Today, the Council of Europe Expert Group on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) published its baseline evaluation report on Greece.

The report contains a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of the provisions of the Istanbul Convention in Greece. It acknowledges the steps taken by the country to comply with the treaty and identifies areas where progress is still needed.

GREVIO highlights several positive legal and policy measures taken by Greek authorities, which demonstrate the country’s commitment to the implementation of the Istanbul Convention. These positive developments include the establishment of specialised police units to improve law enforcement responses to violence against women as well as amendments to Greece’s legal framework on violence against women, including the adoption of a definition of rape based on the notion of freely given consent.

Despite these achievements, GREVIO observes a number of areas where improvement is needed. It stresses in particular the lack of rape crisis centres, the insufficient number of shelters for women victims of violence and their children  and the insufficient attention paid by the justice system to violence against women in decision-making processes on custody and visitation rights. The report also underlines gaps in the support provided to asylum-seeking women during the asylum procedure, including regarding the provision of safe accommodation, the access to quality interpretation and legal aid.

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 Press release