The official operation of “Safe Youth”, a panic button app designed to help young people quickly report violence, is to be launched on Monday, November 11, 2024.
The initiative aims to protect minors and inform parents.
The targeted age group of the “Safe Youth” app is 12-year-old children and above.
The app which will be accessible to both parents and children will be introduced in order to address issues such as domestic violence that minors might potentially face, while further providing information on how the victims can protect themselves and how they can alert the police.
In order to use the Safe Youth app minors are required to provide their identification specifics as well as answering to a number of questions to ensure that the app is appropriately used when they are in danger.
Greek Police’s spokesperson told media that access to the Safe Youth app will not require parental consent, pointing out that this decision is based on the assumption that parents have implicitly given their approval by allowing their children to possess smart phones.
The spokesperson also emphasized that the app should not be used without a valid reason, as it requires detailed information from parents to prevent misuse. “Under no circumstances should we alert the police without cause, as it could be considered a criminal offense.”
Greek authorities saw the need to introduce an app similar to the one for women victims of domestic violence after a dangerous rise of bullying and violence phenomena among teenagers in- and outside school.
Minister of citizen protection Michalis Chrysohoidis said on Monday that 12,000 minors have been arrested so far for violence and delinquencies cases, while arrests were 8,600 the previous year.
