The latest femicide in Drama has once again left Greek society shaken. Against this backdrop, PASOK, as party leader Nikos Androulakis has already stated publicly, is pressing for Greece’s ongoing constitutional revision process to include an explicit constitutional obligation for the state to protect women from gender-based violence and femicide.
During the session of the parliamentary committee on constitutional revision, the party’s rapporteur stated that the Constitution should more specifically spell out the state’s duty to protect women from violence that can escalate all the way to murder. He did acknowledge, however, that such a provision would remain largely declaratory in nature and would not by itself guarantee the full range of practical support that women from working-class families need. He noted that a constitutional reference, however aspirational, does not on its own translate into meaningful social protection in practice.
What PASOK’s Amendment to Article 5 Would Do
The party’s formal proposal calls for an addition to Article 5 of the Constitution explicitly stating that protection from gender-based violence and femicide is an obligation of the state. The rationale offered is that Article 5 should be updated to reflect the content of Article 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union regarding prohibited grounds of discrimination. The proposal also adds reproductive freedom to the existing right to health protection, and introduces a new paragraph, Paragraph 6, covering protection from gender-based violence and femicide.
Opposition Support, and Sharp Attacks on the Government
The proposal found at least partial backing in the broader opposition. Independent MP Nasos Iliopoulos described PASOK’s proposals as moving in a positive direction, though he expressed doubt that any common ground could be reached with the governing New Democracy party. He trained his fire specifically on Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, accusing him of conflating the abortion pill with the morning-after pill, and suggesting such a mistake would have cost any other minister their job. He also criticized the government for blocking Pride posters from the Athens Metro, which he attributed to pressure from Antonis Samaras.
