SAVE-Solution Against Violence in Europe
Local Situation Analysis Report, Research, Concept and Structure
March 2015
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REPORT INFORMATION
Project acronym: SAVE
Project full title: Solution Against Violence in Europe
Grant agreement n° JUST/2013/DAP/AG/5804
Project start date: 1-11-2014
Project duration: 24 months
Beneficiaries: Victims of violence in childhood, including adults, and children at risk of becoming victims of violence Target groups: Parents, Teachers/educational Staff, Public & Private Stakeholders Deliverable title: Local Situation Analysis, LSA Report-Research Concept and Structure Agencies participated in the Project: Local Health Unit n.9 –Trevisio- Italy (L.P.), Veneto Region-Social Services Department- Italy, Dafne Association, ZADOV EMMA- Slovenia, University of Valencia –Spain, Center for Childhood and Adolescence Research and Innovation- Germany, Region of Crete- Greece, Municipality of Cluj-Napoca-Romania Workstream no. 1
Work Package title: Knowledge Building
Output: Local Situation Analysis (in Local Language and in English) in order to improve the Knowledge of the partnership about the topic. Description of the work: The WS1 Leading Partner, in the framework of the WS1.1 activity, will define a benchmarking analysis procedure (desk Analysis, interviews) to be realized by each partner in its territory. The focus will be on existing and successful practices in the field of support for victims of violence in the three area of intervention, including ICT tools
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SAVE
Local Situation Analysis LSA REPORT- RESEARCH CONCEPT AND STRUCTURE
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIONAL SUPPORT SYSTEM (Methodof research: Literature research)
1.1. Conventions and Optional Protocols
The United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations General Assembly, 1989), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989 was the first legally binding international instrument on the rights of children. Greece signed the Convention on January 26, 1990 and ratified it by law on December 2nd 1992 which, upon ratification, has the status of national law (Official Gazette of the Hellenic Republic, 1992). The most important article of the Convention regarding Child Abuse and Neglect is article 19(1) where it is provisioned that the “States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child”. Moreover, “such protective measures should, as appropriate, include effective procedures for the establishment of social programmes to provide necessary support for the child and for those who have the care of the child, as well as for other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for judicial involvement” (article 19(2)). Article 34 is dedicated to the protection of children from sexual abuse and exploitation: “the States Parties undertake to protect t he child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. According to article 9(1) the States Parties are allowed to separate a child from his or her parents, only “if such a separation is necessary for the best interests of the child” such as in case of “abuse or neglect of the child by the parents”. On the basis of article 2(1) the “States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespecti ve of […] race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status” and to “undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implement ation of the rights recognized in the present Convention” (article 4). “For guaranteeing and promoting the rights set forth in the Convention, States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities and shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the care of children” (Article 18(2)).
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Optional Protocol to the UNCRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) The Hellenic Republic has signed (September 7th, 2000) and lately ratified by law (December 2007) the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (Official Gazette of the Hellenic Republic, 2007). Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 10 provision that governments should protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse and take all measures possible to ensure that they are not abducted, sold or trafficked. The Protocol also protects the rights and interests of children victims. Governments must provide legal and other support services to children victims. Children must also be supported with necessary medical, psychological and financial support to aid their rehabilitation and reintegration. It should also be noted that according to article 8(4) governments “shall take measures to ensure appropriate training, in particular legal and psychological training, for the persons who work with victims of the offences prohibited under the Protocol as well as to: • “adopt or strengthen, implement and disseminate laws, administrative measures, social policies and programmes to prevent the offences referred to in the Protocol ” (Article 9(1)). • “promote awareness in the public at large, including children, through information by all appropriate means, education and training, about the preventive measures and harmful effects of the offences referred to in the Protocol […] enco uraging the participation of the community and, in particular, children and child victims, in such information and education and training programmes” (Article 9(2)). • “take all feasible measures with the aim of ensuring all appropriate assistance to victims of such offences, including their full social reintegration and their full physical and psychological recovery” (Article 9(3)). The Hellenic Republic has also ratified the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (Law 3080/2002/ FEK 312/ A'/ 10.12.2002).
The National Children’s Rights Observatory The National Observatory on the Rights of Children was established by law in 2001 (Official Gazette of the Hellenic Republic, 2001) under the jurisdiction of the General Secretariat for Youth, a division of the Ministry of Education . The Observatory’s Mission is to monitor and promote the implementation of the Convention on the Child’s Rights provisions in Greece. According to information derived from the website of the General Secretariat for Youth1 this is achieved by releasing regular reports that focus on the actual conditions and the situation of children in Greece and also by promoting scientific research as well as by assuming initiatives targeting the prot ection of children’s rights. The Observatory concerns all children under 18 years old and in particular children whose rights are violated in cases when they, inter alia, become victims of violence and exploitation inside and outside the family environment. More specifically, the responsibilities of the Observatory, as described in its founding law 2909/2001, are the following:
1 (http://www.neagenia.gr/frontoffice/portal.asp?cpage=RESOURCE&cresrc=141&cno de=48&clang=1)
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1. Organizing a documentation centre for the collection and analysis of statistical, legislative, bibliographical and other related data at national and international level. 2. Cooperating with public institutions (governmental organizations), international organizations, such as UNICEF and UNESCO, and non- governmental organizations for information and knowledge exchange as well as for coordinating their actions. 3. Revising existing national legislation regarding childhood and submitting suggestions to the central Government, through the Ministers of Education and Foreign Affairs, for undertaking legislative and administrative measures in order to be harmonized according to the international legal framework. 4. Promoting scientific research in order to identify critical social issues that concern childhood. 5. Undertaking initiatives for raising pubic awareness on issues related to the respect of the child’s rights . 6. Designing and implementing programs within the framework of the formal educational system, aiming at informing children on the principles of the Convention and encouraging their active participation in the protection and promotion of their rights. 7. Developing a national guide on public and private services for children and continuous updating of it. 8. Submitting annually a national action plan for the child’s rights and editing of a report per year regarding the implementation of the Convention to be submitted to the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Youth, as well as a respective report to be submitted to the UN “Committee on the Rights of the Child ” every 5 years as originally provisioned in the Convention
However, little of the above have been initiated. 2
1.2. National Legislation
National Laws Unfortunately, in Greece there is no law dedicated exclusively to child abuse and neglect. However, the following national laws contain provisions about child abuse and neglect:
ü Parliament Law No. 3500/2006 on Combating Domestic Violence (Official Gazette of the Hellenic Republic, 2006): the law 3500 was voted on the 24th of October 2006 and entered into force on January 24th, 2007. It aims to prevent and combat domestic violence, and protect the fundamental rights of women and children. Apart from the punishment of intimate partner violence, the law punishes sexual abuse and sexual assault of minors by adults to whom they have been entrusted or whose care they are under. It also includes an explicit prohibition of physical violence against minors as a means of punishment (as a disciplinary measure) in the scope of child upbringing. This law adopts a
2 Tsirigoti, K. Petroulaki, G. Nikolaidis, (2010). Institute of child Health, Department of mental health and social welfare.
5 wide definition of family, protecting apart from women, a wider range of persons such as children, elderly persons etc. and extends the application of the law to the cohabitating unmarried couple (Article 1(2)). In article 1(3) it is stated that a victim of domestic violence is also the juvenile in front of whom the violent acts are committed. In cases where the violent acts covered by the law are committed against juveniles or in front of them the penalties are more severe. If physical injury or damage to health is induced against a juvenile in a methodic manner causing severe physical pain, physical exhaustion or mental anguish, the imprisonment penalty is at least 10 years (article 6(4)). In cases where a victim is caused physical harm in front of a juvenile, the minimum imprisonment penalty is 1 year (article 6(3)). In cases where there is insult of sexual dignity of a juvenile, the perpetrator is punished for at least 6 months of imprisonment (article 9(2)). Article 4 states “physical violence against children as a disciplinary measure in the context of their upbringing brings the consequences of Article 1532 of the Civil Code”. Article 1532 of Civil Code states that the consequences can be the removal of the custody of the child (completely or merely) from the parent who abuses his/her parental authority and assigning it to the other parent. If the other parent is also unable to take the custody of the child due to that reason then the custody is assigned (completely or merely) to a third person or a guardian. Article 15 of the Law 3500 added a paragraph to article 735 of the Code of Civil Procedure regarding temporary measures providing the potential of enforcement by the court of specific restrictive conditions for immediate removal of the perpetrator from the home, aiming at the protection of the victim and other members of the family as well as prohibition to approach work and residence of the victim and schools of their children Other provisions of the law include: • If teachers (or primary or secondary education) are informed or realize that a crime of domestic violence is committed against a student, they have the obligation to inform the director of the school –without delay- who reports the crime immediately to the police (Article 23(1)). The same commitment applies to teachers of private schools and all kinds of pre-school education units. • The Prosecutor has the right to start penal mediation in cases of minor offences of family violence. This applies not only for adult victims but also for minors in collaboration with their guardian -if the guardian is not the offender- who acts also as the child’s representative in the processes that have to be followed.
