Despite the fact that two female officers, who, thanks to their special training, were put in charge of the highly publicized at the beginning of the 20th century, the staff of the EL.AS. – for some unknown reason – are no longer in office, but the work they started was important: 1,200 police officers were trained to deal with cases of domestic violence. And still. The biggest specialization, organizations, hostels, counseling centers, the campaign for the SOS 15900 telephone line did not last long enough to save a 41-year-old woman who denounced her abusive estranged husband in Zakynthos. They were not even enough to prevent the evil in Rethymnon. Or become a shield for a 17-year-old student in Peristeri.

What happened? Where is the fatal gap in the domestic violence response system in our country? Why can’t we protect women even when they report violence? A blacklist of 17 femicides in 2021 has led to an explosion of complaints to the police.

“He will kill me as he killed them,” the women said, realizing that violence would inevitably escalate. As a rule, when a woman appears at the police station and declares herself a victim of domestic violence, the process of preliminary investigation begins, a forensic examination is ordered, the alleged perpetrator is arrested and brought before the appropriate prosecutor as part of self-charge. . Police officers must also inform the victim of the existing accommodation structures, as well as the psychological support to which he is entitled. While it appears that the country’s six dedicated domestic violence units (five in Athens and one in Thessaloniki) do an important job of bringing many cases to open court, this is not the same everywhere.

“Can a woman go to the ward and say, ‘Do something to stop this.’ As soon as she is told “okay, but you will have to sue and we will arrest him,” a woman may become frightened. And this is logical, because if he has nowhere to go, in a few hours the criminal will go out again, ”Kiki Petrulaki, a psychologist and president of the European Network Against Violence, tells K.

“In other cases, she is told that there is a possibility that the abuser will file a counterclaim against her, which means that she, too, will have to be detained. – Do you have a place to leave the child? That’s why a lot of women back off.” Of course, an ex officio offense means that the police can act without filing a lawsuit.

However, even if everything goes as it should, nothing guarantees the safety of the victim for the second year. If the perpetrator is arrested and then released, how is the woman protected? The Greek legal framework (law 3500/2006) allows the prosecutor to impose restrictive conditions on the offender (such as removing him from the family home, moving him, prohibiting him from approaching the victim’s place of residence or work, etc., etc.). .). In Zakynthos, after beating his wife, the attacker was released with a restrictive condition not to approach his wife and the marital home closer than 100 meters. However, at some point she took him home. “A woman who decides to get a divorce, especially in rural areas, carries a stigma that she internalizes,” comments Elena Sirmali, a KETHI criminologist. “Others are more weighed down by fear or the thought that they will not survive financially for their children. It’s important to find a way to talk to the victim.” There are many questions. Was the woman informed about the possibility of providing psychological support, so that she knew that, despite the abuser’s promises, she was still in danger? Even if a woman does not want the punishment of the guilty, does she cease to be vulnerable? Is domestic violence a private matter? In other countries, violation of restrictive conditions in such cases is punishable by imprisonment, in Greece, the perpetrators are systematically let off the hook. “Do you know anyone who went to jail for domestic violence?” those who know ask intelligently. How can a woman feel safe?

“In the event that a criminal breaks down the door and enters your house, even if he was detained, all a woman can do is file another lawsuit. And you know when the trial will take place…” says Ms. Petrulaki. “In Iceland, in cases that are considered dangerous, the police track women both by phone and by visiting places.” Coordinated by the European Network Against Violence, there is a cooperation program between Greece and Iceland on domestic violence through the Active Citizens Fund, with partner organizations, the Icelandic Police Department and Smile of the Child, and with the participation of, among others, the Headquarters of the EL.AS., Ministry of Justice , G.G. gender equality, KETHI. “In Iceland, when a woman dials 112 – that’s the number there – a group of police and child protection agencies come to her house and don’t leave until they finish collecting evidence. They then order the culprit to be removed immediately. Hostels are not looking for a victim. Following a visit by representatives of the organizations to Iceland, a transfer of know-how to Greece is planned in a few days through a pilot program that will initially be implemented in the municipality of Agios Dimitrios.

The Department of Labor’s “Domestic/Gender Violence Risk Assessment Tool” is also expected to play an important role in helping frontline professionals identify risk factors for recurrence of abusive behavior. The tool is already being used on a pilot basis in the municipalities of Peristeri, Kavala and Heraklion in Crete. It is also recalled that a “panic button” application on a mobile phone has been announced, through which a woman in danger can seek help and through which the authorities will identify her tag in order to intervene immediately. . The program is implemented in cooperation with the Ministries of Labour, Digital Governance and Citizen Protection. In France, Spain and the United States, in the fight against domestic violence, special bracelets with a GPS tracking system have been introduced that notify authorities when the abuser approaches the victim in dangerous proximity.

invalid law

The recent law 4800/2021 on joint custody has created additional barriers to protecting women who are victims of domestic violence. “When a woman files a suit seeking restrictive conditions, if she doesn’t tell the other party where she is, she risks losing custody of her children,” says psychologist and president of the European Network Against Violence, Kiki Petroulakis. “. The new law provides for the removal of guardianship from an abusive parent only after his final and irrevocable conviction by the Supreme Court. “Before, a woman sued, and until the other guy won the right to visit, she was safe. Now there is no such safety net. “We see how many ex-spouses ask for joint custody just to know where the mother is.”

Numbers

• 5.139 cases of domestic violence handled by the country’s police departments in the first half of 2022
• 2675 there were incidents in the corresponding period of 2021
• 15900 SOS hotline for women subjected to violence of the General Secretariat for Family Policy and Gender Equality
• 17 femicides were registered during 2021.
• 137 women around the world are killed daily by former or current husbands, partners or their families