The building of the Greek Parliament was lit up in orange on Saturday night to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls . The action took place as the Hellenic Parliament joined in the global campaign raising awareness about violence against women and girls on November 25th.
According to United Nations, one in three women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence.
16.5 million women around the world are victims of violence and 50 women in the European Union are murdered every week by a current or a former partner.
Violence against women and girls knows no borders, no religions, no culture boundaries, to education levels and social classes. Violence is physical, sexual, psychological, verbal and personal.
The ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women’ marks the assassination of the three Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic in 1960. The civil rights activists were tortured, raped and killed for fighting against the repressive rule of dictator Rafael Trujillo.
In 1991, the UN set November 25th as an International Day to make society aware that violence against women is an unacceptable behavior that unfortunately continues up to day.
SYRIZA MP and deputy Palriament Speaker, Anastasia Christodoulopoulou, said “there may be laws, there may be conventions that protect women, but as always in such matters the society is behind the laws. It justifies the perpetrator and at the same time it incriminates the victim. That’s why tolerating of violence is a behavior that needs to be condemned and come to end forever.”
Have the international awareness campaigns decreased or eliminated violence against women and girls?
Thousands of people around the world went to the streets on Saturday to protest violence against the women. But not in Greece. Several events were held in several cities incl Athens but not a mass demonstration.
Isn’t any violence against women in Greece? Of course, there is – and has always been.
The statistics recently released by the General Secretariat for Gender Equality are are shocking. Its Women SOS Helpline 15900 received 5,041 phone calls and 113 e-mails during the time period 19. Nov 2016 – 19. Nov 2017.
4,266 calls (85%) referred to gender-based violence. 71% of the calls were made by the victims themselves, while 29% by third persons like friends, parents, relatives, siblings and neighbors.
71% of the violence was exercised by the husband (current or former).
75% of the women were mothers
Women’s age groups
- 103 (3%) aged 15-24
- 699 (23%) aged 25-39
- 676 (22%) aged 40-55
- 180 (6%) aged 55-64
- 123 (4%) over 65
Education level
- 2 (0%) had not any education
- 17 (1%) have completed primary and lower secondary education
- 24 (1%) have completed higher secondary education
- 23 (1%) have post-secondary education
- 233 (8%) have university education
82% of the victims were Greek, 7% migrants and 1% women with disabilities
Finance situation
315 (10%) described it as “medium”
319 (11%) as “bad”
169 (6%) as “good”
63 (2%) as “very bad”
14 (0%) as “very good”
The general secretariat came to the conclusion that the perpetrators are not of a “specific profile” as they come from any socioeconomic class, age group, nationality and independently of educational level.
WOMEN SOS 24h Helpline <15900>