ü Parliament Law No. 3328/2005 (Official Gazette of the Hellenic Republic, 2005) According to article 21(1) any form of corporal punishment on students in secondary schools is explicitly prohibited , if they misbehave.
ü Parliament Law No. 3064/2002 (Official Gazette of the Hellenic Republic, 2002) to combat human trafficking, crimes against sexual freedom, children pornography and in general financial exploitation of sexual life and assistance to the victims of such crimes : Trafficking of children, as a serious social phenomenon raising legal and humanitarian concerns, emerged in Greece in the early 2000s, when several major cities witnessed an influx of street children, selling small items or flowers or
6 cleaning the windshields at traffic lights. These children came to be known as “street children” or “traffic light children.” According to surveys, the children came mainly from Albania, following relatives and friends or even unknown people, with the promise of a better future. 3 They were required to work hard and pass their earnings to those who facilitated their entry through the Greek borders. This problem grew rapidly, and the situation facilitated the creation of a profitable market for traffickers due to two factors: a) the failure of the Greek government to act promptly and to coordinate its actions efficiently, and b) the generosity of the local people, who were willing to give money to the street children, which enabled their street lives. Finally, the issue caught the attention of the press and various NGO’s dealing with human rights.
A number of organizations, including the Greek Helsinki Monitor and others, reported in 2003 that during the period of 1998 and 2002, 502 children disappeared from the state-run institution “Aghia Varvara ”. This was established in 1998 under the aegis of Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare, in order to promote the protection and social welfare of street children. The Greek authorities did not investigate the issue until the Albanian Ombudsman sent a formal request to his Greek counterpart to conduct an investigation. The 2004 report of the Greek Ombudsman apparently dealt only with problems that the institution faced, such as absence of guards, insufficient funding etc. According to more recent estimates, the number of Albanian children being trafficked into Greece in 2005 and 2006 has decreased.
However, there are reports that Albanian Roma children are still trafficked for labor exploitation. 4 After that, the Ministry of Public Order took a step in the right direction through the establishment of the Group against Human Trafficking to study the phenomenon and to set the legislative process in motion.
In 2002, the Greek Parliament unanimously adopted Law No 3064/2002 on Measures to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, Sexual and Economic Exploitation, and Child Pornography. An implementing Presidential Decree, No. 233, followed in 2003 5. The Law No 3064/2002 covered many gaps in the Penal Code and made improvements to some of its provisions. It added to the Penal Code a specific article (1) dedicated to human trafficking, included in some of its provisions all people and not only some specific persons (e.g. added in article 338 of the Penal Code about abuse of power to commit a lewd act not only against women with mental disorders –as it was before- but against any person), increased the penalties
3 For more information see Trasnasional Action against child trafficking Transnational protection of children, The case of Albania and Greece 2000-2006, web site of the European Network of Ombudsmen for Children, Oct. 18, 2006, available at http://www.crin.org/enoc/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=10732&flag=report .
4 U.S. Department of State, supra note 3, at 15. 5 Library of Congress, Law Library, www.loc.gov/law/help/child-rights/greece.php
7 for specific crimes (acts of rape, sexual assault and seduction of children which lead to the death of the victim). Also, a specific paragraph about children pornography has been added to article 348 of the Penal Code and the article 349 has changed about pandering as well as article 351 about human trafficking.
Civil Code Penal Code 6: Penal Code contains provisions aimed at the protection of minors against violence inside and outside the family (physical and sexual abuse and incest), cause of damage to the minor’s health, ab andonment, neglect, maltreatment, exploitation and indecent acts against minors from public officials who provide services to minors or adults to whom it is entrusted the care of minors. More specifically:
Under article 312 of the Criminal Code, if there is no question of a more severe offence, any person who: by continuous cruel behaviour, causes physical injury or damage to the health of a person under the age of 17 or unable to defend him/herself and is under the custody or protection of the perpetrator, or belongs to the perpetrator’s household or has a relationship of work or service with the perpetrator or has been left in the perpetrator’s authority by the person responsible for the minor’ s custody, is sentenced to imprisonment for at least 3 months.
According to article 339 of the Greek Penal Code (seduction of children) “one who commits a lewd act with a person under 15 years of age, or induces this person to commit or to be subjected to such an act through deception, is punished as follows: a) if the victim is under 10 years of age, with at least 10 years’ imprisonment b) if the victim has completed 10 years of age, but is under 13 years of age, with imprisonment of up to 10 years c) if the victim has completed 13 years of age, with impr isonment” . If any of the acts included in article 339 results in the death of the minor victim, the perpetrator will be liable to life sentence (article 340) (this provision was added to the Penal Code by the law 3064/2002, as before this change, the imprisonment was between 10 years and life sentence).
Under article 337 (insult of sexual dignity), any person who, by indecent gestures or propositions concerning lewd acts, grossly offends against the dignity of sexual life of a minor under the age of 12 is liable to imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years. In cases where the child is above 12 years of age, the perpetrator is liable to imprisonment up to 1 year or a monetary penalty.
Article 342 of the Penal Code (abuse of power to commit a lewd act against minors) applies to minor victims under the age of 18 and covers a wide range of perpetrators, including ascending relatives by marriage, foster parents, guardians or supervisors or any other caregivers, teachers or tutors, priests, and members of the family environment of the victim, punishing acts of indecency with a minor whom the above persons had in their supervision or care, even if temporarily.
6 Retrieved 10 November 2009 from: http://gort.gr/pk1.html
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Moreover, according to the Code of Penal Procedure for the interrogation of a child victim of a crime against her/his personal and sexual freedom, an expert (child- psychologist or childpsychiatrist) should be assigned aiming to prepare the minor to be interrogated, as a witness, in collaboration with judicial employees and the investigators conducting the preliminary investigation. The Expert should also assess the perceptual competency and mental state of the minor and draw up a report to be included in the court file (Article 226 Α of the Code of Penal Procedure). The crimes of incest and sexual assault between relatives by blood are punished on the basis of articles 345 and 346 of the Penal Code. Under these provisions, sexual intercourse between relatives by blood in the ascending or descending line is punished, for the ascendants, by imprisonment of up to 10 years, and for the descendants by imprisonment of up to 2 years.
Article 336 (Rape) punishes a person who forces a person –by using physical violence or threat- to have sexual intercourse or other lewd act by imprisonment. If those acts are committed by two or more perpetrators (who are acting jointly) the persons are punished by at least 10 years of imprisonment.
Presidential Decrees7 According to Article 97(1a) of Presidential Decree 141/1991 (Official Gazette of the Hellenic Republic, 1991) the Hellenic Police has the duty to supervise and protect minors from any kind of moral, physical or psychological danger. Under this article, the Hellenic Police can carry out investigations in order to ascertain whether a minor is being abused, neglected or exploited and duly inform the responsible authorities or persons for the protection of minors (article 97(1d)).
According to Presidential Decree 201/1998 (Official Gazette of the Hellenic Republic. (1998) (article 13(8c)) addressing primary schools “corporal punishments are not permitted”. Thus corporal punishment in elementary schools is explicitly prohibited.
According to Presidential Decree 104/1979, addressing secondary schools, the approved sanctions are listed in article 27 but corporal punishment is not among them. However, as there was no explicit prohibition of all forms of degrading punishment or treatment of children in secondary schools and following the decision of the European Committee of Social Rights, legislation was introduced to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in secondary schools (article 21 of Law No. 3328/2005).
Presidential Decree 233/2003 establishes the various forms of assistance to victims, which include the following: a) medical b) psychological c) legal through the assignment of the case involving a minor to a special “legal assistant” d) educational e) protection of witnesses in trials involving human trafficking f) non-repatriation in case of foreign victims and g) equal protection of all victims, including foreigners.
7 Library of Congress, law library, www.loc.gov/law/help/child-ights/greece.php
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1.3. Description of the general structure of the support system about child protection In Greece there is no System of Child Protection. As it is obvious from the following figure 1, someone can report a case of Child abuse or suspected cases of abuse to various organizations/institutions, such as: ü Police, ü Social Welfare Organizations (e.g. Municipalities), ü Health Services and ü NGOs.
