“We break the cycle of violence against women” – ONED event

Dozens of crimes related to violence and abuse of women have been recorded in recent years in Greece, while the percentages of women who have reported being abused are unfortunately very high on a European scale. This criminal behavior is caused by a profound lack of respect for the inherent equality and dignity of girls and women, creating a cycle of violence that we must break immediately in order to protect every woman.

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ONNED organized an event to raise awareness and raise awareness on this issue, which was attended by the Deputy Minister of Labor & Social Affairs, responsible for Demographic and Family Policy and Equality. of Gender Maria Syregela, the President and Co-Founder of Women Act and the President of ONNED Pavlos Marinakis. The Minister of Citizen Protection Takis Theodorikakos and the President of EVEA and General Manager of New Democracy Giannis Bratakos addressed the members and the guests of ONED.

Welcoming the initiative of ONED, the Minister of Citizen Protection Takis Theodorikakos said: “Our actions at the Ministry of Citizen Protection focus on three axes: Prevention through the implementation of actions and initiatives to inform and raise public awareness, and protect victims of domestic violence, developing cooperation with all stakeholders and especially the Local Government and in the investigation of criminal acts and the collection of evidence of each criminal act in order to bring the perpetrator to justice. In order for the management of incidents of domestic violence by the Police Services to be carried out in a way that contributes on the one hand to the consolidation of the sense of trust and social sensitivity, which should inspire the complainants / victims the police staff, on the other in-depth pre-investigation investigation of the complainants. In this effort we want you and it is a special pleasure to see you next to us. Because the Police are part of our society. It consists of young people who serve society. This is their mission. This is the sacred mission of the Greek Police. Because without security there is no freedom. There is no prosperity. There is no democracy. “

EVEA President Giannis Bratakos said during his speech: “The event that takes place today, during a pandemic that is coming to an end, seems more relevant than ever. Because in addition to the malfunctions that the coronavirus brought to our economic activity, the new living conditions in which it forced us in times of restriction, highlighted unpleasant aspects of our social reality. They showed, for example, that gender discrimination, whether expressed as physical violence, psychological oppression, or wage inequality, has not been eliminated. But they have now been revealed. “

Particular emphasis was placed on the initiatives taken by the Government in the direction of effective protection of the victims and the true punishment of the perpetrators. Both with the provisions of the new Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as with the structures and bodies of support, women who have experienced such a horrible experience can talk about what happened to them and feel protected. Of greater value are the new campaign of the General Secretariat for Family Policy and Gender Equality “Words Knives”, about which she spoke in detail and disengaged from this maze of abuse and in this direction. the Undersecretary.

Among other things, Ms. Syregela said: “The culture of silence has broken. Women listened, they learned, they believed that there are structures, there are people who can help them. Our Structure Network, the 43 Counseling Centers, the 19 Hostels and the 24-hour toll-free SOS 15900 Line are always on hand, to support every woman to escape the cycle of violence and to become strong. In this endeavor we must all be together. “We have an obligation to ourselves, to our family, to our society, to the women victims, to learn to recognize the signs, to offer our help, to speak!”

WomenAct President and Co-Founder Maie Zanni said: of the women. An event, such as that of ONNED, where the State, institutions and youth join forces, puts a little stone in this direction. We will be next to ONNED and then “.

ONED President Pavlos Marinakis stressed during his speech the actions taken by the Organization both in terms of contact with organizations and bodies that support abused women such as the Athens Counseling Center for Violence against Women, WIN HELLAS and the European Network against violence as well as at the level of proposals to the Government. The president of ONNED emphasized the proposals of the Organization for the modification of articles of the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, which were even included in the new law, but also the proposal for the introduction of a sex education course in schools.

Pavlos Marinakis stated, among other things: “The topic of today’s debate is constant. It did not start today and -unfortunately- it will not stop tomorrow. Violence against women and girls is a manifestation of a profound lack of respect for the inherent equality and dignity of women. Gender-based violence cannot and should not be equated with ideologies and should not be a tool of politics. A few months ago, our Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis bravely and courageously opened the debate and then the official opposition and the former prime minister demanded resignations, forgetting that when they had the opportunity they did absolutely nothing to address the problem but to parrot hollow slogans. Violence against women is here and instead of standing on words we must focus on actions. I am very proud that today’s debate does not revolve around “what should be done” but what happened during these two and a half years of New Democracy rule. A truly progressive party with a deep awareness of social problems. And I am very proud that from our side as ONED we have already contributed to this effort through our proposals for Criminal Justice that have now become a reality “.

The Deputy Minister of Education and Religions Zetta Makri, the MEP of the New Democracy Eliza Vozenberg and the Member of Parliament for Achaia Christina Alexopoulou made brief statements during the event, while a brief speech was made by the responsible Mrs.

The event for the elimination of violence against women was also honored by the presence of: MPs Dionysia Avgerinopoulou, Paraskevi Vryzidou, Maria-Alexandra Kefala, Stella Biziou, the Organizational Secretary of New Democracy Stelios Kontadakis, or. New Democracy Spokesperson Responsible for Regional Media Elena Sokou, the Secretary of Volunteering and Quality of Life Pisti Krystallidou, the member of the Executive Secretariat of New Democracy Giannis Politopoulos, the Head of the Sector Of Administration Claire Sarantakou, as well as the Special Secretary for Program Management of the European Regional Development Fund of the Ministry. Development Niki Dandolou.