The “Children’s House” of Athens, which has been operating since December 2021, has so far handled more than 80 cases and is a key initiative to strengthen the friendliness of the justice system towards children and the protection of minors.
In the morning, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the “Children’s House” in Paleo Faliro, the specially designed space available for the first time in Greece, where the testimony of minors who have been victims of serious crimes is held. The “Children’s House” offers an environment where abused children can talk about their traumatic experiences and provide information to solve the crimes against them.
The “Children’s House” of Athens, which has been operating since December 2021, has so far handled more than 80 cases and is a key initiative to strengthen the friendliness of the justice system towards children and the protection of minors.
The Prime Minister was given a tour by the psychologist of the structure Salvation Nika in the specially designed areas and was briefed by the staff on the procedures and protocols followed in order to assess the mental state of each child, to feel that they are in a safe and friendly environment and, in cooperation with the investigative and police authorities, to follow the careful examination of each minor by a specially trained psychologist, based on international standards.
This avoids secondary victimization of the injured child and minimizes the likelihood that further interviews will be needed. In the past these statements were given to Police Departments.
Mrs. Mitsotakis: We have made significant progress in matters of children’s justice
“What you are doing is very important. I really wanted to come and see the venue because I have seen how much progress we have made, especially in children’s Justice issues. How can a child come to such a friendly place that does not refer to anything like a Police Department or any other structure”, emphasized Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the discussion he had with the psychologists and social workers of the special structure.
During the presentation of the “Children’s House” project, it was emphasized that more cases of abuse are now being reported, with the Prime Minister noting that “this in itself is very important”.
Ms. Nika even told the Prime Minister the story of a child who was completely speechless due to his experiences and managed to speak for the first time in three years after the interview, in which he was able to give evidence through pantomime about the persons who had harmed him.
It was also pointed out that thanks to the changes made to the Criminal Code, offenses against minors are prosecuted ex officio, while the statute of limitations begins when the victim reaches adulthood. “It is good that everyone knows this by now: that there is not only the will, but also the tools to deal with these awful acts with the maximum possible rigor”, pointed out Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The importance of this process for the long-term mental health of the child was also noted. “You’re doing two missions at once. One concerns the legal evidence, which will allow the Justice to try these cases, but you are also a first therapeutic step”, said the Prime Minister.
Greece’s progress in the field of child-friendly Justice is reflected in the EU Justice Scoreboard for the year 2022, where Greece is in the first places, while in 2019 it was in the last. “We were in the last place and now we are in the first place. And one of the reasons why we are in the first place is this initiative”, emphasized Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The “Children’s Home” is included as an action both in the first National Action Plan for the Protection of Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, presented by the Prime Minister to Parliament in November 2022, and in the first National Action Plan for the Rights of Child which is implemented from 2021.
New “Children’s Homes”
The operation of the “Children’s House” of Athens and Piraeus as a priority was deemed necessary, given that the prosecution authorities of Attica receive the largest volume of related incidents.
The Ministry of Justice has taken specific actions and initiatives for the signing of a space lease agreement and its complete renovation so that within the first half of 2023 a corresponding structure in Thessaloniki will be put into full operation, while the KTYP has already been assigned the complete renovation of the building and the HERACLION, Crete.
The operation of such spaces is internationally good practice and is an obligation of states based on international and European law (Directive 2012/29/EU on the establishment of minimum standards regarding the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, Council Convention of of Europe for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse (Lanzarote Convention).
In addition to the improvement of the position of Greece in the friendliness of Justice towards children, in the latest Report of the European Commission on the Rule of Law (2022) it is mentioned that for the first time the list of compulsory courses at the National School of Judicial Officers includes the rights of children, as and the principles of child-friendly justice.
The Prime Minister was accompanied on his visit to the “Children’s Home” by the Minister of Justice Kostas Tsiaras, the Deputy Minister of Justice Giorgos Kotsiras and the Service Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Vasiliki Giavi.
The Government’s initiatives for the protection of children
The “Children’s House” initiative complements other important government initiatives for the protection of minors and child-friendly justice such as:
– The amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure for the further protection of victims of violence with special emphasis on minor victims.
Indicative:
– Changing the starting time of the statute of limitations for offenses against minors so that there is sufficient time during which the minor will be able to report them and the State will be able to prosecute them so that these criminal behaviors do not go unpunished
– Ex officio prosecution of offenses against sexual freedom when directed against minors
– The offense of seduction of minors is now only punishable as a felony in all its forms
– For the first time, a separate provision for the crime of rape of a minor with the only prescribed penalty being life imprisonment
– Possibility of absolute priority to conduct the interrogation and introduce the case to the audience for the above crimes (crimes against sexual freedom and crimes of economic exploitation of sexual life)
– For the first time, a provision was standardized for revenge pornography with particular emphasis, in fact, on the protection of minor victims
– Establishment of a special criminal registry for serious offenses against minors
– Explicit legislative provision, for the first time, for the training of judicial and prosecutorial officers in the principles of child-friendly justice.
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