As a result, there is not a central institution where someone can report a case; on the contrary he/she can go anywhere as everyone accepts accusations about child abuse and neglect. All of these institutions can report the accusations to the Public Prosecutor for Juveniles. Prosecutors must investigate all reports regarding incidents of abuse and neglect of children and the Public Prosecutor is the only one who has the authority to order investigation/assessment; this investigation may be ordered to be done either by the Police, professionals of Forensic Medical Services and/or Mental Health/Psychosocial Services and/or by the Municipalities’ Social Services. If a case is documented it starts the legal process. The measures that can be ordered by courts are three: ü the child remains home, ü the offender is taken away from home (protection orders), and ü the child is taken away from home.
In other words, courts can order partial of full deprivation of custody, placement of the child in care of another person, foster family or state institution. Courts can also appoint a legal guardian for the child when parents loose parental custody. However, there are very few institutions that host children and adoption and foster families are still underdeveloped in Greece. 8
8 Tsirigoti, K. Petroulaki, G. Nikolaidis, (2010). Institute of child Health, Department of mental health and social welfare. Centre for the study and prevention of child abuse and Neglec t .” Current Situation concerning child abuse and Neglect– BECAN
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11 2. A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE REGION OF CRETE (Method of research: Literature research)
2.1. The structure of the state, in its administrative form 9.
Greece is a parliamentary republic under the 1975 Constitution. The Parliament is unicameral and consists of 300 members. The Head of State is the President of the Republic and the Government is led by a Prime Minister. The Hellenic Republic is a unitary State organised on a decentralised basis. It comprises two levels of governance, the central – State governance (a central government system) and the local self-government (a decentralized system of first and second level local government).10 The Central Government and in particular the Ministry of Interior is responsible for drafting laws on the first and second local government levels. If there is an issue, which needs to be regulated by law and for which another ministry is responsible, the Ministry of Interior is called to express its agreement and the Minister is called to co- sign the draft law. Generally, Greece administered through a system of Central Governments institutions (Ministries), 7 Decentralized administrations, 13 regions and 325municipalities. The decentralized administrations are run by a General Secretary appointed by the Greek Government, while the Regions and Municipalities are self- governed.
Some more details: At the level of decentralized government, seven decentralized administrations are introduced. The general secretary is the highest authority of the decentralized administrations appointed by the Council of Ministers with the recommendation of the Minister of Interior. It is also constituted of a council in which the municipalities and the self-governed regions are represented with merely consulting role. They are governed by a general secretary, who is appointed by the Ministry of Interior, and are mainly responsible for implementing and monitoring central government legislation at the local level in areas like immigration, public property, environment and spatial planning. As the intermediary between the central government and the municipalities, they have a supervisory and monitoring role for the municipalities
The structure of first level, local authorities, is governed by the provisions of the law 3852/2010, known as ‘Kallikratis”. The “Kallikratis ” program has been fully in effect after January 1, 2011. (See Act 3852/2010, “New Architecture for Self - Governance and Decentralization – Kallikratis Program” ) The Kallikratis program increased the service of the local elected authorities to 5 years, thus synchronizing them with the European parliament. At the first level of self-government, the Kallikratis program introduced 325 municipalities divided into local communities (communities with population of less than 2.000 citizens) and municipal communities (communities with population of more than 2.000 citizens with the exception of the islands where a 1.000 citizens limit is set). The municipalities are administered by the mayor and
9 More details at: www.ypes.gr 10 The Constitution of Greece. art. 102
12 vice-mayors, the municipal council (from 13 to 47 members according to the municipality’s size), the econo mic affairs committee, the quality of life committee and the executive committee. Municipalities are responsible for the administration of local affairs. They manage and regulate all local matters in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proximity with the aim of protection, development and continuous improvement of the interests and the quality of life of local society.
On the second level, of local government, 13 self-governed regions are introduced. The self-governed region is administrated by the regional governor, the elected general secretary of the region, the vice-general secretaries of the region, the regional council, the executive committee, the committee of economic and social affairs, the regional committee of deliberation with members from commerce, enterprise and labour groups and the regional Ombudsman for the businesses and the citizens (www.ypes.gr ).
The regions are divided into regional units. Each regional unit is headed by a vice- regional governor, drawn from the same political block as the regional governor. The administrative goals of the self-governed regions are the implementation of the EU development policies, the enforcement of the Regional Development Projects and projects concerning green development and competitiveness.
Regions are responsible for the administration of affairs of their district. They shape, plan and implement policies at regional level as part of their responsibilities under the principles of sustainable development and social cohesion of the country, taking into account of national and European policies.
Regional level
Regions exercise their responsibilities/ competences within the framework of the relevant laws and administrative regulations, in the fields of:
Planning/Programming and regional development including investment; Agriculture/livestock and fisheries; Natural resources, energy and industry; (water management, mineral wealth, energy, industry and manufacturing); Employment, trade and tourism; Transport and communications; Public works, urbanism, spatial planning, environment; Health; Education, culture and sport, and Civil protection – logistics.
Regions exercise their powers taking into account:
The relevant national, regional and European policies; The need for cooperation and coordination with other regional authorities and organisations;
13 The available resources to meet their responsibilities, and the need to ensure their beneficial, efficient use and equitable distribution; The need to organise services to ensure their adequacy, quality and effectiveness, and The need for sustainable development and protection of the cultural heritage.
2.2 The Greek Welfare System
The Greek Welfare system operates as a Centralized model which provides allowances, benefits and free access to social services. According to Article 21 of the Constitution, the state is liable to protect specific underprivileged groups of population and welfare services organizations. The welfare policies are designed and monitoring by the Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Welfare. These policies are promoted in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Social welfare services are organized and administrated at central, decentralized, regional and local authorities (municipalities). These services aim to secure the quality of life and dignity of the population. The development of private welfare services is based on a specific legislative framework and monitored by the public bodies. The voluntary sector involves statutory and non-statutory forms. The classification and content of the actions of social care in accordance with Law 2646/98 is discussed below: ü Primary social care. Refers to care provision to address social needs and in early identification and management of social – economical problems (research, studies, projects to raise awareness on social issues, counceling and social support) ü Secontary social care. Refers to treatment and rehabilitation of mental or emotional illness or disability, as well aw hosting services or residential care (for children at risk, victims of Trafficking, vulnerable individuals etc.). ü Tertiary social care. Refers to delivering highly specialized care or technology and know-how (intervention in emergency services, innovative applications and specialized technology).
2.3 General characteristics of the Region of Crete.
Geographical traits The Region of Crete is bordered to the north by the Sea of Crete and to the south by the Libyan Sea. It has a total area of 8 335 sq. km. and covers 6.3 % of the country’s total area.
Demographic Elements The population of Region Crete is in 623.065 residents according to the estimate of GREEK NATIONAL STATISTICAL ORGANISATION 2011, that is the 5,7% of total population of country(10.815.197). The demographic density of region Crete is smaller corresponding national (67,5 against 79,7 residents per square kilometre). Rural areas in Crete. The largest concentrations of settlements in Crete are found on the plains (where the main cities are located) and in the semi-mountainous zones of all the Prefectures, with densities varying between 40 to 200 inhabitants per square kilometre (fringe urban areas, up to 1000 and urban areas more than 1000).
14 Settlements in more mountainous areas are more dispersed (densities between 0.8 and 39 inhabitants per square kilometre) and smaller.
Regional GNP (Gross national product) The per capita GNP of Region Crete is higher than the corresponding medium per capita GNP of country. The Region of Crete participates in the Gross Domestic Product of the country at a percentage of 5%. Despite its major contribution to macro-economic rates, the primary sector is characterised by long-term infrastructural weakness due to the small and dispersed nature of agricultura l land. Also, the share of Crete’s irrigated land is well below the national average. The structure of cultivation demonstrates specialization in traditional produce such as olive trees and viniculture. Market gardening covers only 3 % of the total cultiva ted area, but Crete contains almost 50 % of the country’s greenhouses, with advantages in vegetable and flower production. Animal husbandry is dispersed in nature (mostly free-range sheep and goats), with a small number of organised farming units. There are significant preconditions for the development of hard cheese production, which comprises 25 % of national production.
In the Secondary sector there are structural problems concerning the usually small size and the family form of the businesses. Processing mainly involves the processing of the products of the primary sector (foods and drinks), the constructions sector and the sector of plastics. Processing businesses are of relatively small size, with the exemption of cooperative businesses. Crete only has 1,8% of the heavy industry and few units create a high turnover. Also, the trends in the sector of exports are hopeful, showing an increase from 2010.
