Nobody knows what happens behind the closed doors of an apartment except the residents. On Friday, in fact, in one of the daily incidents of domestic violence, “the woman [the victim] denied that anything had happened to her while the alleged perpetrator confronted the police officers, telling them that they had no authority over what was happening in his house.”
Where in Greece the latest violence took place is of little importance; in any case, the police bulletin is full of similar events, some even involving police officers. The horrific accounts of the children of the “Parliament officer,” as one of the recent heinous cases was titled, brought to light details of an unbearable domestic life.
In another case, the murderer had hidden his wife’s body in the attic of their apartment in Ambelokipi. The smell of decay and the neighborhood’s questions forced the perpetrator to confess.
So it seems that the home is a space out of reach. Violence must reach its grim conclusion for the crime to become visible. Despite the very poor insulation of apartment buildings, families, just like police officers, remain closed systems. Families avoid exposing abusers, police officers protect their colleagues. It is an omerta that is difficult to break. Criminal behavior comes to the surface when nothing can cover it up anymore.
The hotbeds of violence are not changed only by laws, psychological exams or checks on the suitability of police officers to carry a weapon. They are undoubtedly necessary, but the question of whether the perpetrator had passed those tests is only part of the issue.
The cover-up is the biggest and deepest wound, the constant attempt to suppress the crime, whether it concerns family members or those working for the safety of the public, and the half-truths that are said when the main concern is “not to damage their reputation.” But this is the surest way to tarnish reputations even more. To multiply the public’s suspicions, to evaporate any reserves of trust.
The claim of the perpetrator of Friday’s incident that he sets the rules in his house indicates a wider issue. Only the clear and public acceptance of the problem by the authorities and politicians can help. If the only argument continues to be which party appointed the violent officer to guard the Parliament, one thing is certain: that somebody like him will be appointed again in the future.