Legal Definitions in the EU Member States

The law explicitly recognises sexual harassment as a form of discrimination and bans it. The EU definition of sexual harassment is fully recognized in the Bulgarian Law on Protection against Discrimination.

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• Bodily Injury (Art. 117): Whoever physically injures another or endangers another person’s health will be sentenced up to one year in prison. Whoever commits an act from section 1 of this Article out of hatred, or toward a person close to him/her, or toward a person who is especially vulnerable because of his or her age, physical or mental impediment or pregnancy, or toward an official serving in the line of duty, will be sentenced up to three years in prison. The criminal act from section 1 of this Article will be prosecuted based on a private lawsuit.
• Heavy Bodily Injury (Art. 118): Whoever physically injures another or endangers another person’s health in a severe way will be sentenced between six months to five years in prison. Whoever commits an act from section 1 of this Article out of hatred, or toward a person close to him/her, or toward a person who is especially vulnerable because of his or her age, physical or mental impediment or pregnancy, or toward an official serving in a line of duty, will be sentenced to between one and eight years in prison.
• Especially Heavy Bodily Injury (Art. 119): If the criminal act from Article 116, Section 1 and 2 and from Article 118, Section 1 of this Law, endangered the injured person’s life or has resulted in the destruction or permanent injury of any of his vital body parts or organs, or in a permanent impediment that causes a diminished ability to work, or permanently and severely affected his or her health, or resulted in permanent disfigurement of any kind, or a permanent inability to reproduce, the perpetrator will be sentenced to imprisonment between one to ten years’ imprisonment. Whoever commits an act from Section 1 of this Article out of hatred, or toward a person close to him/her, or toward a person who is especially vulnerable because of his or her age, physical or mental impediment or pregnancy, or toward an official serving in a line of duty, will be sentenced to imprisonment between one and ten years. Whoever deliberately causes any of the harm under Section 1 of this Article will be sentenced to imprisonment between three and twelve years.
• Coercion (Art. 138): Whoever by force or serious threat coerces another to an action, omission or acquiescence will be sentenced to up to three years of imprisonment. A criminal Act from Section 1 of this Article will be prosecuted through a private lawsuit unless it is committed out of hatred, toward a child or a close person.Threat (Art. 139) Whoever threatens another with harm in order to intimidate (frighten) or upset will be sentenced to up to one year of imprisonment.Whoever seriously threatens to kill another or one close to him or her, or threatens serious bodily injury, kidnapping or deprivation of freedom, or causes harm by fire, explosion, ionized radiation, a weapon, dangerous tools or any other dangerous means, or destroying social status or material assets, will be sentenced to up to three years of imprisonment.If the Criminal Act from Sections 1 and 2 of this Article has been committed toward a person of authority, or against a journalist on duty, or if it is directed toward a larger group of people, or if it caused a major disturbance of the larger population, or if the threats have put the threatened person in a difficult position for a longer duration, the perpetrator will be sentenced to imprisonment between six months and five years.The criminal Act under Section 1 of this article is prosecuted through a private lawsuit, and the criminal Act from Section 2 of this Article is prosecuted upon suggestion, unless the act from Section 1 or 2 has been committed out of hatred, toward a child, a person with a disability or a close person.
• Intrusive behaviour (Art. 140): Whoever consistently and over time follow or watch another person or establish with her or trying to establish with her unwanted contact or in some other way try to so scary her and with that cause anxiety or fear for their safety or the safety of those close to her, shall be punished by imprisonment up to one year.If the criminal offense referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article is committed against a current or former spouse or common-law spouse or same-sex partner, person with whom the perpetrator was in an intimate relationship or a child, the perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment up to three year.Criminal offense referred to in Paragraph 1 and 2 this Article is haunted by the proposal, unless it is committed against a child.
• Domestic Violence (Art. 215): A member of the family who by violence, abuse or exceptionally insolent conduct puts another member of the family into a humiliating position shall be punished by imprisonment for six months to five years.

Special circumstances (in the same legal provision):

• Whoever commits the criminal offense referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article in a particularly cruel or humiliating way, or if on the same occasion a number of perpetrators perform a number of acts of sexual intercourse or equivalent sexual acts against the same victim shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three years.
• If, by the criminal offense referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article, the death of the raped person is caused, or serious bodily injury is inflicted on the raped person or his health is severely impaired, or the (raped) female becomes impregnated, the perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three years.
• If the criminal offense referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article is committed against a juvenile, the perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three years.
• If the criminal offense referred to in Paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article is committed against a juvenile, the perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than five years.
• If the criminal offense referred to in Paragraph 2 of this Article causes the consequences referred to in Paragraph 3 of this Article, the perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than five years.