The sector of Energy and in particular the Renewable Energy Sources can be an important source of economic activity and employment growth in the island and can also reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The sector of "Green" energy can also be a pivot of development, promoting economic growth through large "clean" investments, social cohesion through the creation of new decentralised work positions and complementary incomes, the protection of the environment and the development of local expertise and technology 11 .
Tourism Tourism in the island of Crete is not only the main economic sector of the region, it is also of major importance for the entire tourism sector in Greece. Since the sixties the industry has been continuously growing. In 1954 there were only a modest 3.767 guest nights spent in Crete and tourism growth remained modest over the following years. In 1967 a national action plan divided the country into zones for tourism development. The north of Crete received high priority for tourism development through this zoning that sparked a building boom in the area. This increase in bed capacities and the relatively low prices in Greece, compared with the source countries, accounted for a steep increase in guest numbers in Greece, particularly in Crete. By 1985 12.09% of Greek guest beds were in Crete. In 1999 this percentage climbed up to one third of Greek capacity (32.3%).
11 http://www.crete.gov.gr
15 Thus, in 2000 Crete ranked first among Greek regions in terms of guest nights. Today Crete holds a share of 25% of total foreign guest nights in Greece and ranks second in Greece tourist regions right after the South Aegean Islands.
Research & Development infrastructure in Crete. The scale and sophistication of technological services in Crete is at a high level compared with other Mediterranean regions. Following twenty years of investments by the public sector, the Region of Crete boasts of significant infrastructure for research and technology, while its results have repeatedly won international acclaim, particularly through participation in EU Research & Technology programmes. Compared with other regions of Greece, Crete now has the highest level of R&D in proportion of GDP, more than 1%. However, this is mainly composed of public R&D (around 50 %) and Higher Education Institutions (approaching 50 %), so there is little business R&D. Crete has a number of international quality research institutes, state subsidised but with significant income from national and EU competitive programmes. Due to the structure of R&D in Crete and sources of funds, a push towards innovation in rural areas will suppose strong national level involvement and cooperation of Higher Education Institutions. The Foundation for Research & Technology Hellas (FORTH), initially started on CRETE as the Research Centre of Crete, still has its biggest group of research centres there. More specifically: the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, the Institute of Computer Science, the Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics, the Institute for Mediterranean Studies.
Telecommunications Infrastructure Also, the telecommunications infrastructure of Crete has shown significant growth and level of development. This position of the island is attributed to its strategic geographical location, the important research base requiring adequate connections and the role of public actors such as FORTH mentioned above. Both the private and the public sectors have invested heavily in infrastructure to qualify the Region of Crete as an IT hub to connect Greece and the EU with the Southeast Mediterranean. This includes a significant fiber optics infrastructure connecting the island with the northern axis of Europe (France) and soon to connect Crete with Cyprus 12 .
2.4. Data of the Region of Crete of violence in childhood
In Greece until the end of 2012 there was not any type of epidemiological surveillance system on incidents of child abuse and neglect, no common database, nor any central structure for reporting incidents. The first step was The Project “Balkan Epidemiological Study on Child Abuse and Neglect” (B.E.C.A.N.) run from September 2009 until January 2013 in 9 Balkan countries and was co-funded by the EU’s 7th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP7/2007-2013) and the participating partner Organizations.
12 Public Governance and Territorial Development, Working Party on Territorial Policy in Rural Areas, approved by the Working Party on Territorial Policy in Rural Areas at its 7th Session on 30 November 2005. http://www.stepc.gr/_docs/library_docs/OECD_CRETE.pdf
16 The pr oject’s coordinator was the Institute of Child Health, Department of Mental Health and Social Welfare, Centre for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ICH-MHSW), in Athens (Greece).
Case-based surveillance and Becan Epidemiological Survey on child Abuse and Neglect in Greece .
General Information The BECAN project included the design and realization of an Epidemiological field survey and a Case-Based Surveillance study in 9 Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, F.Y.R. of Macedonia, Greece, Romania, Serbia and Turkey). The 9 Epidemiological Surveys that were conducted aimed at investigating the prevalence and incidence of child abuse and neglect in representative randomized samples of the general population of pupils attending three grades (the grades attended mainly by children 11, 13 and 16 year olds). In addition, supplementary surveys were conducted with convenience samples of children that have dropped-out of school in countries where the drop-out rates are high for producing estimates of respectful child abuse and neglect indicators at national level. Data were collected by two sources, namely by matched pairs of children and their parents, by using two of the ICAST Questionnaires (the ICAST-CH and the ICASTP), modified for the purposes of the BECAN project. The Case-Based Surveillance Study aimed at identifying child abuse and neglect incidence rates based on already existing data extracted from the archives of agencies involved in the handling of child abuse and neglect cases (such as child protection, health, judicial and police-services and NGOs) in the same geographical areas and for the same time period as the epidemiological field survey. The collected data were related to the characteristics of individual cases such as child, incident, perpetrator(s), caregiver(s), and information concerning the family. At the same time, the CBSS targeted to map the existing surveillance mechanisms, where available, and to outline the characteristics of the surveillance practices in each participating country. Moreover, comparison at national level between inductance rates of child abuse and neglect as found in the field survey on one hand and in the case based surveillance study on the other would produce evidence based estimates of the instantiation of the “iceberg” phenomenon regarding child abuse and neglect, that actual rates of the phenomenon are substantially higher than the number of cases actually known or provided for by services in the participant countries (see the figure below).
In addition, in the context of the BECAN Project, National Networks were built consisting of agencies (governmental and non-governmental) working in the fields of child protection from the areas of welfare, health, justice, education and public order. In total, 9 National Networks were developed in the participating countries, having more than 430 agencies-members 13 .
13 More information about the projec t’s activities can be found on the project’s website: www.becan.eu
17
As concern the Epidemiological Survey on child abuse and Neglect:
Methodology The BECAN research was held in Greece with a representative sample of pupils attending to a) the last grade of Primary school (11-year olds grade group), b) the first grade of Junior High School (13- year olds grade group) c) the first grade of the General Senior High School (16-General grade group) and d) the first grade of the Vocational Senior High School (16-Vocational grade group) in all prefectures of the Peripheries of Attica and Crete.
The BECAN survey protocol The survey protocol in Greece was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Child Health. The entire research methodology was also approved by the project’s National Advisor y Board for ethical issues, which was established especially for the purposes of the BECAN project.
18 Research tools. Data collection from pupils and their parents was conducted by using the modified ICAST-CH14 and ICAST-P15 questionnaires, respectively, in the Greek language.
The significant main effects and interactions can be summarized as follows:
The gender appears to greatly affect the prevalence of all types of violence, where a higher percentage of girls report experiences of psychological and contact or non contact sexual violence, as well feeling of neglect. In regards to the incidence, the pattern is reversed to the physical and sexual violence (either contact or non contact), as more boys than girls report such violent experiences. • The grade group (which is connected to the age of children) appears to greatly affect al l types of children’s viol ent experiences, with the percentage of children who report that they have experienced at least one violent experience to be increased as the grade group increases, for both the prevalence and incidence rates.
In addition, the significant interaction of gender x grade group on the prevalence rate of all types of violence, except for contact sexual violence, shows that even though boys and girls are not differentiated in regards to the violent experiences in 11, 13 and 16 year olds (General and Vocational) the observed increase is higher for girls who report more experiences of physiological, physical and sexual violence compared to boys. In regards to the incidence rates, in the sexual and physical violent experiences, this pattern is slightly differentiated as 11 y-o boys report more violent experiences and 13 y-o boys report more physical violent experiences compared to their peer girls. The significant interaction of grade group x urbanicity on the prevalence rate of sexual violent experiences and on the incidence of contact sexual violence shows more experiences for the 11 and 13 year olds in urban areas while a reversed pattern is observed for 16 year olds, where the difference of urban – non urban areas increases from General schools to Vocational ones. 65 The significant main effect of age difference (from the typical age of children attending each grade) on both incidence and prevalence rates of sexual violence (contact and non contact) and on incidence of feeling of neglect, shows that the percentage of children who report such experiences is higher for older children compared to their peers who attend the same grade group 16 .
As concern the Case – Based Surveillance Study: The study was designed, by the Institute of Child Health, as an attempt to identify Child Abuse and Neglect incidence rates in the prefectures of Attica and Crete for the
14 The modified Greek ICAST-CH questionnaire is available on: www.becan.eu/sites/default/files/uploaded_images/GR_ICAST-CH.pdf
15 The modified Greek ICAST-P questionnaire is available on: www.becan.eu/sites/default/files/uploaded_images/GR_ICAST-P.pdf 16 Institute of child Health, Department of mental health and social welfare. Centre for the study and prevention of child abuse and Neglect. (2013). BECAN “Epidemiological Survey on Child abuse and neglect in Greece”.
