Introduction
Violence against women and girls is a serious violation of human rights and is a manifestation of the historically unequal power between women and men. This has led to the discrimination of women by men and the hindrance of the full advancement of women. [1] It is also one of the main social structures through which women are forced into a subordinate status compared to men. [2]
The impact of violence against women has immediate and/or long-term consequences for the physical, sexual, and psychological health of women and girls. It negatively affects the general well-being of women and obstructs their full and equal participation in society.
The negative consequences of violence against women are not only limited to women and girls, but affect their immediate family, the community in which they belong, and, on a more general level, their country.
Violence against women has a negative impact on the economy. These consequences involve the increase of expenditure for the establishment, operation and sustainability of specialised support services, the provision of specialised services of public healthcare, legal expenses, and the decline in productivity due to their forced absence from work.
According to research undertaken by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA, 2014), about 13 million women have been victims of physical violence in European Union (EU) namely 7% of women aged 18–74. A total of 3.7 million women have been victims of sexual violence, meaning 2% of women aged 18–74. One in 20 women (5%) has been a victim of rape from the age of 15. Also, more than 18% of women have been victims of stalking from the age of 15. Moreover, about 12% of women under the age of 15 have experienced some form of sexual harassment, or similar incident, by an adult. Last but not least, half of all women in the EU (53%) travel less out of fear of suffering physical or sexual abuse.
During the first period of the Covid-19 pandemic, violence against women was characterised as a “shadow pandemic” by the Council of Europe. In one of her public announcements, GREVIO3 ’s president Marceline Naudi said that “for many women and children, home is not a safe place.” That came as a consequence of the policies of confinement and restriction implemented by several states in their attempt to regulate the spread of COVID-19.
Many victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence have been trapped to cohabite with their abuser. This danger was even greater for vulnerable groups of women and girls, such as refugee women and those seeking asylum, immigrants, women with disabilities, the elderly, etc.
This report by the General Secretariat for Family Policy and Gender Equality (GSFPGE) is the first attempt to comprehensively present the phenomenon of violence against women in Greece and to reflect the actions implemented at an institutional level regarding the prevention, combating, and elimination of this phenomenon.
The GSFPGE aims to regularly publish the “Annual Report on Violence Against Women” on the occasion of the 25th of November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The first chapter presents the institutional framework for addressing this form of violence at an international, European, and Greek level, with special reference to the amendments in Greek law of April 2018, following the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
The second chapter presents the forms of violence against women, as defined in texts of institutional bodies at an international, European, and Greek level. It then presents the national mechanisms and bodies among the competences of which is the tackling and elimination of violence against women, and the protection of women victims of gender-based violence and their children.
It also presents the Network of Structures for preventing and combating gender-based violence and the support services offered to victims of gender-based violence.
This is followed by the actions that have been planned, implemented and are ongoing for women who have suffered multiple discriminations during the 2016–2020 period.
A detailed analysis follows, for the data on violence against women produced by the Network of Structures, as well as the indicators provided by the Observatory for Equality. These data include the indicators recommended by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) and the statistical depiction of quantitative measurements of violence against women.
The third chapter is dedicated to the first period of the Covid-19 pandemic and the actions implemented by the GSFPGE for the protection of women victims of gender-based violence during the first lockdown.
The above-mentioned data presented in this report would not have been collected without the constant work, vision, and perseverance of the outstanding former Head of the Department of Social Protection and Counseling Services, Theodora Katsivardakou. Her fight for social rights and gender equality was unceasing. She passed away prematurely in January 2020.
1st Annual Report on Violence Against Women – Full Text
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[1] Council of Europe.(2011). Explanatory Report to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Treaty Series – No. 210, p.2
[2] Council of Europe.(2011). Explanatory Report to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Treaty Series – No. 210, p.2
