“The situation with children in Greece is not very good,” he said, among other things. ink” UNICEF Diplomatic Representative in Greece, Luciano Calestini, in March, in an interview that generated a lot of backlash. At that time, it was mainly about such indicators as obesity, child poverty, mental health. Eight months later, Greek society is shaken by cases of child abuse. Death of three children in Patra. The case of the continuous sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl from Kolonos. Complaints about “The Ark of Peace”. Regarding all these cases, we contacted Mr. Calestini again.

“Child abuse knows no bounds and thrives in the dark,” is his first response. “In Greece, as in many other countries, child abuse, especially when it occurs at home, has become taboo, even though the institution of the family plays a central role in Greek society and culture, which can actually be very encouraging. . promote deinstitutionalization and the introduction of family forms of care, such as foster families,” he adds.

“On an individual and family level, it is clear that nothing is more important than our children. However, on a social level, and based on what political priorities we have been setting for decades, what we are spending resources on and what we are demonstrating for, the picture is less positive,” says Mr. Calestini. “Much more work needs to be done to increase the world’s knowledge of children’s rights and openly discuss the issue of child abuse. Protection from violence and abuse is the right of every child. If his guardians cannot provide effective protection, then the state has the right to do so.”

According to Mr. Calestini, residential care has been used as the standard model for child protection in Greece for many decades. “In the best interest of children, the time has come to change this, and citizens, professionals and institutions who come into contact with children know that they play an important role and have a responsibility to protect every child.”

The UNICEF diplomatic representative does not believe that Greece is different from other countries in terms of child abuse, but points out that the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing risks both in our country and around the world. And he insists that “Greece should invest more in specialized services in society for the protection of children and families with the aim of early assessment and intervention in an organized and thorough manner to avoid the possibility that a child in need of support becomes a child in a group risk. Or, even worse, become a victim of abuse, as violence usually escalates if proper support and follow-up services are not provided.”

With regard to the actual extent, nature and various versions of child abuse, he stated that there were no consolidated data in Greece that emphasized the above aspects. The “tragic,” as he says in “K,” the incidents that come to light should remind us that this is the tip of the iceberg. “Currently,” he emphasizes, “intervention occurs when the risk has already become very high, even life-threatening for the child. If prevention is not implemented effectively, our collective response will remain largely a post-holiday response.”