19 year 2010 via extracting existing data from recorded cases in the archives of agencies that are involved in the handling of Child Abuse cases. The ultimate aim was to compare the findings of the present study to those of the epidemiological survey that was also conducted in the context of the BECAN Project, for the same period and the same geographical areas, in order to investigate whether and to what extent the practices of recording Child Abuse and Neglect incidents in the relevant agencies adequately reflect the size and characteristics of the phenomenon. Method The data collection was conducted based on the relevant Protocol, which was designed for the needs of the present study. Research tools were used (extract forms) also created for the purposes of this study and are accompanied by a detailed Manual of Procedures for Researchers. Data were collected during site visits to collaborating organizations, while members of the research team that undertook the extracting of data about existing cases from the files of the agencies were previously involved in relevant training. WP2 Capacity Building Activities a. Development of research tools Research tools related to WP3 (Epidemiological Survey) Obtaining permission from ISPCAN to translate, culturally adapt, modify & use the ICAST tools Translation, adaptation and cultural validation into 10 Balkan l anguages of ICAST-CH tool ICAST-P tool Epidemiological field survey protocol Informed consent and parent info sheet Child assent form
Research tools related to WP4 (Case-based Surveillance) Development of the CBSS extraction methodology & tools CBSS protocol Operations' booklet Extraction form part I (Agency related information) Extraction form part II (CAN cases-related information) SPSS files & codification notes Translation and adaptation into 9 Balkan languages
20 WP3 BECAN Research Activities WP4
Epidemiological Survey Case-based surveillance study
Target group : Target group : Children 11-16 years old Children 11-16 years old School status: School status: – Children attending school – Children attending school – Children who have dropped – Children who have dropped out out
Methods : Methods : Distribution of the ICAST-CH Extraction of CAN data from and ICAST-P questionnaires to available archives/databases a sample of ~40,000 children derived from agencies and their parents to explore belonging to the health-, and measure CAN cases for a welfare-, justice- and public 12-month time period (previous order-sectors as well as related year) NGOs
Mapping of Agencies working with Child Abuse and Neglect-cases. In the context of the study 294 agencies that were identified and considered as eligible based on predefined criteria were invited to participate in the study. Collaboration was achieved with 127 and 14 from the prefectures of Attica and Crete respectively (49% of 259 and 40% of 35 eligible agencies respectively).
Main finding from Case – Based Surveillance Study In total, data on 758 abuse and neglect cases of children aged 11, 13 and 16 for the year 2010 were collected from the records of 141 agencies in the prefectures of Attica and Crete. Child Abuse and Neglect incidence for all types of maltreatment for the two prefectures, the three ages and with natural movement rates as reference population for the year 2010, was estimated at 6,05 cases / 1000 children according to the Greek Statistical Service. The most significant Child Abuse and Neglect incidence, which is equal to 0 10,31 /00 was met in 11 year old boys in the prefecture of Crete , while the least 0 significant was met in 16 year old boys in Attica, and it was equal to 5,01 /00 . As to the type of abuse and the prefecture, for the physical abuse incidence was 0 0 calculated in 1,6 /00 in Crete, for sexual abuse in 0,57 /00 , for psychological 0 0 abuse in 7,35 /00 and neglect in 6,52 /00.
Child maltreatment incident per form of Child Abuse and Neglect, age, gender and geographical area The table below presents the Child Abuse and Neglect incidence for boys and girls that were 11, 13 and 16 years old in 2010, as it was estimated based on the data extracted from the files of children that were identified in the archives of 127 and 14 Agencies /Services in the prefectures of Attica and Crete respectively, according to the protocol and tools of Working Package 4 of the BECAN project.
21 For the estimate of the incidence, apart from the data that were collected from the services/organizations, data on the general population of children of the specific ages for the two prefectures and the particular year (2010) were also needed. Given that the analytic data on the population that were available by the Greek Statistical Office concerned the census that was conducted in 2001, in order to estimate Child Abuse and Neglect incidence, the indicators of natural movement of the population for the year 2010 were used, which are available also by the Greek Statistical Office. The Child Abuse and Neglect incidence rates in total but also for each type of abuse separately, are illustrated in Table below (by reduction cases / 1000 individuals of general population).
Institute of child Health, Department of mental health and social welfare. Centre for the study and prevention of child abuse and Neglect. (2013).
22 Distribution of the cases per type of substantiation, for child-victim 11,13 and 16 years old per municipality, type of abuse and in total (for 2010) Table below indicates the distribution of the recorded cases regarding to whether the maltreatment was substantiated or not per type of abuse, municipality and for the total number of the cases. 17
Institute of child Health, Department of mental health and social welfare. Centre for the study and prevention of child abuse and Neglect. (2013).
Child Abuse and Neglect Substantiation status according to the Agencies’ criterion. Concerning the cases of psychological substantiated according to the agencies cases of physical abuse (~65%) and 20% and ~38% of physical and sexual the professionals working in there as cases were, according to the archives of 2010 were under investigation (“on going”), without that meaning that there was no dec ision about the substantiation of the case in a later time (e.g. during 2011).
Institute of child Health, Department of mental health and social welfare. Centre for the study and prevention of child abuse and Neglect. (2013).
17 Child Abuse and Neglect cases that were extracted in the context of the study were not necessarily for which there was suspected abuse, those that were under investigation at the time of the recording or even unsubstantiated, following the investigation
23 Vulnerability of children of children in child abuse and neglect and to specific types of abuse As shown in Table below, more than 80% of child abuse victims have reported multiple types of abuse (at least 2 or more), indicating that it is the rule rather than the exception. This applies to both prefectures in which the study took place (82.5% and 80.5% for Attica and Crete respectively), while there is a slight diversification in gender, with girls being victims of multiple Child Abuse and Neglect types ~ 4% more, compared to boys (84.3% vs. 80.1%). As to the age of children, of both genders, there are not any significant differences in rates indicating victimization with the coexistence of multiple Child Abuse and Neglect types.
Institute of child Health, Department of mental health and social welfare. Centre for the study and prevention of child abuse and Neglect. (2013).
Findings from Case-based surveillance and Epidemiological Survey of Child Abuse and Neglect. Taking into consideration the respective results of the epidemiological survey, the main finding to be highlighted is that the trend in the prevalence of types of Child Abuse and Neglect are similar between the two studies the epidemiological and the case-base surveillance, while the scale of the magnitude of the problem is quite different. As for the pattern of the prevalence of different types of Child Abuse and Neglect, psychological abuse seems to be the predominant type of abuse reported by the children themselves in the context of the epidemiological survey and collected in the
24 case-based surveillance study. Physical abuse is the second most prevalent type of abuse, according to the results of both of the studies. Lastly, the least prevalent type of abuse in both studi es is sexual abuse, whether concerning “contact” or not. Concerning the estimated magnitude of the problem, as was expected, reported abusive experiences by the children themselves were in all cases much higher than the respective recorded cases extracted from the archives of the organizations, even more than 100 fold for certain cases. As for the gender of the children, the results of the epidemiological survey suggest that for all three types of Child Abuse and Neglect, girls reported fewer adverse experiences during the previous year than the boys. The result case-based surveillance, on the other hand, suggest a reverse picture, namely that girls are recorded more frequently in the archives of the related areas as Child Abuse and Neglect victims. Concerning the age of the children, adverse experiences related to any type of abuse according to the results of the epidemiological survey are more prevalent among older children and seems to decrease as the age of the children decreases. The results of the case-based surveillance study suggest a partially different pattern: concerning child psychological abuse, the 16 and 11 year old children were recorded in the archives of the related agencies more frequently as victims of psychological abuse than the 13 year old children. As for physical abuse, the pattern is totally reversed as younger children seemed to have a higher prevalence than the older ones while, concerning sexual abuse, the pattern is identical with the one that resulted from the epidemiological study 18 .
The case of Rethymnon On December 1 st 2011, probably the biggest case ever of the child sexual abuse in Greece, was revealed in the town of Rethymnon (a town of population of less than 30.000 inhabitants). A children and adolescents’ basketball team coach has been accused of abusing sexually a big number of boys during the last decade. The perpetrator had used a technique resembling sect recruitment to approach boys participating in the basketball team. There were a number of “stage” of introduction of youngsters to the “circle of trust” including exposure to physically horrifying environments, engaging to sexual activities in between children, with the coach “supervising” and finally intercourse with them later. The “stage” of introduction were competitive: at the first stage exposure to endurance of physical pain and overcoming fear was the key concept, afterwards at the second stage engaging in sexual activity between boys was the challenge without coach’s invo lvement but watching, and at the final stage, boys were invited to engage in sexual activity with the coach himself. In between all “stages” not all and every children were to be invited. So competitiveness was high among participant boys. This was invested with the rhetoric on “championship ” ( overcoming one’s limits ” etc.).
