A large demonstration of women’s organizations took place in Syntagma Square in Athens on Tuesday following a call by the initiative against femicides “Call Her By Her Name”.
The rally was triggered by the recent femicide of 39-year-old Vasiliki in Kalamata, a city in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece, an incident that has reignited public outrage over gender-based violence in the country.
The main demand of the protest was the institutional and legal recognition of the term “femicide,” along with calls for preventive measures and proper state care for victims of violence and their children, who are often left behind in vulnerable circumstances.
At the same time, organizations are demanding the abolition of joint custody arrangements in cases of domestic violence and full protection for women who manage to escape abusive partners.
“They Treat You as the Perpetrator Instead of the Victim”
Speaking to MEGA TV, a woman who survived domestic violence described her ongoing legal battle and the continued trauma she faces years after escaping her abuser.
“I have a child with my ex-partner, who abused me very severely and systematically while we were together. I managed to escape with my child in the middle of the night and I thought I would be safe. But this happened almost exactly six years ago, and I have been in court ever since, fighting over and over again to prove that what happened was abuse. And I have the evidence. He has even been convicted,” she said.
“And despite all that, they are putting my child at risk alongside our abuser. My son witnessed everything, and it ended with him abducting the child, requiring police intervention to locate him. And still, he is considered to have the right to see the child alone. What is happening in the courts is unimaginable. The moment you file a complaint and go to court, instead of being treated as a victim, you are treated as the perpetrator.”
“When you try to leave, you think you will be free and safe, but then you are abused all over again in every courtroom and every police station. Something must finally change in this law. I don’t know whether it is the law itself or the delays in the courts, but the reality is that lives are at risk—women’s and children’s lives—and nothing is being done by the authorities,” she added.
