invited to submit their written observations.