18 Institute of child Health, Department of mental health and social welfare. Centre for the study and prevention of child abuse and Neglect. (2013). BECAN “Case –Based Surveillance Study: Greek Report”.
25 Boys were in this manner becoming recruiters of newcomers. Moreover, they produced an atmosphere of superiority for participating in the higher ranks of this “pyramid of trust ”. Resul ts of the local boy’s basketball team were linked to the functioning of this pyramid and its competitive character. Surprisingly, although this had been going for several years in such a small town, nobody seemed to have noticed anything suspicious throughout the years!
In the town of Rethymno, in witch, as we see, the most extensive case of paedophilia in Greece had been disclosed, the Institute of Child Health, Department of Mental Health, under the overall framework of a project funded by EU’ s National Strategic Framework Program (MIS 375809) conducts the most extensive training programme for awareness raising.
26 3. Structure in the Region of Crete in Violence in Childhood for prevention, detection and Case Management
3.1. List of existing structures in the Region
All the institutions bellow belong to the public sector Social Welfare Organizations - Region of Crete. Directorates of Public Health & Social Care, department of Social Solidarity, Regional Unit of Heraklion, Regional Unit of Rethymno, Regional Unit of Chania, Regional Unit of Lasithi –Agios Nikolaos. - Department of Social Services of municipality of Heraklion, of Rethymno, of Agios Nikolaos, of Chania - Advisory Stations for young in Heraklion, in Rethymno, in Chania (especially for bullying). - Centers for child protection in Support in Heraklion, in Chania & in Agios Nikolaos (Neapoli)
Mental Health /Psycho-social Services - Mental Health Center in Heraklion & Mental Health Center for children and Adolescents - Mental Health Center in Rethymno - Mental Health Center in Chania & Mental Health Center for children and Adolescents
Police station & Depertments of the Protection of minors - Police Authorities in all cities
Justice system - Public Prosecutor for Minors in Heraklion, in Rethymno, in Chania and in Lasithi - Juvenile protection Associations in Heraklion,in Chania, in Rethymno,, in Lasithi - Society for the protection of Minors in Heraklion
Health Services - Social Services of Hospitals in Heraklion, in Rethymno, in Chania and in Agios Nikolaos - Health-Pedagogical Centers in Heraklion, in Chania - General University Hospital of Heraklion, Department of Pediatric & child Psychiatric Clinic - Hospitals, Department of Pediatrics
Forensic Medical Services in Heraklion
Non Government Associations - Abused Women and Children Hostel in Heraklion, Association of members of Heraklion and Heraklion prefecture Female Boards . - Institution of child protection “Panagia Kalibiani”, belongs to the Orthodox Church
27 - Hellenic Red Cross, Regional department of Heraklion, Social Service.
Short description of main responsibilities of related organizations The responsibilities of relevant organizations concerning child abuse are presented briefly below .
Social Welfare Organizations : This category includes the Social Services as well as the Social Care Services that are supervised by the Ministry of Interior. The responsibilities of them are, inter alia, the protection and education of families, children, people with special needs and various vulnerable population groups through various activities and implementation of social programs, the implementation of programs for the protection of mothers and children of pre-school and school age (e.g. allowance for the protection of children), counselling and psychological support for vulnerable population groups, children and adolescents with behaviour problems, people with difficulties in domestic and interpersonal relationships, abused people, conducting social investigation for the implementation of welfare programs, the adoption of minors, investigation and recording of, after carrying out the social investigation, identified problems e.g. family living conditions. They also have the responsibility to conduct research regarding child abuse and neglect and to provide support and protection in collaboration with the district’s attorney office for juveniles. They also maintain constant collaboration with other organizations – mental health centres, psychiatric clinics, etc. – where they refer various cases that require special treatment. Social Services accept accusations, report cases of Child abuse and are the authorized services which conduct the social investigation. The staff of Social Services of the Municipalities conduct visits in homes where, inter alia, child abuse or neglect is suspected. (Information is derived from descriptions of services provided by the organizations available from the officially published information on their own websites )
The National Centre for Social Solidarity (E.K.K.A.): is supervised by the Ministry of Health and Social Secure and aims to the coordinate the network of social support for people, families and population groups who undergo a situation of crisis or emergency. It provides counselling and information services on welfare issues, psychological support, temporary hosting, and mediation for access to services of social solidarity which are provided by other governmental organizations and NGOs. It operates a 24 hour SOS line and conducts interventions on the spot for the confrontation of crisis cases on. The target group of this organization is, inter alia, children and adolescents who are abused and/or neglected. More specifically, EKKA’s network of services includes:
• Telephone Line for Immediate Social Aid “197” which a) operates 24 hours, 7 days a week, b) provides counselling, psychological support and information, c) provides immediate social intervention, and d) refers cases to the EKKA’s network of services or other organizations for further help. • Social Support Centres: which are established at the Region of Athens and Thessaloniki, operate on a daily basis and a) receive and assess the cases, b) provide psychological support and information, c) refer cases to their Short- Term Shelters, d) intervene in homes or other places in order to provide immediately the needed services and e) provide information on all issues regarding welfare and social solidarity.
28 • Crisis Management Service • Im mediate Social Intervention Service • Short -term Shelters.
Children’s Ombudsman : was established by law 3094/2003 and has the right to receive reports and complaints about child abuse and neglect. This office also has the responsibility of bringing information and awareness of child abuse to Greek society and to special groups who take care of children. It has the responsibility to investigate accusations about actions that infringe upon the rights of the child. More specifically, the mission of the Children’s Ombudsman is to protect and promote the rights of the child. It investigates accusations from juveniles, parents, relatives or other people regarding violations of the rights of children, visits places with children, monitors the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and makes legislative and organizational suggestions to the Government. It also tries to influence the attitudes and perceptions of citizens, by informational and awareness raising activities regarding their responsibilities towards juveniles.
Health Pedagogical Centers: Belong to hospitals of the National Health System. They are the recognised as Public child guidance centres. Its specific diagnostic report accepted in public sector services, in areas such as educations, health, welfare and insurance.
Services of Health, and Child Psychiatry : in the majority of physical and sexual abuse cases, both the medical examination of the child and the documentation of the abuse are necessary. Such examinations are conducted in Child Health Hospitals and/or departments of Child Health in Hospitals in Greece .
Mental Health Services and Mental Health Services for children and adolescents: which function within hospitals and community centres play an important role in diagnosis of and therapy for problems that juveniles and their families face. More specifically, a central role in therapy, counseling and/or assessment of child abuse victims have the following services (which however are mainly located in Athens, the capital of Greece, and Thessaloniki – the 2nd bigger city in population – except for the Mental Health Centers, which are more located in several Regions of Greece):
• Child Psychiatric Clinics of Hospitals, either affiliated t o Universities or not (child Psychiatric Clinic in Heraklion) •General Hospitals • Mental Health Centers for adults and some of them for children and adolescents which either belong to the National Heath System (e.g. Chania) or the Mental Health and Research Center of Greece to Universities or to University affiliated Hospitals (e.g. Hrakleion).
The District Attorney’s Offices : are the responsible authorities which accept accusations and undertake the investigation and penal prosecution of accusations regarding child abuse and neglect. The Supervisory Juvenile Services and the Juvenile Protection Associations belong to the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights. The Supervisory Juvenile Services of the Juvenile Courts (Law 378/76, Official Government Gazette 171/A, Presidential Decree 49/79, Official Government
29 Gazette 11/79/A) are regional services of the Ministry of Justice that operate in the seat of each court of first instance wherever there is a juvenile court, and are supervised by the Juvenile Judge. They constitute the primary non-intuitional service for juveniles ΄ treatment who have committed criminal acts or are in danger of becoming perpetrators or victims of criminal acts. The Juvenile Protection Associations (JPA) (Law 2724/40) is comprised of institutions having the legal status of “Legal Persons of Public Law”, under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights. They function in the seat of each court of first instance and their aim is to prevent juveniles from committing crimes, displaying antisocial behaviour or are in danger of becoming perpetrators or victims of criminal acts due to inappropriate or absence of a family environment, or other unfavourable social conditions or reasons. If the necessary resources have been covered, the Associations establish Juvenile Housing Facilities which offer hospitality and comprehensive support in a family atmosphere to the children they protect. These Juvenile Housing Facilities are offered by JPA in Athens, Piraeus, Iraklio (Crete) etc. However, it should be mentioned here that there is no public prosecutor for juvenile victims but only for offenders, which results in cases and testimonies being undertaken by general public prosecutors, who are not specialized in approaching juveniles. Furthermore, to the legal system belong the Forensic Medical Services which are the responsible authorities for the documentation of child physical or sexual abuse cases. There are 13 such services located in big cities (e.g. Attica, Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Lamia, Larissa, Patra, Crete).