Special circumstances (in the same legal provision):

• The offender, who was in avoidable misconception regarding the existence of the consent under Paragraph 1 of this Article, shall be punished by imprisonment of up to three years.
• Consent under Paragraph 1 of this Article exists if the person voluntarily decided to enter into sexual intercourse or an equivalent sexual act and who was able to make and express such decision. It is considered that such consent does not exist especially if sexual intercourse or an equivalent sexual act is done with the use of threats, deception, abuse of power against the person who is dependent on the perpetrator, taking advantage of the person who was not able to express their rejection, or of a person who has been illegally abducted/kidnapped.

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• Lewd Acts (Criminal Code, Article 155): whoever, under the terms of Article 152 of the Criminal Code, when there is no attempt to commit that criminal offense, commits only a lewd act, shall be punished by imprisonment of up to one year. Whoever, under the terms of Article 153 or Article 154 of the Criminal Code, when there is no attempt to commit these criminal offenses, commits a lewd act, shall be punished by imprisonment of up to three years.
• Serious Criminal Acts against Sexual Freedom (Criminal Code, Art. 154): A sentence of imprisonment between one and ten years will be imposed on a person who commits the criminal acts from Article 152, Section 1 of the Criminal Code: 1) towards a person close to him/her, 2) towards a victim who is especially vulnerable because of her/his age, illness, addiction, pregnancy, disability, difficult physical or mental impediment, 3) in a particularly cruel or humiliating way, 4) out of hatred, 5) together with one or more perpetrators who engage in multiple instances of sexual intercourse or equivalent sexual acts against the victim, 6) by using weapons or dangerous tools, 7) In such a way that causes serious bodily injury to the victim or results in pregnancy. Whoever commits the criminal act under Article 153, Section 1 of the Criminal Code will be sentenced to between three and fifteen years’ imprisonment. If the criminal act from Articles 152, Section 1 or 153, Section 1 of the Criminal Code resulted in the death of the person raped, the perpetrator will be sentenced to a minimum of five years’ imprisonment.
• Lewd Acts (Criminal Code, Article 193): whoever, in the cases referred to in Articles 188 to 191 of the Criminal Code, does not attempt to commit a criminal offense and commits only a lewd act, shall be punished by imprisonment for three months to three years. Whoever, in the cases referred to in Article 192 of the Criminal Code, does not attempt to commit a criminal offense and commits only a lewd act or commits the criminal offense referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article against a child or a juvenile shall be punished by imprisonment for six months to five years.

Whoever sexually harasses another person to which he is superior or which according to him is in a relation of dependency or that is especially vulnerable because of age, illness, disability, addiction, pregnancy, serious physical or mental disorders, shall be punished by imprisonment of up to one year.

If the criminal offence is committed against a current or former spouse, common law spouse, same-sex partner, person with whom the perpetrator was in an intimate relationship or a child, the perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment up to three year.

Member of the family can mean a husband and wife who have been legally married whether the marriage still exists or not, or cohabiting partners; the parents of the cohabiting spouses; the children and/or grandchildren of cohabiting partners and their parents or any person residing with the aforementioned persons. Violence between homosexual couples is not recognised.

The law also clarifies that rape can be committed within marriage.

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• Incest: any male person who has carnal knowledge of a female person, irrespective of whether with the consent or not of such female person, who is to his knowledge his granddaughter, daughter, sister or mother shall be guilty of the offence of incest and shall be liable to imprisonment for seven years (Criminal Code, Section 147).
• Indecent assault on females: any person who unlawfully and indecently assaults any female is guilty of a misdemeanour (Criminal Code, Section 151).
• Defilement of girls under thirteen years of age: (1) any person who unlawfully and carnally knows a female under the age of thirteen years is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life, and (2) any person who attempts to have unlawful carnal knowledge of a female under the age of thirteen years is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for three years (Criminal Code, Section 153).
• Defilement of girls between thirteen and sixteen years of age: any person who unlawfully and carnally knows or attempts to have unlawful carnal knowledge of any female person of, or above, the age of thirteen years and under the age of sixteen years is guilty of a misdemeanour (Criminal Code, Section 154).

In 2006, the Law on Equal Treatment of Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training was amended by amending law N. 40(I)/2006 which introduced the concept of harassment without a sexual element. The material scope of the law does not extend beyond employment and vocational training.