The action "Together we break the silence. 13 Cities: A front against domestic violence" organized by the Ministry of Citizen Protection, in an equal number of cities - capitals of the Regions of the country and under the auspices of the President of the Republic, began on Friday, June 20, 2025 in Ioannina, in the hometown of the President of the Republic, Konstantinos A. Tasoulas, who declared its launch.
In the second part of the opening event, Greek Police officers, representatives of local bodies and services, and health professionals joined their voices and spoke about the prevention and fight against domestic violence, about the incidents they have handled, but also about their cooperation with each other.
In the first round of discussion, the topic of which was: «The state mechanism as a protective shield for victims of domestic violence» The Director of the Ioannina First Instance Prosecutor's Office, Prosecutor Despina Sotiriou, referred to the new legislation and the "arsenal" that prosecutors now have at their disposal in the management of domestic violence incidents and the protection of victims. "Was it needed? Yes, it was needed. The legal arsenal was not enough. Society and reality surpassed us." Deputy Chief Constable Eleni Palaiopanou, who serves in the DI.AS. Team of the Ioannina Immediate Action Department, described the process from the moment the police forces are called to an incident of domestic violence, noting that victims are usually afraid and do not admit that they have been subjected to violence, although seeing a woman in front of them makes them feel more familiar.
For her part, the Head of the Domestic Violence Office of the Ioannina Police Station, Lieutenant Colonel Georgia Maria Tzamakou, emphasized that this particular Office is very different from the rest of the Department, so that the victim feels more comfortable. "What victims need to know is that we are an office where someone can find a hug and a refuge in their problems. We are not just police officers. We often perform the duties of a psychologist, a teacher, an educator," he said characteristically, while referring to the significant contribution of technology to enhancing the sense of security of victims. He made special reference to the "hidden alarm", the panic button, which can be activated at any time by the victim and notify the police of their exact location without the perpetrator realizing it.
Assistant Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Ioannina, Cleo Evangelia Fragouli, emphasized that all women who come to be examined are determined. "The issue, however, is that they come forward," he added. He also said that "the difficulty is in cases of examining children for both physical and, especially, sexual violence."
The first round table was closed by the Psychologist at the Shelter for Abused Women of the Municipality of Ioannina, Vasiliki Arida, who pointed out that a woman takes refuge in the Shelter "when she has decided it herself, after she has been informed by the competent authorities in the Police and the Services, when she is ready and only then... When they are informed and know what the framework is, this is empowering." He also added that it is helpful that there are no geographical restrictions, "Which means that a woman from Ioannina does not mean that she will want to come to Ioannina, she may want to be transferred to Athens or somewhere where there is a hostel or vice versa, as in the first critical period there is fear."
A new round of discussion followed on the topic: "The contribution of professionals and civil society: recognition of domestic violence and cooperation with the authorities".
"If there were equality, there would be no domestic violence. I believe that equality and domestic violence are inextricably linked, which starts both from stereotypes regarding the position of women and men within the family, and from the lack of respect of men towards women as a consequence of the lack of equality. Domestic violence is a consequence of gender inequality and the non-acceptance of diversity", noted in her statement the Deputy Mayor for Social Policy, Professor of Neurology at the University of Ioannina, President of the "Shedia" Prevention Center and President of the Equality Committee of the Municipality of Ioannina, Sofia Markoula.
For his part, Konstantinos Kotsis, Assistant Professor of Child Psychiatry at the University of Ioannina and Vice President of the Hellenic Child Psychiatric Society and Head of the Community Center for Mental Health for Children and Adolescents of Ioannina, spoke about the very good cooperation between the authorities and doctors in the management of minors who have been physically or sexually abused. "What is important in the examination is to understand the children and that is not always easy," he said. In addition, he noted that the Laws are constantly being renewed with the aim of protecting children. In this context, he referred to a new Law of January 2025 that enables psychiatrists and psychologists serving in the General Regional Police Directorate to examine children, so that there is a quick assessment. Already, "Since the beginning of the year we have had 868 requests for psychiatric and developmental issues and 119 requests for evaluation of minors from the prosecutorial, judicial and police authorities," concluded.
The President of the Hellenic Federation of Domestic Violence and Director of the Evening General High School of Ioannina, Stavroula Chaidemenakou, referred to two incidents of domestic violence that extended to the school environment and which required the intervention of the authorities who responded immediately to the school's call. "The school is the mirror of society. Whatever is outside and whatever is happening in society comes into the school. Very important work is being done by our fellow teachers, who are both aware and highly qualified (.…) These incidents sadden us, because now we are close to the children. In the generations older than me, there was distancing and we hesitated to address our teachers," Finally, she described as a "breakthrough" the initiative of the Ministry of Citizen Protection to invite representatives of Civil Society to collaborate on the issue of domestic violence and expressed her satisfaction with their cooperation so far.
Maria Papatriantafyllou, Executive of the Controlled Asylum Seekers Accommodation Structure "Katsika", referred to the bodies that exist and the procedure in place for the transport, reception and accommodation of victims so that they can be protected. "There are complaints, although not very frequent, and we are trying, through groups and information meetings, to empower women so that they can speak up," concluded.
The newest member of the roundtable, 5th year Medical Student and Vice President of External Affairs of ΗelMSIC (Hellenic Medical Student International Relations Committee), Maria Tsiara, referred to the Committee's voluntary action on the issue of gender-based violence by healthcare professionals. "There is no such training for medical students," stressed Ms. Tsiara. She added that a study by HelMSIC has also been conducted in medical schools "with questionnaires to approximately 270 students and although the sample was small, over 90% responded that they do not receive adequate training in approaching victims of domestic violence. We need to focus on these issues so that the percentage can be reduced further. Furthermore, we need to focus on not reaching situations of response, but of prevention."
"You understand how important it is for us that you are the first to notice and contact us or a prosecutor's office, but also how much more difficult it is for a police officer, when there are no obvious signs, to be able to see these signs that you {all of you health professionals} mentioned, so that we can determine that there is an abused person in front of us," said the coordinator, Hellenic Police Press Spokesperson, Constantia Dimoglidou, closing the event.
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