The Police Authorities: also undertake actions for the protection of abused people (women and children). They accept accusations and –following the prosecutor’s order- investigate accusations regarding abuse and neglect. They also record the testimonies.
The Directorates of Juvenile Protection: belong to the Ministry of Citizen Protection which operate in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patra and Iraklio. It should be mentioned that there are no specialized police officers in the Police stations that can handle cases of child abuse.
Non-Governmental Organizations:
Abused Women and Children Hostel in Heraklio, Association of members of Heraklion Female Boards . The Hostel for Abused Women and Children was created to offer hospitality to women and their children that have suffered any kind of violence (psychological, economical, sexual, physical) by their father, husband, partner, brother or friend. It gives women the chance to find a safe place to live for as long as it takes to protect her and her children in times of crisis. To provide direct help to women-victims of violence and their children with personal interviews, psychological support and provision of legal advisors. There is also a “Hope Line” at 801 - 11 - 16000 every day from 9:00 to 21:00, free of charge. It covers all of Crete.
Helplines: The NGO “ The Child’s Smile ”, for example, offers child protection, provides services, and offers housing and legal protection to children all over Greece via
30 the, free 24 hours/ 7 days a week, National Helpline “ 1056” and other facilities/services. National Helpline and the Helpline of E.K.K.A, There is also another National, but not for free helpline, the “115 25” (“Together for Children” Helpline) which operates daily from 9.00 to 21.00 aiming to provide help to children and adolescents. Another new helpline (for free) that operates in Greece is the European Helpline of Support to Children and Adolescents “116 111”, from Monday to Friday from 14.00 to 20.30.
Identified Problems The organizations that are involved in prevention, in detection and in intervention in cases of Child abuse belong to a) the Health and Social Welfare System, b) the Justice and the Public Order (Citizen Protection) System, and c. to Non Governmental Organizations. However, the identified problems can summarized as follow: - There is no effective coordination and cooperation among organizations. - There is not a central agency responsible for coordination and monitoring of various (public) organizations offering services to victims of Child abuse and neglect. - The collected data are heterogeneous due to the fact that they are collected based on the needs and responsibilities of each organization. As a result each organization collects data using different patterns and processes. A service that belongs to the Health System, for example such as a Paediatric Hospital may not record data about the perpetrator while this data may be recorded by a district’s attorney office. - According to the needs assessment study conducted in 2008 by Institute Child Health (Nikolaidis, Petroulaki, Tsirigoti, Fatsea, Milioni, & Skiadopoulos, 2008) with the participation of 19 organizations related to Child Abuse and Neglect, it was identified that there is great overlap in the responsibilities of these organizations involved in child abuse and neglect. - The data that is collected are not uniform, as there is not a common protocol that the organizations can use, even in organizations that belong to the same services system, e.g. - There are no uniform criteria for investigation and diagnosis of CAN cases, which negatively affects the effectiveness of the provided services. This also leads to organizations that do not cooperate with each other. - There is a great lack of training and education of professionals that deal with victims of child abuse - The institution of foster care in Greece, is in immobility. Instead of it many children have been placed in organizations which often results in institutionalization and asylumisation 19 .
19 Tsirigoti, K. Petroulaki, G. Nikolaidis, (2010). Institute of child Health, Department of mental health and social welfare. Centre for the study and prevention of child abuse and Neglect . ” Current Situation concerning child abuse and Neglect”, BECAN
31 3.2. Description of a Best Practice of Prevention & Detection on the field of Child abuse (method of research: analysis of documents and interview with an expert of this institution).
General Information for the Institute of Child Health The Institute of Child Health, which was founded in 1965 by Spyros Doxiadis, offers specialized services on prevention and public health and develops research and education activities in the scientific field of child health. Particularly, the activities include the following: 1. Multidisciplinary constitution aiming at an integrated treatment of child health 2. It is a point of reference in Greece due to its specialized services 3. It holds close contact and collaboration with institutions abroad
The Institute of Child Health (ICH) is a governmental agency supervised and funded by the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity. Currently, ICH is under scientific re- structuring, especially after the change of its legal status according to the Law 3370/11.07.05, and its subsequent transformation into a Research Institute (under the Law 1514), supervised by the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity and the Ministry of Development (General Secretariat for Research and Technology). The Directorate of Mental Health and Social Welfare (previously known as the Department of Family Relations), since its foundation in 1979, has focused on child abuse and neglect issues by: - Conducting research (epidemiological/demographical and clinical) - Promoting health education and sensitization of the public - Offering continuing education programs for professionals - Offering counselling and organizing support actions to institutions and professionals - Offering specialized services
The Directorate's main aim is to study domestic violence against children, as well as to prevent children's victimization. Due to its specialization, the Directorate has been functioning since 1988 as the Centre for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect according to the decision of the Vice Minister of Health and Social Solidarity (protocol number 2350/14-11-88). In particular, the urgent social-political demand to eliminate intra-family violence against children has led the specific Directorate to conduct quantitative and qualitative research, focusing on primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. More specifically it carries out the following activities:
• Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention programs • Education and sensitization of professionals encountering child abuse and neglect in their everyday practice • Se nsitization of the public and modification of relevant social attitudes and behaviours • Bringing together research data and social policy through cooperation with the Ministries of Health and Social Solidarity, Justice and Internal Affairs so that legislation/institutional measures are adopted, and
32 • Collaboration with European Institutions on carrying out international research projects on the violations of children’s rights
As concern the concept and its scientific fundaments The Institute of Child Health (ICH), since its founding by S. Doksiadis and according to Presidential Decree (P.D. 867/1979), has been an innovative structure based on the principles of multidisciplinary cooperation, combining clinical practice, research and epidemiology. The Directorate of Mental Health and Social Welfare, through its multidisciplinary constitution, combines the diverse treatment of its subjects from different scientific perspectives (Psychiatry, Social Work, Clinical Psychology, Sociology, Criminology, Psychodynamic Theories, Public Health and Social Anthropology). Specifically, the purposes of the Directorate include the following:
- Study and promotion of health family relationships and children’s rights - Study of Greek families in psycho-social crisis related to children’s victimization - Development of methodologies for the identification of parental risk - Epidemiological and clinical approach of child abuse and neglect as a public health problem - Development of community-based prevention programs - Promoti on of health and children’s rights in the family, school and community
As concern the innovation of the concept Research on children’s protection services in Greece also takes place, while empirical data stemmed by this kind of research have already been used as a basis for the construction of intervention programs in relevant institutions, as well as for the creation of innovative structures. In addition, innovative “education -action” programs are developed such as the support-through-counselling program for professionals aiming at preparing professionals to encounter difficult cases of intra-family violence against children The Department of Mental Health and Social Welfare, following the international appeal for the protection of children’s rig hts, and in response to the UN Convention (1989) and the Greek Law (Ν 2101, ΦΕΚ 192/2.12.92), has developed a special interest in this field.
