[Yiannis Liakos/InTime News]
Conditions and procedures at police stations for filing charges concerning domestic violence are inadequate, leaving women feeling unprotected during the process, a social psychologist specializing in supporting victims has protested.
“We don’t want police officers to be sensitized, but they need to be properly trained,” Aphrodite Stathi stressed to Kathimerini, recounting the challenges and unsuitable conditions faced by a female client she recently accompanied to the nearest Athens police station, in the Kallithea district.
The social psychologist expressed disappointment with the experience, especially after recent initiatives aimed at supporting victims of domestic violence had initially raised her hopes.
Domestic violence reports in Greece have skyrocketed in recent years, rising from 2,455 in 2012 to 18,427 in the first ten months of 2024.
The police officer handling the complaint at the police station’s domestic violence department made the two women feel unwelcome, asking disrespectfully and without any regard for privacy, “Why are you here?”—all while standing, the social psychologist reported.
The two women, who arrived at the start of the afternoon shift, narrowly missed the morning shift, which is handled by a female officer known for her diligent approach to the job, Stathi admitted.
“The victim was placed in a room where another woman was also filing a complaint, with people constantly walking in and out,” the social psychologist said. “We felt that we were yet another burden. There was no respect,” she added, while describing the department as a “cold space with few chairs.”
The police officer appeared untrained, arbitrarily selecting which mobile phone messages to include in the charges and opting not to include threatening messages the offender had sent to the social psychologist, she said.
“Unfortunately, after what I saw and experienced that day, I think we still have a long way to go before a woman feels protected,” Stathi said.