Kidman plans to visit Plovdiv in the summer of 2009, informed Milena Kadieva of the local branch of
the Bulgarian Center for Gender Studies. She was the only Bulgaria at the UN World Summit in New York, dedicated to the issue of violence against women.
Kadieva presented a
report on violence against women in the Balkan region. The UN initiative will
continue for 16 days (until December 10) and aims to raise awareness about
violence. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is leading the campaign, “United
against violence against women”. The Project financing fund raised 20 million
dollars and the sum will be appropriated next year. NGOs in Plovdiv are campaigning to adopt the Bill on gender equality and amendments to
the Act on domestic violence. Kidman stated that counteracting violence should
become a global priority because it affects one in three women worldwide.