The Greek government is facing increasing pressure to make the killing of women a crime in the country’s criminal law because it is angry that more and more women have been brutally killed by their partners.
According to a state-run TV station, two women were murdered by their husbands within five days last week, and the death toll has reached 17 since January. Both allegedly told the police that they killed their wives because they were afraid they would leave them.
On Saturday, the police managed to prevent the 18th woman from being killed by her husband when the police broke the door of the couple’s house with a knife to her throat.
As the Mediterranean country was shaken by the total brutal killings, it called for tougher legislative action to combat what many people regarded as a hate crime.
Outstanding issue, Alexis TsiprasThe country’s former prime minister and major opposition leader emphasized that time is running out. “Disgust and anger are not enough. It’s time to take action.
“We are late,” he said, regretting the Greek Parliament’s refusal to discuss this issue. “The state’s recognition of the killing of women should be just the beginning.”
The sharp rise in domestic violence—increasingly due to the pandemic and months of imprisonment—is accompanied by a series of brutal murders that make Re-focus on the problem of abuse in Greece.
Since the beginning of this year, the Greek media have reported that the victims were shot, strangled, suffocated, stabbed, beaten and drowned. According to reports, many of their arrested partners frank To murder.
The killing of women happened in Unparalleled allegations Regarding the sexual abuse of women in the arts and sports world. These revelations are widely regarded as a turning point in a society that remains one of the most conservative in European society.
In November, the center-right government responded by Initiate A public campaign calling for victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence to speak out. It has also set up a 24-hour helpline and plans to expand the network of consultation centers.
The recent amendments to the criminal law ensure that those convicted of murdering women are given the most severe punishment. If the act is considered a “crime,” the perpetrators can no longer hope for a lighter punishment on the grounds of extenuating circumstances. . Enthusiasm.” The Ministry of Justice is also preparing to overhaul the domestic violence legislation drafted more than ten years ago.
Maria Syrengela, the country’s Minister of Gender Equality, described these measures as unprecedented. She told the Guardian: “Men do not have the ability to claim that they acted impulsively. This is a crime of passion.”
“When the Domestic Violence Law was redrafted Istanbul Convention, Of course we would recommend including the killing of women,” she said. “It’s time. “
She added that it is shocking that in murder cases, men Greece It has been possible to claim “provocation”, or to claim it is a crime of passion, when murder is ultimately equivalent to exercising power against women.
“We will be one of the earliest countries Europe It is important to enact a law involving the killing of women,” she added, noting that so far, no EU member state has made the intentional killing of women and girls a separate criminal offence.
The school also offers courses on sex education and raising awareness of diversity.
But the opposition said that these policies still fall short of what is needed. With increasing enthusiasm for condemning hate crimes and graffiti condemning hate crimes around Athens, the left-wing opposition has vowed to continue to exert pressure until the killing of women is included as a motive in the country’s criminal code.
“It must be seen as a term and a crime,” said Eirini Agathopoulou, spokesperson for the radical left coalition for human rights and gender equality. “We have submitted proposals to the parliament twice, but the government just refused to discuss it.”
