The Greek government is presenting its National Strategy for the Prevention of Violence and the Response to Juvenile Delinquency during a meeting of the scientific committee on violence prevention, chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Monday, May 5.
According to government sources, the initiative is particularly complex due to the vulnerability of minors and the profound influence of modern digital technologies in shaping new forms of violence.
Minister of State Akis Skertsos, speaking prior to Easter at the Delphi Economic Forum, highlighted that “since 2019, a total of 139 policies have been implemented to prevent and address violence across ten different ministries.”
Building on that groundwork, the new National Strategy to prevent juvenile delinquency introduces 29 additional policies, including 69 new measures—five of which are cross-sectoral.
Among the most innovative initiatives are “Kids Wallet,” a tool enabling parents to monitor and control their children’s internet use, and “Age Verification,” a mechanism for verifying users’ ages before registering on digital platforms. Central to the strategy is the concept of “digital adulthood” being established at the age of 15.
Measures aimed specifically at schoolchildren include increasing the number of school psychologists and social workers, training teachers in violence prevention, and integrating anti-bullying efforts into the self-evaluation framework of schools.
At 12:30 p.m., a joint press conference will be held at the Secretariat General for Communication and Information, where ministers from ten different departments will provide detailed briefings on the proposed initiatives.
The high-level ministerial turnout underscores the importance the Mitsotakis administration places on tackling youth violence, as well as the broad scope of the problem—and the coordinated response it requires.