As concern the networking / cooperation and sustainability The Directorate has developed a Framework Program for the promotion of children’s rights in Greece and Europe, which includes various actions all around Greece, in cooperation with primary school teachers. Its also collaborate with various European institutions concerning the mobilization through political lobbying aiming at empowering children’s positions as a distinct social category in European Union’s conventions . The Directorate of Mental Health and Social Welfare is a member of various international Organizations (Council of Europe, etc.) and scientific institutions, such as: - International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN, Chicago, USA)
33 - The European Children’s Network (EURONET, Brussels) - Bureau International Catholique de l’ Εnfance ( ΒΙ CΕ, Brussels) - European Association for the Scientific Study of Residential Care and Fostering (EUSARF, Leuven) - The Bridge Child Care Development Service (London) - Global Initiative to End Physical Punishment, (London) - Bernard van Leer Foundation (Hague)
Also, the Directorate functions as a permanent Information Centre for international and national bodies working with issues related to child abuse
As concern the ICT tools The use of ICT Tools presented below concerns the whole spectrum:
- The educational initiatives comprise of (i) publications of relevant scientific material (uploaded in the website of Institute and send by emails to the potential interested organizations), (ii) organization of conference and seminars (some of them are teleconference using Skype, or distance learning seminars using ICT tools), (iii) production of audiovisual and sensitization material(printed material, videos, targeted spots etc.). - Issue of newsletters and press release (uploaded in the site of Institute and sending by emails). - Use of social Networking sites - Runs a specialized library and e-library which is open to professionals and university students. - The Directorate functions as an Information Centre for international and national bodies working with issues related to child abuse and child protection in general. For this reason all ICT tools are used. - Development of educational software. Developing e-learning platform aimed at providing educational seminars. These courses are available in CD. - Every developing research projects of the Directorate presented to their own website The developing projects are: Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN) via Minimum Data Set (MDS) [Code: JUST/2012/DAP/AG/3250]. http:/www.can-via-mds.eu/ Protecting Infants and toddlers from domestic violence: Development of a diagnostic protocol for infant and toddler abuse and neglect and its imlementation to the public health system [Code: JUST/2011- 2012/DAP/AG/3283]. http:/www.intovian.eu/ An Integrated Approach for Investigation, Diagnosis and Management of Child Abuse & Neglect Cases [Code:MIS 372071] htpp:/www.esa-kapa-p.gr/ Reviewing social auditing practices to combat exploitative brokering in Southern Europe. The site is under construction. Caregivers of children at risk-education and capacity Building. The site is under construction
34 As concern the Management of Quality Experts from the Institute participate in continuing educational programmes of other national and international institutes. The Institute as a member of various international Organizations and scientific institutions implements international guidelines and patterns that are documented on the scientific field. The Ministry of Health and Social Security cooperates with the Ministry of Justice in order to configure social policies by processing research data of the Directorate of Mental Health and Social Welfare.
3.3. Description of a Best Practice of Prevention & case of violence on the field of Child sexual abuse. (method of research: analysis of documents and interview with an expert).
In the town of Rethymnon, as it was mentioned above, the most extensive case of paedophilia in Greece had been disclosed. For this reason, the Institute of Child Health, Department of Mental Health, developed a project under funded by EU’s National Strat egic Framework Program.
Some general Information of the project: Project for a comprehensive psycho-social intervention in the city of Rethymnon targeting at prevention and treatment of the phenomenon of child sexual abuse (Code: MIS 375809) 20 . The program was staffed by specialists such as child psychiatrists, child psychologists and social workers. Key targets: i) Basing intervention in extensive collaboration with civil society at local level: local associations of gymnasts along with police, teachers, welfare professionals etc. ii) Facilitating a better involvement of parents with children also inn the later sport’s activities, improving communication within families. iii) “overcoming one’s limits” should be accepted only conditionally. iv) Challenging “whatever it might take….” As a Key concept in building the pyramid of case sexual abuse.
The main interventions of the project 21 (concept and innovation): - A pre-programmed conference on Council of Europe’s “One in Five” campaign in Greece was implemented in Heraklion (Crete) just a few days after pe rpetrator’s arrest. - Massive health promotion program in schools expanded into the entire prefecture’s territory targeting at schoolteachers, parents and children. - Provision of non-differentiated mental health services to children and adolescences in the local community which lucks such services on the grounds of
20 More details in the link: http://www.gma-ich.gr/ 21 George Nikolaidis, Psychiatrist, MD, MA, MSc, PhD, project: “Balkan Epidemiological Study on Child Abuse and Neglect.”
35 the consideration that: i) victims won’t identify themselves as such by now and ii) implications of the whole case might emerge as non – specific mental health disorders and social issues. - Wide sensitization campaign in the local community targeting at the general population - Intensifying training modules for all kind of involved professionals - Making specifics collaboration with all local sport’s clubs or teams to avoid potential re- linkage of competitive champion-ism to such or relevant practices - In general, trying to carefully “re -open” the issue in the local community and providing replies to questions and solutions to needs emerging by such an “opening” targets by now at children and families in overall and not necessarily at victims. - 280 children have had clinical services, 40 of them in continues therapy. More than 1.250 hours of consultation provided. 30 lectures for parents and 200 training programs for schoolchildren organised involving more than 5.000 students.
As concern the ICT tools The use of ICT Tools presented below:
- Publications of relevant scientific material (uploaded in the website of the project and send by emails to all interested organizations), - Production of audiovisual and sensitization material(printed material, videos, targeted spots etc.). - Issue of newsletters and press release (uploaded in the site of the project and sending by emails). - Use of social Networking site - Development of educational software. The educational seminars are available in CD.
36 4. Conclusions 4.1. General Status of the structure in Greece in violence in childhood
In Greece several studies with the aim of assessing the phenomenon of Child Abuse and Neglect have been conducted, currently only one of them is epidemiological (Institute of Child Health, 2007-2008). Most of the existing studies were measuring Child Abuse and Neglect characteristics, such as demographics, types of abuse, perpetrator(s’) identity, and the effects of maltreatment on child’s physical and mental health. Hence, the lack of systematic Child Abuse and Neglect cases recording along with valid and reliable evidence resulted from epidemiological studies constrain the development of a solid national policy including the design and implementation of targeted interventions. Moreover, the great deficiencies in terms of human and financial resources in health and social welfare agencies/services indicate that the problem is rather ethical than administrative. It is also important to note that the absence of central national mechanisms of child maltreatment surveillance leads to differences in the diagnostic and methodological criteria that are used to substantiate the reported Child Abuse and Neglect cases not only among the Child Abuse and Neglect -related organizations/agencies but also among practitioners in the same organization/agency. So we can summarize the major problems in dealing with cases of child abuse as follow:
There is no coordination and cooperation among all institutions that are involved in child protection and, thus, the Judicial authorities, health services, police and social services, due to their inability to coordinate their interventions, often leads to the revictimization of the already victimized children. Furthermore, as there are no guidelines or a common protocol to be followed, professionals are very reluctant to report cases and they are also not mandated to report cases of Child Abuse. The magnitude of the problem of Child Abuse in Greece is yet unknown due to the lack of primary data, epidemiological studies and systematic collection of data regarding detected/reported child abuse cases No monitoring systems for Child abuse cases There are no regulations regarding monitoring and evaluation of institutions and professionals who are involved in child protection Lack of uniform criteria for screening, diagnostic and classification criteria, and criteria regarding handling of cases; lack of a common protocol and guidelines; each institution or professional uses their own criteria Lack of legal immunity for professionals (professionals can be subjected to suits by offenders, and thus discouraged to report any alleged cases) which often leads to developing a defensive stance at their work and resulting to low morale, as they feel helpless in front of the complicated and bureaucratic “state system”22 .
22 Tsirigoti, K. Petroulaki, G. Nikolaidis, (2010). Institute of child Health, Department of mental health and social welfare. Centre for the study and prevention of child abuse and Neglect .
37 Otherwise, as it was mentioned above, there are some good practices that concern the prevention, detection and case management of child abuse. The aforementioned actions of the “best practice” , provide the scientific and strategic basis in order to develop evidence-based policy and the recommendations for improving effectiveness and efficiency of child protection social policies and interventions. Also, the researches whi ch have been conducted by the “best practice s”, inquire about the magnitude and features of the phenomenon of child abuse and neglect so it is possible to come up with quantitative estimates and conclusions on the nature and perplexities of the cases of violence.
The use of ICT tools, as described above, provide an open forum for continuing discussion on child abuse and neglect issues to interested parties and the public sector. Also, a network of child abuse related professionals, organisations and agencies are developed.
A project, “Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and Neglect via Minimum Data Set (MDS) ” [with financial support from the EU, Daphne Programme (Code: JUST/2012/DAP/AG/3250), is developing under the coordination of the Institute of Child Health, using ICT tools.
Its aims at creating the scientific basis, necessary tools and synergies for establishing national child abuse monitoring systems using data set. Such systems would provide comprehensive, reliable and comparable case-based information at national level for children who have used child protection services (social, health, educational, judicial and public order, dependent’s on country’s specifics). A Policy & Procedures Manual will be created addressing policy makers and other related stakeholders; it will include ready-to-use tools as well as argumentation for lobbying towards a uniform systematic registry and monitoring of abused children at local & national levels also facilitating international comparisons. Such a registration mechanism at national level could be part of the routine administrative process in all child protection services and the Minimum Data Set could be uploaded in a single database operating via a restricted-access on-line network.
The intervention is still ongoing………. and the use of ICT tools seems to be necessary on the field of child abuse.
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